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Feminism in Macbeth Essay
Macbeth role of women
Feminism in Macbeth Essay
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Feminism in Macbeth Essay
Macbeth role of women
Feminism in Macbeth Essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
“What beast was ’t, then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man” (Macbeth, act 1, scene 7.) Her words did the trick and he killed the king, thus keeping her hands clean and proving that women can easily control a man. Women tempt men’s willpower with their seductive nature.
Mourning the weakness and inability of her gender, Lady Macbeth urges her husband to follow through with their devious designs. Inevitably, he gives in and completes the first of many horrendous deeds. Out of all his associates, Macbeth’s wife may actually have pushed him to murder to obtain the kingdom, with or without a prophecy. Yet, she could have had apprehensions of her own, or doubted her husband’s ability, thus deciding to keep her ambitions to herself. One thing is certain: she is a twisted enough person to contemplate such a purely evil
Women were expected to only pursue domestic activities at home, and do things that would better their families and husbands (Shanette). Not only was there this social expectation of women, but also legally they were not allowed to vote or pursue higher professions such as law, medicine or politics (Shanette). Looking at the character of Lady Macbeth, her being the wife of Macbeth and her role in fulfilling his prophecy of being king would make sense with what was expected of women at the time which was to support their husbands and families in any way they could, and in this situation would be improving their social status and gaining power from the throne. When Macbeth would not go through with the murder on his own, she takes matters into her own hands and has to “unsex” herself to be able to do that for her husband - “Come you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/Of direst cruelty” (Act I, Scene V, 47,48,49).
At first, rather than putting all the blame on Macbeth she is proud of her involvement in the murder stating: “My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white.” Initially this villainizes her as she is in control rather than being an obedient wife going against Jacobean stereotypes
It reveals her acute understanding of the façade necessary to beguile those around them, including King Duncan, whom they plan to murder while under the guise of hospitable
In the play MacBeth by William Shakespeare, the main character MacBeth commits a slew of monstrous acts to gain and remain in power. His wife succeedes in persuading him to commit some of these acts and helps him cover them up. Although MacBeth becomes King, like they both hoped for, neither of them are happy and they ultimately go insane. Shakespeare uses MacBeth's path rise to power to show that when one commits an immoral act it will haunt them even after they have what they want.
Through the utilization of a metaphor, Shakespeare is able to vividly display Lady Macbeth’s profound desire to shed her feminine qualities, which she associates with weakness, for the perceived strength and cruelty of masculinity. The phrase, “unsex me here”, Lady Macbeth is directly rejecting the traditional attributes of womanhood that are set by society to seek a metaphorical transformation that strips away her humanity. By
She is ruthless in her pursuits and is willing to sacrifice her soul for power, “unsex me here” (Shakespeare, 1.5.47). Accordingly, her drive for power seeps into her relationship with Macbeth. The pair are not equal. Instead, Lady Macbeth has the upper hand. Furthermore, this becomes clear as she manipulates a wavering Macbeth into murdering Duncan, “We fail”.
In Macbeth, the presence of Lady Macbeth detailed the idea of being controlled by personal desire. In Act 1 Scene 5, after Lady Macbeth has read her husband’s letter and knows about the prophecies, afterwards she tells the demons to “unsex me here”. The use of metaphor compares the wish to stripped feminine qualities with the process of being unsexed, which shows the characteristic of “Vaulting ambition” and the desires of Lady Macbeth. Then, Lady Macbeth is dominated by her desire and ambition. Similarly, Macbeth is also manipulated by hallucinations given by the witches.
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.
It is well known that for a large portion of history, society viewed women as inferior creatures, their only value found in housework and child-rearing. It is almost ironic that in a time when only men and boys were allowed to participate in theater, Shakespeare wrote one of the most influential and powerful female characters of all time. In contrast to his society’s view of a woman as submissive, quiet, and subservient, Shakespeare’s Macbeth features a headstrong, power-hungry, cunning wife who serves as the driving force behind the story. There would be no Macbeth without the pivotal character of Lady Macbeth. Without her drive for power, her crafty manipulation, and her confident demeanor, it is quite possible that Macbeth would not have
Initially, Macbeth was portrayed as a valiant warrior and a loyal servant to his King. Over the course of the play, Macbeth’s growing ambition was highly emphasized but it already exists prior to his hearing of the prophecy of the witches. The witches address Macbeth as the thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and the future King of Scotland. Being a renowned warrior, his ego disregarded his gullibleness. The rubric bestowed to him by the witches lights the flicker inside of Macbeth that would slowly fuel his deep and unreliable aspiration.
In Macbeth, a closer reading reveals that the play actually views women as naturally loving and good, although, Lady Macbeth appears capable of boundless evil, she in fact is not. Throughout the play, Shakespeare produces multiple gender-related metaphors to make women look kind and loving by nature. Lady Macbeth attempts to output her femininity by calling on spirits to “unsex”her. (Mac.1.5.42) To her, being “unsexed” means “[stopping] up th’ access and passage to remorse” so that “compunctious visitings of nature” cannot interfere with her plan.
William Shakespeare portrayed the character Lady Macbeth to be extremely ruthless, malicious and manipulative. Thus, being the reason she could easily convince Macbeth to do her will, yet still put on such a convincing performance in front of those who knew nothing of her and her husband’s actions. Lady Macbeth shows her complexity constantly throughout the story when she shares her view-point on masculinity by demasculinizing her own husband, when she strategically plans the murder of the King Duncan, and finally when she finally goes crazy because of the guilt she possesses for not only her own actions but also turning her own husband into a
In the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is more responsible for the deaths that occur in the play. Lady Macbeth accomplished this by infringing Macbeth’s comfort level, which made him uncomfortable and give into her desires. The four reasons why Lady Macbeth is responsible is she summons evil demons to fill her body with evil, her death pushes Macbeth over the edge, she has the gender power over Macbeth, and she drives Macbeth to become power hungry. During the course of the play most of Lady Macbeth’s actions cause a direct reaction from Macbeth. If Lady Macbeth had not exhorted Macbeth into murdering King Duncan, then he would have remained a sane man and decided against killing Duncan.