Lady Macbeth's View Of Femininity

Lady Macbeth is first introduced simply as Macbeth’s wife, which is commonplace in many of Shakespeare’s works. However, unlike Lady Capulet and Lady Montague from Romeo and Juliet, Lady Macbeth has a personality and real significance to the story. Shakespeare refused to take cues from the Elizabethan society that he lived in, and paint Lady Macbeth as feeble and defenseless. In the play, only two of the characters are female, and one is addressed in the traditional Elizabethan views of femininity. The other was given strength and vigor, perhaps painting her as the opposite of ideal. This gives her character depth not usually seen in Shakespeare’s plays and allows her to become something unexpected. In Macbeth, Shakespeare introduces Lady

For instance, when King Duncan arrives as a dinner guest in scene five of act one, she immediately begins to flatter and praise him. In all fairness to Lady Macbeth, Duncan is her king and she rightfully treats him as such, and he also shows great respect to her, by naming her the “honored hostess” (I.v.13). He, however, has other interests and quickly turns his focus to locating Macbeth, seemingly to speak to him, or to prepare for the dinner which occurs in the next act. Another significant instance where she presented herself as lovely and outgoing is act three, when there is another feast, this time regarding Macbeth’s coronation. He has begun to see the ghost of Banquo and his guests are worried about his health. Lady Macbeth attempts to veil his growing madness, and the guests are not convinced “the fit is momentary” (III.iv.66). Of course, her kindness in this instance has nothing to do with being a good hostess, but everything to do with hiding the murderous actions of herself and her

Later in Act one, Lady Macbeth is helping Macbeth prepare to murder King Duncan, and he is beginning to express doubts in relation to their plot. His doubt is understandable, as Duncan is his King and kinsman, and the “business” of murder disturbs him (I.vii.34). Lady Macbeth plays a large part in the plot to murder Duncan, as she is the one who must convince Duncan’s chamberlains to drink excessively. The plot involved allowing the Chamberlains to “bear the guilt” of murdering the king, and in their drunken stupor they should not have any memory of doing so, or in this case not doing so (I.vii.81). It is Lady Macbeth who finally convinces Macbeth to carry through with the plan, and perhaps her actions reflect her own selfish desires, such as becoming queen. Again in act three, Lady Macbeth knows of Macbeth’s plan to kill Banquo, and expresses her support of the plan. This time, she does not play a big part in the plan, but instead sticks to consoling Macbeth as he slowly descends into madness. The goal of Macbeth is to “be safely [king]” and Lady Macbeth shares the desire to be royal, although she realizes how far Macbeth has fallen (III.i.53). Lady Macbeth watched idly as two murder plots were carried out, and she even supported them. The persona she created allows her to avoid suspicion and continue with her immoral