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William Shakespeare's portrayal of women
Shakespeare during elizabethan era gender roles
Shakespeare and his perceptions of femininty
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Feminine Evil in William Shakespeare's Macbeth and King Lear
In Shakespeare's plays King Lear and Macbeth, evil is represented in both women and men. It is significant to the plots of both plays and to their impact through theme and character that evil actions are performed by women. The construction of evil female characters also gives insight into Shakespeare's view of women and their roles in society.
The plot of King Lear is set in motion by the conversation between Lear and his daughters. In return for their love and honour, he will give them land and power. The fact that they are daughters and not sons is significant because Lear demands their total love, trying to put them into a mother role: something he would not do if they were men. Goneril and Regan are neither noble nor truthful and they have no problem lying to their father for their own personal gain. While Regan claims "I am alone felicitate/ In your dear Highness' love." (I.i.75-76) and later treats her father in the most reprehensible manner, Cordelia denies Lear's unnatural request saying, "Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters/ To love my father all" (I.i.103-104). Her truthful refusal to proclaim total love for her father proves her to be the actual loving daughter but results in her banishment. From this first scene, the characters' alliances and allegiances are forged and all that follows is directly resultant.
In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth must be evil in order to advance the plot. The strong love and bond between herself and Macbeth enables her to influence him and spur him to action. They are separate embodiments of the same lust for power: her strong will and determination are the perfect match for his ability to perform horrible and bloody acts...
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End Note
It is interesting to note, however, that though the women in the plays are devious and evil, they do not actually perform any bloody deeds. Lady Macbeth comes closest by drugging and smearing the guards with blood but the women's capacity for evil tends not toward violence but rather toward cruelty and inciting their men to commit terrible acts. In this way, they strongly parallel a common perception of Eve as the terrible temptress who brought about Adam's downfall.
Bibliography:
Shakespeare, William. "King Lear." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. 4th ed. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1997. 1172-1218.
Shakespeare, William. "Macbeth." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. 4th ed. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1997.1223-1255.
Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. As she is Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeth’s other half. During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeth’s life. Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power, stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone around her. It appears that even she can’t resist the perfect crime.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a recognized classic tragedy portraying the victory of good over evil. This paper will explore the various expressions of evil within the play.
Gender roles are one of the most controversial topics in the history of humanity. Some people approve of them, while others disagree with them. Gender roles are defined as “the behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms”. There are times throughout history where gender roles were very unfair. However, some individuals still defied them in both open and discreet ways. One of these individuals was the famous literary figure, William Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare may have defied gender roles in some of his other literary works, the scope of this essay will be limited to his stellar play, Macbeth. In Macbeth, Shakespeare mostly uses three characters to defy gender roles: The Three
The “strong independent woman” is an amalgamation of modern attitudes towards women. Feminist, outspoken, and sexually liberated, this entity breaks the “mother figure” stereotype usually attributed to women. Current society reinforces these unconventional notions, however this was not so in Shakespearian times. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, most female characters are portrayed in “unstereotypical” ways. Lady Macbeth’s “unsex me speech” leads her to acquire male attributes throughout the play, Lady Macduff openly criticizes her husband for leaving, and minor characters such as “the sailor’s wife” are inhospitable and unaccommodating. Although this seems to portray support for modern views of women, this is not true. It, in fact, reinforces traditional roles, as every “strong independent woman” within the play is punished. Women that go against “natural gender roles” disrupt order and lose their personal stability. This is evidenced by the actions of Lady Macbeth, minor female characters such as the sailor’s wife and the gentlewoman, and Lady Macduff.
Shakespeare, Browning and Duffy all create four very similar characters female characters which are considered to be disturbed. This is due to the fact that they all went against the expectations of society in their respected eras. The speaker in ‘The Laboratory’ as well as Havisham and Medusa in Duffy’s monologues are all considered to be “disturbed” because of their common motives: jealousy and revenge. Despite these similarities, Lady Macbeth’s main motive is her hunger for power. This subverted expectations of females as they were supposed to be loyal to their male partners and shouldn’t want to take their power. In this essay I will talk about their desire for power and revenge, and why this has lead them to be portrayed in such a disturbed manner and how this goes against people’s expectations.
Lady Macbeth’s wicked character has an extreme impact towards her husband. Lady Macbeth is responsible for influencing her husband to commit both crimes; she unleashes the dark side of him and motivates him to become an evil and horrendous man. In various parts throughout the story we find that Lady Macbeth strives beyond limits to be converted into a bitter and sour women. The audience is revolted by her horrific actions and although she may seem repugnant, she is an extremely talented actor. In her role, having a deceitful and convincing character is important
Lady Macbeth’s atypical and complex character directly challenged the archetypal principles and beliefs of the Jacobean era which as a result, drew major fascination through the ages. Lady Macbeth was Shakespeare’s device to not only stimulate audience’s emotions, but to also provide historical context and elicit dominant themes which reflected Jacobean society. Her ambiguous character and remarkable influences in the play raised a lot of controversy and fascination amongst both modern and Jacobean audiences. She can either be seen as linked to the witches in a feminist bid to overthrow the balance of power, or as a representation of the evil side of Macbeth. Nevertheless, it was her distinct characteristics and actions which ultimately catalysed the chain of conflicts of the play. Again, this reinforces her important role in the play.
As Oscar Wilde quotes, “Women have a much better time than men in this world: there are far more things forbidden to them.” This reference to the female stereotype contradicts to Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, as some female characters strive for power and some go beyond of their expectations. In fact, they step out of society’s gender expectations, this disrupts the natural order of hierarchy. As well, it affects certain of female characters mentally to the point where they lose their lives and/or vilified. As a result, Shakespeare shows that the natural order of hierarchy needs to be established. This essay will therefore examine the female characters by comparing the representation of unstereotypical women-Lady Macbeth and the witches and how Lady Macbeth demonstrates a typical woman while acting as a foil.
Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatically shows what can happen when our common gender roles are broken. He shows the power that people can have over others when they aren’t acting the way they’re expected to.
Lady Macbeth and her husbands downward spiral towards dark destruction is one the most famous of all time. We watch with pleasure as their horrible actions lead to their ultimate destruction. Lady Macbeth makes the choice to, as one source put it, lose her womanly virtues and become what she thinks is a man. It is this choice that leads to her unknowingly helping the witches in their desire to destroy Macbeth and ultimately her as well. She changes from a woman sure of these decisions to woman riddled with fear, corrupted in all possible manner – mind body and soul. Her ambition and power lead to her destruction. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Women in the Elizabethan era were subservient to men. They were expected to conform to the societies expectations while obeying the significant male figures in their lives. High-born women were often portrayed “possessions” to be shared between fathers and husbands. In several cases, they were socially restricted and unable to explore the world around them without chaperones. The women were mainly expected to act as loving caretakers to those in their families. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, however, the female figures in the play both promote the idea of unbridled feminine sexuality but also promote the female ideals of being loving caretakers. The dramatic technique Shakespeare uses to characterize his female figure in the play are the setting, the character’s dialogue and what the other characters say about them, especially behind their backs. The three main female characters that endorse but also contradict the archetypes of women are the tyrannical Lady Macbeth, the loving Lady Macduff and lastly the mysterious weird sisters.
The concept and perception of gender has changed radically from Shakespeare’s time to now, yet the perceptions of women and the limitations placed on them remain shockingly similar. William Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, Macbeth, addresses gender concerns and the role of women in power positions. The play was written for King James VI of Scotland and I of England as he took the throne during a transitional period in the country’s history. The succession of King James marked the long-desired transition from a matriarchy to a patriarchy. Considering the historical context and Shakespeare’s affinity for King James, some Shakespearean critics hold Lady Macbeth responsible for the political, moral, and personal destruction in the play, as well
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s desire and ambition lead to her eventual downfall. When Lady Macbeth hears of Macbeth’s prophecy, she dreams of the glory and high-standing that awaits being queen. She cannot withhold her ambitions, and she is willing to manipulate fate to bring about Macbeth’s prophecy. She invokes evil spirits to be filled from head to toe with cruelty to do the evil actions necessary to make Macbeth king and to remove all remorse and pity for her action from her heart.
In Macbeth, from the very beginning Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth deliberately trying to suppress her feminine qualities in order to show her power. She was an evil, scheming person whose greed and selfishness was a part of the destruction of her character. Her wicked character has a big impact on her husband, convincing him to kill Duncan.
Macbeth is a famous play written by Shakespeare. This play like most stories had women in it, and whether Shakespeare intended to or not he showed his own views on women. The women in this play are the witches and the two wives. Witches aside the two wives are quite unique before settling in to the stereotype of playing second fiddle to a male character. “They wanted, it seemed, to be supporting actresses in their own stories”. (Kelsey McKinney) These women take the time to make it clear how awful they are before fading out. Both the wives and the witches do this masterfully before succumbing to the stereotype of fading out to a male character. In Macbeth the three main feminine themes are clearly that women should not be trusted, have little faith in others, and make foolish decisions.