Jacobean Portrayal Of Women In Macbeth

In the tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare’s portrayal of women shows the intricacy of the power relations between the sexes. The play was written during Jacobean times during which society was a patriarchal one. Men were believed to be superior to women and were put in power over them. This was reinforced by the belief in the Great Chain of Being, a social hierarchy believed to be ordained by God Himself in which men were placed higher than women. However, Shakespeare advocates that women can in fact be just like men in some cases, expressing and feeling the same emotions of a man and how other times women can have power over men and subvert the Natural Order.

Relations between the sexes are intricate in the play as sometimes women seem to be in control over men. This can be seen in the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s relationship

The Witches were a force of evil in the play and were women. During the Jacobean era, women were seen as weak creatures with no power or influence in the patriarchal society that existed at the time. This is not true for the witches as they seem to have power over Macbeth and deceive him which ultimately leads to his downfall. When Macbeth went to the witches for advice after having Banquo killed, the Witches showed him an aspiration that spoke and prophesied that ‘No man of woman born shall harm Macbeth.’ Macbeth is deceived by the witches into thinking that there is not a single man who can harm Macbeth as all, in his eyes, are born of a woman. This deception leads to his downfall and the witches were successful in making him think what they wanted him to think. Shakespeare’s portrayal of women in this instance goes against the patriarchy as women were seen as too weak to have power over a man and deceive him but that is not true in Shakespeare’s portrayal of the