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Lady Macbeth Essay

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Lady Macbeth is presented originally as ambitious and many modern audiences would interpret her as a feminist figure. They would interpret her as this because she demonstrates three main characteristics: empowerment, equality, and her improvement of her role in society. She first starts off the play being the wife of the Thane of Glamis. The play finishes when she is queen and holds the most power in Scotland. She gains this empowerment by the murders of Duncan that she led with the help of her husband, Macbeth. She is also seen as an equal to Macbeth at the beginning of the play. Macbeth includes her in the murders and calls her his “partner in greatness”. Leading towards the end of play, Macbeth doesn’t include her but she still holds her power by trying to cover up for Macbeth. She has a very prominent role in society as she is able to give instructions to men who are significant military figures. Lady Macbeth is interpreted as a feminist figure because she improves her life through her determination to be seen as an equal. …show more content…

Lady Macbeth starts off the play being the wife to the Thane of Glamis. Thus meaning she has only been given very little authority. Early on in the play it is shown that Lady Macbeth has a clear intention to rise to the top and become the queen of Scotland. She is so passionate about becoming queen that she says she would, “take that baby while it was smiling at me, pull my nipple out of its mouth, and smash its brains out, if I had sworn to kill it as you have sworn to do this deed.” Women back then didn’t have any rights or had a significant role in society. However, Lady Macbeth being queen would give her an opportunity to show that she was relevant. This demonstrates that she is seen as a modern day feminist because she wants to have as much power as her

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In the book Macbeth the Woman are being portrayed as these manipulative and scheme characters who are the “villain” in the play however the powerful woman in the play macbeth are seen as a threat to society but in reality there scheming and being manipulative just like the men but they are woman with power therefore there seen as the villain, together with the fact in Lady Macbeth monologue “Come you evil spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,” This quote is a prime example of the sexist subjects in the play Macbeth, how Lady macbeth would have to become a man to do a action like murder because a women could “never” do such a crime. The condemnation of powerful women in today's society is very much alike to how Lady Macbeth and the three witches are portrayed in this play. How women are powerful however they still get judged and get reminded that if they do a powerful action they would only really get respect if they were a

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In the Renaissance era, William Shakespeare wrote the tragedy Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is a character in Shakespeare’s Macbeth that plays the wife of Macbeth. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth was the lady in charge of the marriage and household to become Queen of Scotland. Toward the middle through the end of the play, she suffers of guilt for her part in the crime.

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Lady Macbeth presents herself as a strong, driven, and ambitious woman who is ready to do what it takes to gain power and influence. This is shown when she instructs Macbeth to “Leave all the rest to me.” (1.5.71) as she takes the leadership of a gruesome action from her husband. Lady Macbeth even feels these masculine-presenting traits enough to question the masculinity of others, which is seen when she tells Macbeth that he was acting like a child by saying “the sleeping and the dead are but as pictures; ‘tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil.” (2.2.53-55) after he expressed his guilt.

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She progresses throughout the play from a seemingly atrocious and inconsiderate creature to a very fragile woman. In the beginning of the play, she is very assertive and athirst for power. For example, she pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan in order to fulfill the witches’ prophecies. Towards the end of the play, she seems to be a scared, and regretful woman that questions her and her husband’s quest for power. Overall, Lady Macbeth is a self-driven, ruthless, and resilient woman in Shakespeare’s play.

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Shakespeare, like any other man in the 16th and 17th century, saw ambitious and dominant women as evil and even disturbing or disturbed. From Macbeth, we can see Shakespeare feels women should be challenged and punished because they are trying to change society. Nowadays these ambitious and dominant women are regarded as brave and respected because of their ambition, such as Lady Macbeth’s ambition to become Queen. Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as mentally disturbed.

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Lady Macbeth is one of the most complex characters in Shakespeare's play "Macbeth". She is portrayed as a powerful and ambitious woman who plays an important role in driving her husband Macbeth to his own quest for power. Lady Macbeth is determined to become queen and uses manipulative tactics to commit murder. Lady Macbeth's desire to become "unsexed" is an example of how she defies the gender roles of her society. By asking the spirits to remove her feminine features, Lady Macbeth rejects the traditional expectations of women in her society, which were to be passive, nurturing, and maternal.

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Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a power hungry and vindictive women, whose character is against the stereotypes of a Jacobean woman. Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a deceptive woman, who uses the fact that she is a woman as a weapon. ‘Why, worthy thane, you do unbend your noble strength to think.’ Lady Macbeth is talking to Macbeth.

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In their defence they often reference to her small talks with Macbeth, where her opinions often surpass his (1; 7; 72-74). But, it’s clear that Lady Macbeth is no feminist lady. Throughout the play, she is viewed by the audience as a selfish female character, consumed with ambition to successfully bring the witches prophecy of Macbeth becoming king into reality. Unlike, Macbeth who tends to carry out his deeds holily, Lady Macbeths ambition completely disgraces the definition of feminist, believing regicide of faithful leader King Duncan is the way to gain power. Macbeths strong values, belies and attitudes of King Duncan, created a series of doubts towards Lady Macbeths idea, since.

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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. Lady Macbeth takes on a “manly” role, which is surprising because of how patriarchal the society is.

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She is a very strong and ambitious woman, but that is not always a good thing. She constantly tries to take advantage of people and takes control of every situation. She even says she wishes she was a man so she could be even more powerful and do the dirty work. She wants Macbeth in her shadow so she can be in power. She makes him question his masculinity by asking if he is afraid or a man, which leads Macbeth to try and prove himself to her.

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In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the subversion of gender roles to reinforce Elizabethan notions of female and male behavior through the characters of Lady Macbeth, the three witches, and Macbeth. The ideal woman in Shakespearean times was submissive and docile. She is expected to be a mother and hostess, and little else. However, Lady Macbeth is the exact opposite of this notion. She constantly challenges and manipulates her husband to feed her ever-growing ambition.

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Well Lady Macbeth, who is dead set on having absolute power, disagrees with that. She convinces Macbeth to kill, to cover up the murders, and tries to convince him that these murders will get them to the top. Lady Macbeth calls upon the witches and states, “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty” (Macbeth Act 1 Scene 5 lines 31 and 31). This shows that while in the pursuit of power, Lady Macbeth wanted it so much that she asked the witches to “unsex” her and make her more like man. But along with that you see the theme of gender roles are uncertain which ties into Lady Macbeth leading Macbeth in this pursuit of power, also giving him the ambition that she wants him to

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Like men, she has the trait to be gruesome and diabolical in nature. She has determined for herself the course to be pursued and nothing can hinder her. She does not need the prophecy of the witches to urge her. She is aware of her strength and she is resolute in her aim. Knowing Macbeth’s weakness,

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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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In comparison, females were significantly limited in their ability to access political or patriarchal authority, as embodied by Lady Macbeth. During the Elizabethan era, it was customary for females to hold supportive and domestic roles as wives and hostesses. At first glance Lady Macbeth satisfies this norm. However, upon learning of the witches’ prophecies, Lady Macbeth ambitiously devises a plan in a lead to access the power she is denied her traditional gender role. Lady Macbeth desire is to wield influence as Queen of Scotland.

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