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Similarities Between Lady Macbeth And Curley's Wife

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Women are projected throughout history as seductresses. Empires have been lost kingdoms have been destroyed because of women’s evil nature. Helen of Troy and Cleopatra both are examples of how women could destroy empires. Today my research addresses the question how Lady Macbeth and Curley’s wife are used as tools of narrative. The novel Macbeth was set in the 16th century and of Mice and Men was set in the 1930s almost three centuries apart. Even though both novels were set in different centuries, Lady Macbeth and Curley’s wife have the same inherent characteristics. Lady Macbeth has a very dominant and powerful role in shaping the events in the play. Her greed and avarice lead to Macbeth committing the crime. “Was the hope drunk wherein you dress’d yourself?” Shakespeare uses an interrogative quote to show Lady Macbeth’s ambition for power attention and greed because she wants to kill the king so she can be queen. Shakespeare here projects Lady Macbeth as a conniving lady who ridicules and challenges her …show more content…

Steinbeck uses an imperative, which shows us that Curley’s wife thinks that she is powerful? This may suggest that Curley’s wife marries Curley because he is the son of the boss so she thinks that she can boss people around. Shakespeare intended the reader to feel sorry for Macbeth because his wife is controlling him telling him to do the deeds he does not want to do for example killing the king. Curley’s wife is projected as an ambitious scheming and a vile lady. Steinbeck’s novel was set in 1937 against the backdrop of liberalism. But the women in spite of the liberal notions were still controlled by men as can be seen in curley’s wife case, though she was talented and has a dream she lack the opportunities to fulfill her dream. Most of the women did not have formal education so most of their dreams remained

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In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is revealed as an influential woman of great strength and determination, which can be seen in act three of scene two in which Lady Macbeth’s influential words “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it,” which guides Macbeth to also have the belief that to get the power he so desired, then he had to kill King Duncan. The extent of which Lady Macbeth’s influence had an impact on Macbeth’s conscience and his decisions eventually led to not only Macbeth himself, but also Lady Macbeth. Her downfall mimicked Macbeth’s in such a way that they were both craving power. In contrasting the Great Gatsby and Macbeth, readers find the themes of love and the aspect of the influence of women to make a considerable impact in both

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Curley’s wife is portrayed to be a “tart”, someone who is always flirting with other people. When she is first introduced, Steinbeck writes “ The rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off”, which gives the impression that Curley’s wife is ominous and perilous for Lennie and George. The imagery implies that Curley’s wife is the darkness in their lives and that she is the obstacle in the journey of accomplishing the American Dream. During the climax of Steinbeck’s novella, he writes “ The light was growing soft now” represents the slow release of her soul and that darkness slowly filling the barn and their lives. It also indicates the gradual discharge of hope and belief from the minds of Lennie, George and Candy.

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He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side... there was no anger in her for Kino” (The Pearl 59). The occurrences occurred specifically with these two characters because they were the only two women in each of the books. Steinbeck found it necessary to include that in the end, no matter how innocent or intelligent a person was (or wasn't) the only thing that mattered was if she was a woman. In Curley’s wife’s case, she was being blamed for something solely for the reason of her being a woman.

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To compare and contrast the roles of Lady Macbeth in the play, giving close consideration to their relationship their husbands. In the play ‘Macbeth’ we notice that the roles of Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff are very different. The contrast between these two ladies, is especially noted by each woman’s loyalties and manner of death. These two women, as similar as they were, also had dissimilarities that are far more striking.   Although Lady Macduff and Lady Macbeth each had the ability to influence their family, they used this influence in entirely different ways.

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(91). At this point, Curley’s wife is clearly dead, along with her dream of what she could have been. Unlike the other themes, women do not necessarily die from men. What does die, is their dream. Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to show that women will never be able to reach The American Dream.

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Curley’s wife is described as an attention seeking woman who is desperate and yearns for recognition because of her loneliness and her unsuccessful dream of being an actress. In section 6, Curley’s wife desperately tells Lennie her story of when she was young, she was promised fame and a chance to be on a show, “but my (Curley’s wife) ol’ lady wouldn’ let me (Curley’s wife)”. This expresses that there are always obstacles that prevent people from succeeding just like how her mother refuses to let her be in the show and be an actress to get the attention she always yearns for. People start off with great potential, viewing their dream as obtainable and as their biggest motivation, but in this cruel world, they are only reaching for a tragic aim. Moreover, Curley’s wife expresses that she will never stay in a place where she “couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself (herself)”, but what she does contradicts what she says, instead of having a better life or gaining recognition, she marries Curley and is back into a similar or even worse situation she started from.

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Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, focuses on the tumultuous events that surround a regicide. Despite being the shortest of Shakespeare’s plays, in his critical study of the play A. C. Bradley concludes that due to its vehement nature the audience is left with an impression “not of brevity but of speed” . The principal female character of Lady Macbeth is arguably one of his most contentious. Consumed with intense passion, ambition and greed she challenges the subservient role of the traditional Elizabethan woman. She has disturbed, horrified and intrigued both contemporary and modern audiences alike through her powerful diction.

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Macbeth takes place in medieval Scotland, where gender barriers were very strict. Men were supposed to act as strong fighters, while women were locked in the domestic sphere. These gender roles are prominent in the character developments of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At first, Macbeth is a strong, heroic solider that shows unbounded courage in battle and loyalty to his king. As the play progresses, he becomes cold, ruthless, and miserable.

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In conclusion we learn that the two lead female characters are almost completely different; their journeys overlap and the two women end up transforming into their counterparts. Lady Macbeth, a power-hungry tyrant with nothing to lose, becomes a weak-willed and nervous wreck who loses everything, including her power and status. On the other hand Sheila starts with no true will of her own and very little power, but as she develops she gains control and becomes a force to be reckoned with; as she becomes more enlightened she learns to wield her intelligence and emotional strength to become a powerful atypical Edwardian girl who is in control of her situation and her role in society. It can be observed that the women’s attitudes to the ‘chain of events’ in each play are in stark contrast to each other; As William Cowper states, ‘Glory built on selfish principles, is shame and guilt’, and there can be no disputing that Lady Macbeth’s guilt was a result of her glory and subsequent corruption while Sheila’s glory was built by acknowledging her guilt and shame. Sheila accepted her guilt and as such mastered it; Lady Macbeth refused to accept any guilt for killing King Duncan, and succumbed to it.

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Finally, Steinbeck dehumanizes Curley by the negative criticism that always pursues her and her loss of identity when accompanying someone or something. This is why she is always commonly known as “Curley’s Wife”, proving that she is an unimportant and insignificant character in this book. Plus, everybody in the book says that Curley’s wife causes trouble for everyone; as George says, “She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger,” (Steinbeck, 49) and is constantly getting blame for all that goes wrong in Soledad; as Candy says, You God damn tramp. You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad.

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In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrayed a political statement by looking at mental and physical disabilities through different characters such as Curley's Wife, Crooks, and Lennie. Curley's wife is used to represent how women were treated during the 1930’s and almost treated with a disability. Women were portrayed as the help and they were supposed to stay home and work while the strong brave men went out and got money to support the family. By Steinbeck not giving Curley's wife a name he is showing how she is connected to Curly with an Invisible rope.

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1959 Words | 8 Pages

Her ambition is not only for herself but also for Macbeth. Nevertheless, with all her fervor, she wants him to be as strong as her. “Make thick my blood./Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/That no compunctious visitings of nature/ Shake my fell purpose/Come to my woman’s breasts,/And take my milk for gall” (1.5.44-49). Lady Macbeth never wavers in her goal.

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851 Words | 4 Pages

The women in Macbeth are presented by Shakespeare to be powerful and ambitious which was unlike the typical views during Jacobean times. The playwright portrays Lady Macbeth and the witches to be highly influential to male characters in the play, which again contrasts the contemporary views to that time. Their ambition and power are demonstrated through the perversion of nature. This highlights the evil and immoral side, they possess. Shakespeare, however, presented Lady Macbeth and the witches to be manipulative and cunning, rather than violent like Macbeth was during the play.

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Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a dramatic play in which many people are murdered and tensions run high. The duo of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth pounces onto every opportunity to become the hierarchy. They have two quite different personalities, but over the duration of the play, the personalities switch over. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth is manipulative and Macbeth is scared and guilty.

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As Lady Macbeth continues to hide her “weak” attributes by displaying a stronger shell, she also reveals her sense of ambition. Although Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both seek power, it is obvious that power is what drives Lady Macbeth. From the second she knew about the witches’ prophecies, she made it her goal to become King and Queen. When she creates a plan to murder King Duncan, Macbeth shows he is nervous, Lady Macbeth finds this problematic and asks him to “project a peaceful mood, because if you look troubled, you will arouse suspicion.” (1.5.63-65).

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