Macbeth And Of Mice And Men Analysis

Explore the role of women in Macbeth and Of Mice and Men

Macbeth was a play written by William Shakespeare in 1605. It revolved around Macbeth, a war hero, and his wife: Lady Macbeth (LM). In the play, Macbeth encounters three witches who give him a prophecy that he will be the king. When Lady Macbeth hears of this she demands that Macbeth kills the king - an instruction that he faithfully follows. From this, we can discuss how Shakespeare presented women in his play Macbeth. One idea is that he portrayed them as having more power than we would expect.

Of Mice and Men (OMAM) was a novel written by John Steinbeck in 1930s America, it is about two best friends - George and Lennie, searching for the American dream. They find a job on a ranch soon but it ends with an unexpected turn of events: Lennie killing the boss’s wife - Curley’s Wife (CW).

In both Macbeth and OMAM, the women are portrayed as manipulative and ambitious characters - the difference being their femininity. The effect that the women characters in both the books have on the plot is similar yet their characteristics can be very different. Both writers use the female character’s sexuality as a method of empowerment throughout the novel; Curley’s Wife through her sensuality and Lady Macbeth through violence and un-feminine like features. As Curley’s Wife is the only woman on the ranch, Steinbeck uses her to represent the theme of loneliness in the novel and because of this, Steinbeck uses Curley’s Wife to introduce the feminine features which are absent on the ranch.

Lady Macbeth’s character changes dramatically throughout the play, most noticeably changing from Act 1 through to Act 3. In Act 1, Shakespeare portrays her as a very controlling, persistent and man...

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...creasing of power through the play and eventually a very dishonorable death can remind us of Curley’s Wife. As CW also seemed very confident on the outside but filled with shattered hopes and dreams on the inside.

In conclusion, the role of women in Macbeth and Of Mice and Men is similar in some ways and different in others. Similarities being that the women are used as catalysts to speed up the tragic events which take place at the end of each story and how the writers create a sense of dramatic irony to the audience for entertainment. Lady Macbeth being wrongfully seen as a good person and Curley’s Wife being wrongfully seen as a bad person. The role of women is different in what affect they have on other characters, CW has the affect of lost hope and regret, while LM and the witches are aggressively manipulating Macbeth to get him to do what they want him to do.