Disturbed Female Characters in Shakespeare, Browning and Duffy´s Works

Shakespeare, Browning and Duffy all create four very similar characters female characters which are considered to be disturbed. This is due to the fact that they all went against the expectations of society in their respected eras. The speaker in ‘The Laboratory’ as well as Havisham and Medusa in Duffy’s monologues are all considered to be “disturbed” because of their common motives: jealousy and revenge. Despite these similarities, Lady Macbeth’s main motive is her hunger for power. This subverted expectations of females as they were supposed to be loyal to their male partners and shouldn’t want to take their power. In this essay I will talk about their desire for power and revenge, and why this has lead them to be portrayed in such a disturbed manner and how this goes against people’s expectations.

Firstly, the four women subvert expectations of femininity by not submitting to male authority. In the play, Lady Macbeth questions things instead of accepting it. “Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness,” this is Lady Macbeth accusing her own husband of being too kind instead of being the fearless warrior he is supposed to be. It is almost as if she is accusing him of being too feminine. This subverts Jacobean expectations of femininity because she is questioning him, as if she has some kind of power or authority to do so. She gets this imaginary power from the fact that she is married to Macbeth – the thane of Cawdor. Furthermore she uses this authority because she wishes to be able to experience real power; the power only a man could have. This is something women would not have done in the Jacobean era. In this era women would have stayed at home and looked after the house rather than attempting ...

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In conclusion, Shakespeare, Browning and Duffy all succeed in creating female personas with disturbed personalities. The women have common motives such as jealousy and revenge which help to build up their disturbed characters. Some aim to become more like men, reject religion and even talk about death and murder. Some also castoff the fact that they may be culpable for their actions and the consequences that followed. They also suffered from emotional fragility and insecurities of what society thought of them. Havisham never left her house again; Medusa fled to Africa, the speaker was at an apothecary instead of being at the King’s palace. Lady Macbeth was the only exception to this as she was much more confident and assertive than the other women. Overall all these factors were combined and employed by the writers to create a disturbed persona.