The Different Presentations of Female Villany in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Keats’ ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’

In the modern 21sr century, the roles and behaviors expected of individuals remains analogous despite gender. This ideology stems from the preceding movement in equality, which preaches that differences of sex appear insignificant. Despite this notion, there remains distinct differences in the physical and psychological makeups of both men and women. In most cultures, certain duties remain associated with specific genders. With this in mind, Shakespeare’s Macbeth heightens the supernatural evil possessing Lady Macbeth as she condones murder for her own selfish ambition, while in Shakespeare’s time women were regarded as peaceful and full of feminine sympathies. This anachronism with the reality of Shakespeare’s day, illustrates the immense sense of wickedness and abnormality emphasizing her character’s influence on her husband and the plot of the play. In contrast, Macbeth appears to some extent a more acceptable evil due to a greater compliance with the gender standards and moral transition during the Shakespearean era. Shakespeare utilizes numerous literary intentions in order to express these diverse levels of evil to provide an element of depth behind the mental reactions and deteriorations of the characters until their final decease into the complete darkness of death.

Robert Browning provides a critical view of gender and power relations in his dramatic monologues “Porphyria’s Lover” and “My Last Duchess.” The dramatic monologue, as S.S. Curry has written, "reveals the struggle in the depths of the soul” (11). Browning delves into the minds of characters to show their conceptions of women and ideas of power. He explores the mental processes of the characters, and invites readers to question societal ideas of power and gender. The mental pathologies of the speakers is emphasized, which forces readers to examine the sanity of their own notions of gender dynamics.

In a patriarchal society, women are expected to conform to social restrictions by demonstrating reverence and obedience to the males in their lives. Shakespeare's tragic play, Romeo and Juliet, explores the effects of patriarchal authority exerted over women and how the patriarchal structure left no escape from it, save death. Through Juliet, Lady Capulet, and the Nurse, Shakespeare establishes a common understanding of this type of society, but illuminates three different reactions to the social oppression by portraying the responses of a passionate lover, an idyllic housewife, and an attendant.

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

Gender stereotypes are not a modern notion and as such expectations and limitations have always existed for both men and women. Fortunately women, who have formerly beared great burdens of discrimination, now have very liberated roles in society as a result of slowly shifting attitudes and values. Shakespeare was integral in challenging the subservient role expected of women in the 16th century. Throughout the play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, women are expressed as powerful characters who behave, speak and live in a way that breaks away from the conformist role of females during the 16th century. Therefore, the submissive stereotype expected of women in Shakespearean time is confronted and defied through

Shakespeare 's complex play Othello holds numerous pressing issues within its intricate layers that seem to leap out to modern society. One such issue seen by many is the representation of women. Women within the play can be characterized as submissive possessions and temptresses. This ideology, though commonplace in this time period, appears controversial to the modern eye as we deconstruct the characters of this play. This dominate patriarchal society present within the setting merely conditions this belief further as it is prevalent within the characters dialogue.

Othello, by William Shakespeare is well known for its richness in literary content and elements pertinent to societal ideas. Moreover, women are portrayed in Othello in ways that confirm, but also contradict their treatment in Shakespeare’s time. Both female action and language represent these ideas such as expectations for a wife and expectations for how a woman is to act. That said, there are many other lines spoken by these characters that defy the expectations placed on women at time. Overall, the feminist critical lens allows a reader to understand Othello and the manner in which it is slightly sexist and controversial. This lens allows the reader to observe both discrepancies of how women are treated, and common characteristics found

The way women are presented in ‘Of Mice and Men ' differs in comparison to ‘Macbeth '. Upon analysing the two texts, I have differentiated the two female protagonists, Curley 's wife and Lady Macbeth, and came to a conclusion that one is dissimilar from the other. Yet, both are supposedly speculated to be the stereotypical woman. In Shakespeare 's play Macbeth, feminism and society 's injustice towards women are two of the main themes that assemble the well-known play that was ‘fit for the Kings '. In addition to this, in both books the females are known to not have an identity. This, furthermore, highlights society 's opinion towards women, in which they 're considered as nothing. In these two texts, Lady Macbeth and Curley

A common character archetype is the femme fatale, an attractive and seductive woman who ultimately brings disaster upon a man. From The Odyssey’s Circe to The Book of Judges’s Delilah and Sherlock Holmes’s Irene Adler, the idea of a temptress repeats itself throughout centuries of literature in numerous cultures. Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare’s tragic drama Macbeth and the nameless woman from Keats’s ballad “La Belle Dame sans Merci” embody the characteristics of this archetypal seductress. Though they both use symbolism, Shakespeare applies direct characterization while Keats utilizes indirect characterization to develop their respective female subjects. Nevertheless, these similarities and differences entwine to communicate the common theme that appearances can be deceiving.

Women in the sixteenth century were commonly dominated by a patriarchal society. Meaning their loyalty and respect lay amongst the men in their lives with little choice for opposition. In Othello by William Shakespeare, he portrays the role of women in a way typical to their representation in Elizabethan and Venetian society. While the women may be presented as mentally stronger than their male counterparts, the language given to these female characters suggest that they have internalized society 's expectation of them. Apart from moments of private conversation and Emilia 's reaction to Desdemona 's death, the women behave in a submission that is expected of them, believing it to be the natural way, as the men continue to downgrade and treat them as secondary citizens. Shakespeare represents this status of women through the traditional views of the male characters, moments of submission from the females, and how the women internalize this society.

The women were expected to be subservient to the men in the society. A part of these their roles were so restricted as they were only to be wives and mothers to their husbands and children respectively (Kakkonen & Penjak 2015). All these unfair treatments, manipulation, and discrimination of women in the society have been brought out through themes such as role of women in the society, feminism and even characters such as Lady Capulet, Juliet, Lord Capulet, Juliet’s nurse among others. First and foremost, women in Shakespeare’s society were expected to conform to all the expectations of the community or society. The men in this community found it very possible to control and manipulate women because they saw them as inferior and weaker beings.

When Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” he was not only correct about the players on the stage but also players in the real world. Roles are not just metaphorical masks players wear on stage. They are evident in every aspect of a person’s life; playing a role in reality is inescapable. One person could play numerous roles, but those roles may never reflect who that person truly is. Throughout a woman’s life, she can play countless roles: daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and many others.

It is true that the majority of women in the 17th century were housewives (Lambert). However, in Shakespeare’s eyes, this did not translate to inferiority of women. Instead, he believed that society’s flawed thinking was both unjust and dangerous. He saw women for what they were worth: humans capable of performing and becoming something everyone else could. Regardless of their genders, woman could be just as assiduous, shrewd, and vindictive as their male

Since Hippocrates first coined the term “hysteria” to describe a wandering uterus causing women to become mad, the idea of feminine insanity has captivated the literary imagination (Tasca, Rapetti, Carta, Fadda 2012). While many authors use madwomen to signify tragedy, William Shakespeare focuses specifically on the downfall of noblewomen. In Hamlet and Macbeth, Shakespeare utilizes spiritual allusions, feminine imagery, and tragic inversion to transition from a sympathetic to unsympathetic view of the downfall of women in concordance with the changing of hands of the English throne.

When observing gender in our society, women and men are stereotyped with specific roles. Men have always been seen as the family’s main source of income whereas the women take care of their home and children. However, Shakespeare challenges these gender roles in his play with the three female characters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. While all three are independent, powerful women and even lead their armies into battle, the men seem to be foolish and weak such as King Lear and Albany. Furthermore, Mira cel Batran makes a point in her essay, “Feminist Reading of William Shakespeare’s King Lear”, that although women are regarded as dependent on men, Shakespeare explains that it can be the exact opposite. The men seem to depend on the women such as King Lear depending on Cordelia and Albany depending on Goneril. Shakespeare, in his play, King Lear, portrays women who are strong and intelligent and men who are weak or overpowered by female characters, challenging the societal belief that women are inherently less than or dependent on men.