Femininity In Macbeth

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

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

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