Not Wanted On The Voyage And Macbeth Comparison Essay

Hania Mansoor

Mr. Bombier

ENG 4U0

January 15, 2023

Tyrannical Spouses: Doctor Noyes or Lady Macbeth? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines tyranny as "oppressive power." The main antagonists in Timothy Findley's novel Not Wanted on the Voyage and William Shakespeare's classic tragedy Macbeth have much in common. Justin Kurzel directed a film adaptation of the famous play titled Macbeth, which was released in 2015. Not Wanted on the Voyage is a retelling of the biblical story of Noah’s Ark written in the third-person point of view. Two characters from each media that could be compared are Lady Macbeth from Macbeth and Doctor Noyes—also known as Noah—from Not Wanted on the Voyage. In this essay, the film and the novel will be utilized

Noyes stays sane throughout the entire novel in order to fight against Noah’s tyranny. Being influenced by Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is consumed by darkness, and this distorts his personality into madness, as depicted in the film by Macbeth burning Lady Macduff—wife of Lord Macduff—and their son on a wooden stake, causing a huge uproar in the Scottish kingdom. "This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues, was once thought honest," (Kurzel) Lady Macduff said before being burned alive by Macbeth, proving that Macbeth, a once honest man, had turned into a power-hungry tyrant. This scene also featured Lady Macbeth crying, which is ironic given that she was the one who turned her husband into a tyrant by convincing him to commit a single crime in the beginning of the film. Mrs. Noyes, on the other hand, gains courage and is able to speak her mind, which was unusual at the time. She breaks free from the submissive, weak woman she had once been. Mrs. Noyes' assertive personality changed the dynamic on the ark. As the story progressed, she became more disobedient to Noah's decrees. Mrs. Noyes returned to the ark to board it again (Findley 180) and accused of carrying something other than apples in her apron, Noah instructed, "Well then, undo the aprons, show me the apples, and then you can come aboard," to which she defiantly replied, "I … the apples will be ruined," continuing, "Do you want to eat black apples?" to which Noah pondered and let her aboard to which she said “thank you” and then she quietly later said “Be quiet,” as she reached for her apron and this caused Noah to ask her if she asked something to which she replied “Yes. I said ‘thank you.’” This shows that he is suppressing his wife too much to the point where she cannot talk back to him, or he will shame her and abuse her. As a result, these evidences demonstrate that