Girl Power

Girl Power

Throughout time, women have acted radically and drastically in order to be heard, have a voice, and be recognized. Influential, assertive women have not only been seen throughout history, but in literature as well. For example, Susan B. Anthony fought and pushed for women to have the right to vote. Hilary Clinton took an active role as First Lady during a time when the First Lady stereotypically acted as a hostess who played second fiddle to the president. She made health care her cause and received criticism from the public as being too political and taking on too large an issue for a First Lady. She did so to be recognized around the nation as more than just a doting wife. Women have similarly fought to be heard in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. When Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that three witches prophesied that he would become king, for example, she immediately devises a plan to manipulate Macbeth to murder Duncan, the current king, without any regard for Macbeth’s desire to let fate run its course. Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to murder Duncan because it is the only way she can be valued and heard in a time where women had virtually no rights. Hilary Clinton stood out and used her influence in much the same way hundreds of years later. Hence, in order for a woman to de heard, recognized, and valued, they must act radically and fight the existing stereotypes.

TRANSITION!!! At the beginning of the play, Macbeth writes a hasty letter to his wife upon hearing the prophecies that he will someday be king. Lady Macbeth defies stereotypes and immediately decides that she must manipulate her husband to become king in order to make a statement and prove her validity. While Macbeth is content to let fate lead him to the throne, ...

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...Rosa Parks, Hilary Clinton, and women who participated in bra burnings have all protested and have accomplished immeasurable feats by acting radically. Accordingly, their voices are heard all because of their daring, dramatic outcries.

Works Cited

Adelman, Janet. “’Born of Woman’: Fantasies of Maternal Power in Macbeth.” Cannibals, Witches, and Divorce: Estranging the Renaissance. Ed. Marjorie Gruber. N.p.: Johns Hopkins UP, 1987. 90-121. Gale Cengage Learning. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.

“Macduff as Foil for Macbeth.” Slash Doc. N.p., 2 Oct. 2003. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.

McCarthy, Mary. “General Macbeth.” The Writing on the Wall and Other Literary Essays. N.p.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970. 3-14. Gale Cengage Learning. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York City: Washington Square, 1992. Print.