Elizabethan Women And Lady Macbeth

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Is the expression, “Behind every successful man is a woman" true, or even valid in the Elizabethan era? In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the protagonist Macbeth is an ambitious and loyal warrior who seeks ultimate power by becoming the King of Scotland. Due to the coercion of the three witches and his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth commits multiple acts, such as killing innocent people whom he believes are a threat to him, and even betraying his own country and companions. Although the women impact the men's lives greatly, they are also responsible for the men's success and downfall. The women are the catalysts that ignite the men to blindly reach for their ambition because they are manipulative, greedy and cunning. For instance, the three witches …show more content…

Since Lady Macbeth is shown as an ambitious woman that lusts for power and position in society, she becomes the main reason why Macbeth turns into a tyrant and murderer. After Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth's letter in which he informs her of the witches’ prophecy and King Duncan's sudden visit to their castle, she reveals her desire to lose her feminine qualities in exchange for masculine ones. If Lady Macbeth was a man and if the King "had not resembled [her] father as he slept" (II, i), she would have been the one to murder Duncan in his sleep. Despite the fact that the king showed nothing but kindness to them, Lady Macbeth is not troubled by the fact that she planned the king's death. Initially, Macbeth was not tainted with dark thoughts nor was he influenced by his wife, but due to his wife's begging and strong influence over him, Macbeth finally accepted the fact that he must kill the king in order to gain Duncan's position. For instance, Lady Macbeth advices Macbeth to " look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under it" (I, v), because she knows that Macbeth is weak and indecisive outside of battle. In addition, Lady Macbeth prepares the daggers they will use and assures Macbeth that everything will go well as long as he "leave[s] all the rest to [her]" (I, v). This shows who has the upper hand in their marriage and how strong and influential Lady Macbeth is in Macbeth's life since she would do anything in her power to achieve her goal. The fact that she plans the king's murder without any worries nor fear shows that she is confident in her ability to perform evil deeds. Similarly, she is shown as a ruthless and manipulative woman when she questions Macbeth's manliness and love for her. For example, she plays on Macbeth's pride and doubts his manliness by saying " When you durst do

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