Women's Role In Macbeth

Eklavya Sehrawat ENG3UO Ms. Cheney April 27 2015 Exploring Gender Roles In Shakespeare’s Macbeth Although at the time of Shakespeare women were portrayed as lesser beings, Shakespeare still manages to portray them as strong and independent women. Throughout history stereotypes have not only decided the fate of men and women, but they have also decided how they act. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth gender roles are constantly challenged and reversed to give the reader a different perspective of the 17th century.

During the tragedy, Macbeth, the main character, or tragic hero, encounters a battle with his wife and the supernatural. More specifically, he faces Lady Macbeth and the “weird sisters” (1.3 32) in a journey in which he loses his sanity and his life. William Shakespeare illustrated these three witches with emphasis on hideous and evil features in order to show how negative influence acts as an internal conflict. Whereas Lady Macbeth was presented as ambitious and manipulating, leading to Macbeth’s external conflict and unfortunate end. His portrayal of women is undoubtedly negative.

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

In the Shakespeare written play ‘Macbeth’, Lady Macbeth, the wife of Macbeth, is the leading lady of one of the most well known plays in time. Lady Macbeth was the stereotypical portrayal of feminism in the 17th century, to “look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” is her personal motto. The characterisation of Lady Macbeth leads us to see both the good, bad and extreme sides of her, a three dimensional character, at her absolute best we see her strengths in determination, manipulation and persuasion, however these strengths ultimately lead to a psychotic, power-driven beast after the effects of certain events take its toll on her. Her strengths only serve to instill the idea that unchecked ambition is the root of all evil, an ever present idea that lasts the play.

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)

The way Shakespeare portrays women in Macbeth defies all stereotypical expectations for women in the early 16th century. Nonetheless, Shakespeares complex characterization of women in many of his works of literature, specifically Macbeth, would have been complex and interesting characters for the Elizabethan audience. Women would have seen these characters as inspiring, liberated, complex and powerful where men would have seen them as complex and of great interest. In essence shakespeare protrays women as evil, powerful and manipulative to expand themes within the story as well as to advance as well as increase plot

“Power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best”- Edward Abbey. Females were considered pathetic and unimportant in Shakespearean era. Males thought females were just for giving birth and looking attractive. Also, they were considered unintelligent and were inferior to men. But in William Shakespeare's famous drama production, “Macbeth”, Women has more control over men such as the three witches and Lady Macbeth have influence on Macbeth’s life. They play a huge role on Macbeth; in order to encourage Macbeth to gain Kingship and forces him to do dirty deeds. To prove my thesis, will explore the characters of the witches, and Lady Macbeth; and how they change Macbeth’s character from being a good person to an evil person.

William Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Macbeth”, emancipates the women to become pivotal the whole action of the play, despite the misogyny and sexism during Shakespeare's time. Lady Macbeth and the Three Witches don’t just play subsidiary roles but are vital to the play. Their influence and manipulation on Macbeth, are the catalyst for Macbeth’s murderous actions, thus changing him from a man of loyalty and probity, into an evil monster with unbelievable and intractable ambition for power. However, it may be argued that the woman are just playing a small part and Macbeth is orchestrating the whole play.

Women are portrayed in Macbeth into two primary ways. First , they are portrayed as being highly influential but not as being the primary actors. during the period that Shakespeare wrote Macbeth women were uneducated and they never express their feelings or their opinions, but not all women were not educated, Shakespeare went against the expectation in this period . women during this time were taught submissive behavior. However, lady Macbeth has her own idea of how women should behave in Macbeth play.

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare the role of women play a big part throughout the play. Lady Macbeth, Lady Macduff and the witches all play different roles and affect the decisions made by Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is able to manipulate Macbeth, Lady Macduff allows the readers to feel sympathy for what is happening to her and the witches foresee Macbeth’s future. From wives to witches, the role of women greatly impacted the outcomes of many of the events and decisions made by men in the play Macbeth with their manipulation, deceitfulness and ability to foresee the future.

The portrayal of women in Macbeth differs greatly from the realities of their treatment at the time. They are portrayed as highly influential, however are not primary actors, as the play is called “Macbeth,” not “Lady Macbeth.” Lady Macbeth’s influence over Macbeth is vital, as she is the primary influential source which leads Macbeth to killing Duncan. Her influence She herself was the one who first suggested the idea, pulling the fantasies straight out of Macbeth’s head and making them a reality. Upon receiving the letter sent from her husband informing her of the prophecy, Lady Macbeth knew exactly what the two were to do. She has power over Macbeth to manipulate him in order to follow through with her plans, and she will stop at nothing

The witches are portrayed, by Shakespeare, as mysterious, cunning creatures that pull all the strings but take no responsibility. When they are first introduced in the opening scene of the play, an aura of unease is created because of what the witches say and do. The quote, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" is a paradox that shows how the witches speak in chants and seemingly contradict themselves. This is representative of their evil nature and makes the reader wary of their presence. The fact that Shakespeare chose to depict the witches as such eerie beings is a testament to the fact that the female characters in Macbeth are not all contemporary stereotypes, but

Lady Macbeth steps over the boundaries set for women by the patriarchal values of medieval Scotland and instead steps into the role of the infamous femme fatale. The femme fatale— a seductive, conniving villain archetype that can be traced back to even biblical Eve— is the root of the dangerous archetype that surrounds Lady Macbeth (Pikula 277). Shakespeare sets up this feminine villainy in a litany of ways. Perhaps foremost, Lady Macbeth’s undeniable connection to the weird sisters immediately presents her as evil. She calls upon these supernatural spirits in her first appearance in the play— she tells them to “unsex [her] here/ And fill [her] from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty” (I.v. 39-42). Her “unsex me here” soliloquy supplies us with enough evidence to write her off as demonic immediately— she, calls to

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the women dominantly manipulate Macbeth. If he tries to resist, a woman intervenes. They keep the plot of the story going. The cruel and manipulative nature of women accounts for his downfall.

Shakespeare is one of the most famous writers in Great Britain and is labeled as a genius. In his lifetime, he creates over a hundred of sonnets and a numerous amount of comedic tragedies. His accomplishments left him everlasting fame and glory. With these comedic tragedies, he manages to show his views concerning problems in that era. In the 17th century, women were not thought of as equals. They are seen as objects only good for housework. The only way a woman had any power was through her husband. Shakespeare's clever use of tragic comedy in his play Macbeth shows his views and societies views of women in that era.