In his tragedy, Macbeth, William Shakespeare illustrates how ambition becomes a cause of murder and death. The main character, Macbeth, seeks to become king after the three witches, or the Weird Sisters, tells him his fate. In his path to sovereignty, he commits heinous crimes involving the murders of men, women and children, who seem to threaten his path to royalty. Women are a huge factor in this tragedy as Shakespeare uses them as a symbol of motivation and optimism that will eventually influence Macbeth’s actions and lead him to his inevitable death.
The most important woman in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth gives Macbeth the idea to murder King Duncan after hearing that there is a possibility of Macbeth being the king. At first, Macbeth decides to “proceed no further” (1.7.31) with the plan to kill King Duncan because he “hath honored [him] as of late” (1.7.32). This means that Macbeth does not want to follow through with the plan because he feels that King Duncan has been good to him and he does not want to ruin the relationship they have built together. The refusal to ultimately murder the king represents the natural good-hearted characteristic that embodies Macbeth. However, when Lady Macbeth hears of his withdrawal, she responds by calling him a “coward in [his] own esteem” (1.7.43) and she makes fun of his weak portrayal of masculinity. This shows that Lady Macbeth is the “female temptress” (Adelman 299) because she tempts Macbeth into changing his good heart by making fun of his masculinity. Lady Macbeth’s insults create a feeling of insecurity in Macbeth, therefore leading Macbeth to a change of heart and eventually following through with their murderous plan.
Also, Lady Macbeth pl...
... middle of paper ...
... detriment to their well-being. It is, however, their decision to choose whether these people are worth their influence to themselves.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, and Robert S. Miola. "Text of Macbeth." Macbeth: an authoritative text, sources and contexts, criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. 1-84. Print.
Shakespeare, William, and Robert S. Miola. "Janet Adelman's "Escaping the Matrix: The Construction of Masculinity in Macbeth"." Macbeth: an authoritative text, sources and contexts, criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. 282-293.
Asp ,Carolyn. "Be Bloody, Bold and Resolute": Tragic Action and Sexual Stereotyping in "Macbeth"”. Studies in Philology, Vol. 78, No. 2. Spring, 1981. 153-169
Shamas, Laura Annawyn. "Introduction's "Overview: Archetypal Exploration"." "We three": the mythology of Shakespeare's weird sisters. New York: Peter Lang, 2007. 1-7.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Element of Literature, Sixth Course. Austin: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. 300-382. Print.
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. As she is Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeth’s other half. During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeth’s life. Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power, stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone around her. It appears that even she can’t resist the perfect crime.
A prominent theme in William Shakespeare’s novel Macbeth is the idea of universal masculinity. Throughout the play, Shakespeare utilizes male gender stereotypes to present conflicting views on the definition of manhood. Macbeth tells the reader about a man who allows both societal pressures inflicted upon him by his wife and his intense ambition to drag Macbeth into a spiral of committing obscene acts of violence. Characters often associate being a man with courage, cruelty and power. This pervading caricature of a “man” is evident to the reader throughout the play. Lady Macbeth, for instance, goads Macbeth about his masculinity to the point of murder. Additionally, Malcolm and Macduff’s rigid discussion on revenge reveals a defined notion of “true” masculinity. Perhaps the culmination of rigid gender stereotypes is evident in Macbeth's pondering of the legitimacy of the hired murderers' manhood. Clearly, Shakespeare upholds male gender stereotypes throughout Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth takes the role of the dominant partner in the beginning of the play, by acting as the real power behind the throne. For example, it is easily recognized that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are opposite in many ways (Scott 236). He is weak, indecisive, and takes on the traditional female role of the marriage; she is strong, decisive, and takes on the traditional male role. One place in the play where Macbeth’s character is shown is Act I, Scene 5, Lines 15-17. She says, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promis’d : yet do I fear thy nature / Is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.” This is just after Lady Macbeth receives the letter from Macbeth. It is also important to notice that when Macbeth’s first thoughts of killing Duncan appear, he is scared. After he commits the murder, Macbeth says, “To know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself ” ( 2. 2. 72 ). Knowing that he has committed such a vile act makes him uncomfortable. It will be difficult to act innocent and deal with his guilt.
Characters in Macbeth frequently dwell on issues of gender. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband by questioning his manhood, wishes that she herself could be ?unsexed,? and does not contradict Macbeth when he says that a woman like her should give birth only to boys. In the same manner that Lady Macbeth goads her husband on to murder, Mac...
The untraditional marriage between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Lady Macbeth shows how a woman takes charge of her marriage, showing she is the woman of the house. She is manly and all powerful over her husband. Lady Macbeth proves to be the untraditional woman of Scotland, she differs from the role of a traditional woman because she is not feminine as a woman should be, in fact she wishes she was a man. She tells the spirits to, “ unsex me here”. ( Enotes… unsex me here). This pertains to the theme of gender roles because it demonstrates how Lady Macbeth wishes it was a man. She’s manlier than her husband, that show the untraditional woman. Lady Macbeth feels her husband is to nice, friendly, and full of milk “ worrying her is to full of the milk of human kindness to take Duncan’s throne” ( Gale. Par 3). She worries that Macbeth has cold feet. He’s afraid of the consequence that will follow the murder; She planed the murder herself, because she didn’t believe he could do with out her help. She worries he is to manly to snatch the crown. So Lady Macbeth is manly enough to plan the murder, but wants Macbeth to commit the murder. ...
Works Cited:.. Shakespeare, William. The. Macbeth. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
Novy, Marianne. Love's Argument: Gender Relations in Shakespeare. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1984
Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatically shows what can happen when our common gender roles are broken. He shows the power that people can have over others when they aren’t acting the way they’re expected to.
Johnson, Vernon Elso, ed. "Shakespeare's Macbeth." Social Issues in Literature: Power in William. San Francisco: Greenhaven, 2009. N. pag. Print.
Evans, G. Blackemore. "Macbeth." In The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blackemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mufflin Company. 1974: 1307- 1311
Lady Macbeth is one of the most compelling characters who challenges the concept of gender roles. Her relationship with Macbeth is atypical, particularly due to the standards of its time. Lady Macbeth becomes the psychologically controlling force over her husband, essentially assuming a masculine role, in order to inspire the aggression needed to fulfil his ambitions. Through her powerful taunts and persuasion, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to murder the king and to take his throne. She emasculates over her husband repeatedly, knowing that in his desperation to prove his manhood, he will perform the acts she wishes. In Act 1, Scene 5
As with all great works of literature, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth has spawned countless essays concerning its interpretation. Two such essays, “Shakespearean Tragedy” and “General Macbeth,” produced by two eminent literary critics, A.C. Bradley and Mary McCarthy, find themselves in conflict. The essays’ respective authors diverge on subjective points such as interpretation of character, original intent, and meaning. Bradley’s Macbeth is courageous and encumbered by the dregs of guilt, while McCarthy’s version takes a less orthodox path.
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997