Hero

Hero is the daughter of Leonato, governor of Messina, and cousin to Beatrice. She is betrothed to Claudio until he ruins their wedding by denouncing her as unfaithful. Somewhat timid, Hero often seems to lack agency and her reputation proves more important to the plot than her feelings or beliefs. However, she shows great resourcefulness when gulling Beatrice into a romance with Benedick and it would be wrong to characterise her as a mere non-entity.