Shakespeare's Representation Of Women In Macbeth

During the period where Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, women were uneducated, forced to act submissively and never expressed their opinions. Shakespeare turned all that around when he used female characters that have powerful roles to turn around from the norm and go against expectations in his time. The witches and Lady Macbeth are examples of female characters that have power in the story. In this quote, it explains how from the point of Macbeth’s confrontation with the witches, tells her his prophesize on how he will become the future king of Scotland. Through, that moment it shows Lady Macbeth’s ability to read as a female character which in her time was abnormal due to a majority of females in 1600 not having the ability to read. Through,

With social and cultural stereotypes in this era, men were viewed as more powerful while women were portrayed as weak. William Shakespeare tries to interpret the roles between genders by having characters of the opposite sex. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses rhetorical devices to demonstrate Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s switch in traditional gender roles, which arise from the consequences for each character’s actions and speech.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare brings about one of the most controversial topic of the gender portrayal in a play. During Shakespearean times, women were considered as the weaker sex, physically and emotionally. On the other hand, men were seen as the dominant sex that is expected to be the head of their households and a strong figure. Unlike this stereotypical representation of men and women, Shakespeare introduces the reversal of gender roles in his play. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the relationship and characteristics of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth diverged from the stereotypical representation of both men and women. The author, William Shakespeare’s use of reverse gender roles which contradicted with the traditional gender roles, is what

In Medieval times women were viewed as innocent beings who must be controlled by the men in their family; however, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth a woman is the mastermind behind the start of several horrendous deeds. Lady Macbeth was a woman with determination. When it was prophesized that Macbeth would be king, Lady Macbeth wished that her husband would immediately be at her side so she “may pour [her] spirits in [his] ear” (1. 5. 25). Lady Macbeth wanted nothing less that Macbeth to be king. In order for Macbeth to ascend to the throne, it needed to be emptied of King Duncan. Macbeth was an ambitious man but he was not evil, he would not commit murder to gain the throne; therefore, Lady Macbeth took it upon herself to see her husband crowned king. By making Lady Macbeth the mastermind behind a murder, Shakespeare disputed the typical role of women which labeled them as innocent and harmless beings.

Behind every successful man there is a ruthless woman pushing him along to gain her own personal successes. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth causes Macbeths downfall. With the faults and lies of Lady Macbeth, marriage is Macbeth’s big mistake. Lady Macbeth turns his courageous conquests on the fields of war into butchery. Mangled by the blood-spotted hands of his wife he becomes a traitor to himself, the people around him, and even her.

Lady Macbeth is intelligent, unable to bear children, “ambitious, manipulative, seductive” and seeks to move up in society (Tucker). She’s everything that women are not supposed to be in this time period. Despite her seeming like a very strong woman character, her weakness in the end, when she loses her mind, is shown to exemplify the patriarchal idea that even strong women are weaker than men. While in today’s society women are expected to be just as intelligent as men, the patriarchy sees her intelligence as a “flaw” and a representation that she is “unnatural and unfulfilled” (Davis). She is certainly not motherly as she says she would “Have plucked [her] nipple from [her sons] boneless gums And dashed [his] brains out” (Shakespeare 1.7.58-59). This violent description of what she’d do to her child is a complete opposite from what one would expect from a mother. Since being a mother is all women were supposed to be in the late 1500s, this was a complete juxtaposition from the norm of society and was hard for most to wrap their simple minds around and accept. This helped Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth as the real villain of

Macbeth, by the playwrite William Shakespeare, is one of his most amazing tragdies and additionally one of his most well known plays. The play has picked up infamy (being great known for some awful quality or deed.) for the mischances that occurred all around its numerous stagings to such an extent that it is otherwise called "the Scottish play" to keep from needing to say its name. The spooky Lore surrounding the showing of the play is fitting given the events that take place throughout the plot.

account thy love. Art thou afraid to be the same in thine own act and

The traditional gender role for men and women is a strict set of expectations one must face and either choose to follow or defy it. In the Shakespearian era women portray as the weaker sex because they display as needing protection as the more fragile, innocent, and dependent sex, whereas men have authority as strong, capable, and honourable beings. However, the traditional gender roles play in reversal in Macbeth by William Shakespeare by having Lady Macbeth, the Three Witches (weird sisters), and Macbeth defy the gender roles that allow women and men to portray in a unique way in society. First, Lady Macbeth is defiant to her role as a woman because she is able to take initiative, deceive others, and commit violent acts. Secondly, the three Witches are in fact sisters which avid them to follow their role as women, however they defy their roles because they manipulate others, have the capability to make independent decisions, and kill without hesitation. Finally, Macbeth defies his roles as a man in the Shakespearian era because he acts cowardly, isn’t able to carry out duties himself, and is disloyal to his companions.

The women in Macbeth, namely Lady Macbeth, contradict these expectations through their commanding, and ambitious tones. During that second half of act one Lady Macbeth is portrayed as the ruling figure in the house. Instead of being a grateful and fulfilling housewife she instead pushes and commands Macbeth to commit assassination. She berates him when he falters and asked if he would rather, “live like a coward in thine own esteem.” (Shakespeare)

Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, begins with the protagonist, Macbeth, being faced with a supernatural prophecy. The temptation of power further corrupts Macbeth as the play progresses, until his murders catch up to him. Despite the time in which a man lives, he is surrounded by opportunity and the constant battle between the loss and acquisition of power. For those deep in search for power often experience the blurring of the lines between right and wrong. In the 17th century, gender roles were strict and unmoving. Men symbolized the power and strength, while the women represented the caring and submissive traits of human nature. Shakespeare utilizes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s marriage to further toy with the audience’s minds and inverts the gender roles.Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s marriage demonstrates inverted gender roles; but as Lady Macbeth utilizes her influence over Macbeth, her driven attitude leads him down the path of corruption.

In Macbeth, one of the most tragic and well known plays, William Shakespeare changes women’s part in society. During this time period, women are known to be both mentally and physically weaker than men. Women are called to be only housewives. Shakespeare reflected the image of women in society by giving the men bigger leads in his plays. Only in a few of Shakespeare's plays did he give women strong leading roles. Macbeth is one of the few plays where women play a more powerful role than the men. In Macbeth, he gives the women unusual traits like manipulation and betrayal. In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, women like Lady Macbeth , the trio witches, and Lady Macduff portray non-feminine traits.

In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, gender plays a pivotal role in the development of the overall plot and as the play advances, certain characters, including Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience a reversal in traditional gender behaviors. Additionally, we see gender confusion among other characters that enhances conflict in the play. Originally, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are portrayed in ways that enforce their respective masculinity and feminism in accordance to the society around them. As Macbeth begins to contemplate his decision regarding the killing of Duncan, his marriage becomes the primary driving force behind his action and thoughts in this matter. Although in some cases, male and female roles in this play remain static, the

Subservient, ignorant, passive, timid: these are the qualities that described the ideal 17th century woman in the eyes of Europeans. In the play Macbeth, author William Shakespeare explores the roles of these women through his female characters, challenging preconceived notions and setting up his personal perspective on what a woman's niche in society truly is. Through his contrasting female characters of the gentlewoman and Lady Macduff versus the witches and Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare depicts the reality of how women actually function is society.

Generally, Macbeth is thought of as Shakespeare’s most feminist play. With a supposedly powerful female character and an inversion of gender roles, it is easy to see how this idea came into being. However, it is totally wrong. Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a play about an ambitious nobleman who would go to any measure to become king and retain that position after receiving a prophecy from three witches. At first, he is unwilling to resort to violence to become king but his wife, Lady Macbeth, manipulates him into doing so. Once the first murder is complete, he has found a thirst for killing and continues to kill various people until he is eventually killed and the rightful king takes his place. The claims of this being a feminist play stem from Lady Macbeth’s character and her relationship with Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is violent and evil, while Macbeth is originally too kind, showing a gender role reversal. Even so, there are many problematic aspects of Macbeth that completely negate the few progressive components in Shakespeare’s writing. Macbeth is a misogynist play because it promotes strict gender roles, gender non-conforming women are demonized and seen as responsible for men’s problems, and by the second half of the play, any innovative gender role reversals are themselves reversed.