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blood?” (4.1.120-22). Leonato is using his authority to shame Hero, and he uses natural terms,
such as earth, blood, and sex, to explain that Hero is too earthy. Leonato’s use of natural terms
justifies his concerned patriarchy because he illustrates how she was driven by lusts and not his
governance. He continues to use nature to describe how shameful Hero is. He says,

O she [Hero] is fall'n
Into a pit of ink, that the wide sea
Hath drops too few to wash her clean again
And salt too little which may season give
To her foul tainted flesh! (4.1.139-43).
Leonato is expressing his patriarchal thought as Hero is unable to be cleaned even by nature,
which may appear harsh to many modern critics, such as Sharon Hamilton in her analysis of
Much Ado About Nothing. She suggests that Leonato is harsh on their relationship because
“Leonato curses his only child with the bitterest wish a parent can express” (“Daughters Who
Acquiesce”). While Hamilton makes a reasonable argument, Leonato’s relationship with his
daughter in that time period only makes sense because he holds an authoritative position, and
Hero is also acting unnaturally, which is why Leonato makes his remark. Howell also explains in
support of Leonato’s patriarchal justification of relating disobedient Hero to the tainted side of
nature. She writes, “in the sixteenth century, a second image of the earth as wild and
uncontrollable female described nature as violent and chaotic” (Howell 236). Howell’s
explanation supports Leonato’s representation of Hero in terms of nature because while he does
claim Hero is acting unnaturally because even she is rejected by nature for her disobedience, he
still maintains the relationship by comparing Hero through her “foul tainted flesh” to a second
description of nature (4.1.143).