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Femininity In Macbeth

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They say the truth of human nature is a true enigma. Many have studied it, tried to understand, decipher it, psychologists immersed themselves in its many aspects. However, after years of studying, after many theses, hypotheses and analyses, we conclude; human nature is always interpreted differently. In the world renowned play written by William Shakespeare, with the title of Macbeth, there are two characters who counteract each other in the concept of human nature. One is human in every way, she handles herself with grace, has a kind heart and pure soul, while the other truly opposes what the majority of the human race (the sane people) believe to be human. This woman is vindictive, conniving, coldhearted, foul and is the manifestation of …show more content…

Being a woman means her protective instincts kick in, she would protect her son and husband at any cost. Being a woman means she can provide moral support for her family, and be the gentle touch they need when everything goes wrong. Lady Macduff is selfless, she cares about others deeply, as in, her son and husband, she would stand by them because of true love, not because of some ulterior motive. In addition, she has no wish for power, she does not want positon, or gold, or anything of the sort, those things do not intrigue her, what is important for her is her family’s wellbeing. Moreover, Lady Macduff has this vulnerable air about her, she is defenceless against anyone who would want to do her harm because of her kindness, and so, she was doomed because of it. Many believe her to be the ideal woman, and they are correct. In the play, a character was impressed by her resolve when she found out about her husband’s predicament, she only had her son left, so he was her top priority. This person told her face to face, and I quote; “Bless you, fair damme.” Those words alone speak volumes on Lady Macduff’s character. Moreover, Lady Macduff was incconect throughout the entire happenings of the play, she did not take part in anything remotely suspicious, and did not take a single life, as such, she did not have anything to feel guilty about, so she felt no remorse in …show more content…

Some believe to be kind and have a big heart is to be human, others believe to be ambitious and to strive for what you want is to be human. Then, there are those who believe to be human is to be both ambitious and kind. Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff were the complete opposite of each other, one followed the first belief (Lady Macduff), and the other was categorized into the belief (Lady Macbeth). This means, the humanity of the two characters was interpreted differently, one was humane, the other was barely considered human. Yet, both women defended and fought their desires and beliefs when the odds were against them. In my opinion, that is the true definition of being human, that is the solution to the enigma we call human nature; to be human is to fight for what you want, what you believe in. Even if both Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff did that, Lady Macbeth’s approach was wrong and cruel, and so, one truly transcended humanity (Lady Macduff), and soared above it, and the other spiralled beneath it (Lady Macbeth), down into the deep dark

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Lady Macbeth is a power-hungry woman, and she succeeds that through her husband. She encourages and provokes him to kill others, while slowly deteriorating due to the guilt in her conscience. At the beginning of the epic, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth seem to be decent enough people, and therefore bring the readers to be more open to feeling compassionate and sympathetic towards them. As the poem goes on, the audience learns about how many people Macbeth is killing and how Lady Macbeth is promoting him to do this, in order to sate her need for control. The reader loses sympathy, and then ends up rooting for Macduff as he beheads Macbeth.

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These men haven’t an ounce of knowledge on how to cook or clean, otherwise they wouldn’t need wives to do that for them. Macduff values his wife, Lady Macduff, for the sole purpose of having heirs and good food for when he comes home. Shakespeare must have thought this way, too, otherwise he wouldn’t have written his characters in such a sexist and misogynistic way. Women in Macbeth are valued less than men, as the men think of the women as incompetent, unable, and weak, while characters such as Macbeth and Macduff think of themselves as strong, brave, and heroic soldiers. Throughout the play, men reinforce feminine stereotypes as they question the traits, clothes, and appearances of any woman who deviates from their assumptions.

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When we see Lady Macduff, we see a passionate woman who is loyal to her family. She portrays good morals and is overall a very good mother and wife, in opposition to Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth pushes her husband into doing things just for her pleasure, as all she truly cared about was a crown on her head. Lady Macduff declares her husband a traitor, as he leaves her to tend to her family all alone, but still cared about his safety and wanted the best for him. In this one singular scene, we see Lady Macduff, who is murdered by the king, as he feels the need to punish them for the problems her husband has caused in his rise to power.

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Burnett supports his claim by adding that “she stays within the bounds of the household” (10), which also shows another one of the classic female renaissance qualities that Lady Macduff displays. Kemp, when talking about renaissance women, points out that “nearly all women … have … training in housewifery” (10) and it is suspected that Lady Macduff would have been no different. Her housewife duties have given her no reason to go out of her household bounds, especially with a young son. While staying in the bounds of the household Lady Macduff accepts her inferior position with “picturing herself as a wren fighting against the owl” (10), the wren being a smaller and weaker bird than the owl, declares Burnett. Accepting her inferior position to all other men, particularly to her husband, no questions asked, is yet another one of Lady Macduff’s numerous renaissance characteristics.

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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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Men feel stereotypically they should be able to handle situations by themselves and women shouldn't have to help or even ask someone else for help. Men didn’t want women in their business. In act 2 scene 3 Macduff is having a conversation and he excuses Lady Macbeth from his conversation because she is a women. Macduff said “ ‘Tis not for you to hear what I can speak! The repetition in a woman's ear would murder as if fell.”

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It’s no surprise, that Shakespeare’s Macbeth was clearly constructed as a rebellion against femininity roles of the time. During the Elizabethan era, women were raised to believe they were inferior to men since men obtained desired masculine qualities such as strength, and loyalty, whereas women were viewed as figures of hospitality (1; 6; 28-31). Obviously, not being tempted by the luxury of subservient women, William Shakespeare rebuked this twisted belief, applying that women deserve more respect than their kitchen tables.

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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

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Through the course of ‘Macbeth’, masculinity is presented as a driving force to Macbeth’s crimes, making it a vital theme. In this essay, focus will be on masculinity’s presentation through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In the beginning, Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as “valiant”: a prized masculine quality and the key to respect in their society. However, this trait becomes warped along the play. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth has power comparable to man’s

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She is malicious not only in words but also in her intent. Her sole object is to obtain power and wealth, with its attendant treasures. Lady Macbeth lacks humanity and regrets that she was not born as a man. She understands that power and violence are synonymous with manhood and bravery. Additionally, Lady Macbeth interests’ and ambition, override her love for even her husband, Macbeth.

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Finally, even though the women were shown to be strong throughout most of the play, Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff both have unfortunate outcomes. The women in Macbeth’s

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Patriarchal society degrades Lady Macbeth and controls her such a way which they want and make her insignificant. In The Second Sex, Simon De Beauvoir (267) puts that “one is not born a woman, but becomes one.” Men hold the dominate position and women subordinate because men think “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man” (Genesis, cited in Joubert 192). Though “women are measured by the standard of men and found inferior” (Nayar 88), and “a woman becomes a woman, or ‘possesses’ a woman’s identity because she plays the role of women repeatedly” (Nayar 91), Lady Macbeth shows her intellect to achieve the goal and becomes evil because the society doesn’t tolerate her intellect and work by which she can succeed. The society treats

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Lady Macbeth is an important character in William Shakespeare’s play, “Macbeth”. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth seems to be the ideal woman whom a man prefers to encourage Macbeth to achieve success beyond boundaries. Lady Macbeth is empowered to go beyond the boundaries set up by the society for a woman when pushed to stand firmly and take decisions like a man who is the head of any family. Lady Macbeth is a tactful wife to Macbeth, to whom provides ultimate support and help, though not geared by love but greed. (Shakespeare 36)

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