The Silent Hero Speaks

The Silent Hero Speaks (Hero’s Monologue)

(Hero is in nunnery. It’s late in the night and she is trying to sleep but in vain)
Oh what a miserable day it was. I still can’t believe if it is real or dream. How happy I was that day. I thought my dream came true and it all vanished so quickly. It’s already been a month I has been in the nunnery as per Friar Francis’ plan and know nothing what is going outside. Oh what sharp were those words from Claudio, “an approved wanton”. “ A common stale” that’s what Don Pedro, so called Prince of Arragon announced me to be. These words have been echoing all in my mind as it was just a minute ago.
What a poor and miserable condition was my father in – instead of verifying the truth he asked for dagger to kill himself.

Nowadays I feel I am visited my evil spirits. Last night I saw very terrible dream where I was stabbing both the prince and Claudio to death and when they died I took both men’s heart. What a horrible and scary dream. Is my mind is capable to imagine such brutal acts. Oh god I don’t know – few more days like these I will become completely insane. I must be strong and carry on, have patience, trust good people like my lovely Beatrice Benedick and friar.

(Turn her head on pillow to another side)
It’s seems like yesterday. My happiness knew no bounds. There I was in rainbow color, at zenith of my happiness. . I curse the night before the wedding and that was the only night I insist my sweet sister Beatrice to left me alone. Why I send her away – just to avoid her chatter and teasings.If she had been with me that night, I would had very hard evidence to defend Claudio’s charges. She would had been my mouthpiece, my advocate and protected from all this false charges. At first I was confused and did not believe my ear when Claudio said I was a ‘rotten orange “who “knows the heat of luxurious bed’’. The words slap my face and went straight to my heart when he said I was Diana (Virgin Goodess of hunt and moon) outside and Venus (fickle and promiscuous goddess of love and lust) inside. And the prince backed up everything he said when I protest him. Was that the nobleness and virtue of a Prince to dishonor an innocent woman? If Claudio had asked me to die as Hero (Hero name is mythical character who died for her lover Leander ) did , I should have but I was defenseless for such an irrational question as what I was doing the previous night , with which man I was talking to. And both prince and his bastard brother John supported Claudio as if they had seen with their eyes.

Oh no here is the point. John, the Bastard. After I slowly started coming to consciousness, Benedick was saying both prince and Claudio were both honorable and it might be John who might have trick them. Oh lord let Benedick be right in his judgments. I don’t understand what evil I have done to John. I even do not know him closely. May be he is jealous of Claudio glory and did not want to see him happy. So I must wait till the truth is revealed. But even if it’s true what a gullible person is Claudio?
A man such high honored whose bravery has spread all over Messina, can be betrayed so easily. Can he be such shallow and fallible trusting other people words without proper verification? Should not the prince is supposed to have sound and fair judgment? This incident taught me how the world is structured in a way men has always power over women. What if the same blame, even though because of some misunderstanding, was put to Claudio by me- would he accept me afterwards when the truth is prevailed? Then why should I accept him afterwards? How it is that it is not an unchaste act for a man to brothel-haunt and for a woman like me without any evidence one can blame anything, “an approved wanton” , ha ha ha ?

The greatest sufferer of all these misfortune is my beloved father. What he might be doing this time? I am sure he did not have slept and feed well in all these days? Please lord has mercy to Him. What a shame for him being governor of Messina at this old age to bear such dishonorable situation. Uncle Antonio and Beatrice must be there to pacify him.

Oh what an agony is covering me. What should I do to pacify my soul? I must wait and wait and wait. Reprises …. To everything there is a season, and time to every purpose….
a time to kill a time to heal a time to break down a time to build up… I time to weep a time to laugh (and that will come soon ) …….. a time to keep silence a time to speak. a time to love a time to hate ( hope it will over by tomorrow ) a time of war a time piece…..{ Repeats this lines / The Book of Ecclesiastes 3 : 1 – 10 and tries to sleep }