Importance Of Isabella In Measure For Measure

The many complex characters in the play Measure for Measure allow for much interpretation in readers to occur on what is being measured, and what is more of value being measured. Isabella has the option of either saving the life of her brother Claudio, who was sentenced for death, or give up her chaste, which would prevent her from becoming a nun. By ultimately deciding his death was the best option, Isabella’s virtue is clear, but her commitment to this can result in selfish decisions. Through this character, Shakespeare shows how people may believe they are good, however, their selfish desires outweigh the needs of others.
Shakespeare makes Isabella’s most dominant trait clear to the reader throughout the play, which is her virtue and the goodness she and other believe she is filled with. When describing his sister to Lucio, Claudio shares her goodness draws people and inevitably causes a form of attraction and desire
Her virtue and devotion to becoming a nun is shown when Isabella is conferring with the headmaster of the nuns and asks, “Have you nuns no further privilege?” (1.4.349) The rules are already quite intense and detailed, however, Isabella clearly still feels they are not enough, stating, “Yes, truly; I speak not as desiring more; but rather wishing a more strict restraint…” (1.4.351-352). Eventually, her will to remain committed to her virtue at all times leads Isabella to act selfishly in her decisions, the largest one being choosing her soul purity over the life of Claudio. The measuring of physical versus spiritual life, which in Isabella’s case, benefits herself, as she chooses her soul as having more value, further shows the complexity and sometimes opposing traits Shakespeare has formed her to