Feminism in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Shakespeare goes against traditional feminist theories by giving his female characters many characteristics that are both masculine and feminine. In traditional ideas, females are seen as “inferior” to men and only have the purpose of listening to their husbands and taking care of their families. Shakespeare’s female characters within the story of Macbeth, however, do not follow these ideas. Lady Macbeth breaks many of the traditional feminine ideas and stereotypes through the portrayal of her character throughout Macbeth.

Firstly, the character Lady Macbeth went against the ideas of women at that time by her attempts to urge Macbeth into being responsible for Duncan’s demise. During the era that Macbeth was written, women were seen as mimicry towards their roles in society, altruistic, and only serve the purpose of taking care of their families. Lady Macbeth, however, does not exactly follow these ideas. Lady Macbeth often challenges the manhood of Macbeth when he isn’t sure about what actions he will take next and by doing so she also gains more masculine qualities. An example of this is shown when Macbeth decides that he no longer wants to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth is angered by this and tells him that he is a coward while questioning his manhood. “When you durst do it,” Lady Macbeth states, “then you were a man.” This quote shows that Lady Macbeth is beginning to break the feminine stereotypes of women by attempting to convince Macbeth to kill the king and challenging manhood as if she were also a man.

Secondly, Lady Macbeth goes against feminist stereotypes by acting against her nature as a woman. This is shown in several places throughout Macbeth, one of the places that strongly shows this is where she receives a letter from Macbeth saying that he has decided to kill the king. Lady Macbeth responds to this inviting spirits into her so that she may not be as weak as a woman and can help her husband accomplish the tasks that will ensure him becoming king. She does this when she says, “… Unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty.” By doing this, she invites spirits into her so that they give her the strength to commit cruel deeds without feeling any regret in the future. After doing this, she attempts to act as though nothing has happened while in public. Macbeth seconds this mask, wanting her to act kindly and compassionate because “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” In other words, this quote means that Macbeth is telling her to hide what is in her false heart behind a mask so that no one may know her personality. This shows a break in feminine stereotypes by Lady Macbeth’s efforts towards gaining non-feminine characteristics, so that she may gain the ability to do things that a woman could not do.

Lastly, while Lady Macbeth tends to break the feminine stereotypes, she does tend to follow them to an extent. This is first shown in the play of Macbeth when she hesitates in killing Duncan herself. Even though she began to persuade Macbeth to kill the king by challenging him and saying that she would do the act herself if she were a man, she did not have any plans to have the king die by her hand. Instead, she gives an excuse by saying, “Hark! I laid their daggers ready, Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.” This quote shows Lady Macbeth hesitating to kill Duncan and gives the excuse that she cannot do so because of how he resembles her father as he sleeps. This shows a shred of weakness in the Lady Macbeth, which reveals her innate weakness as a woman. This, however, is not the only way that she is shown to follow the traditional ideas of woman. Towards the end of the play, Lady Macbeth commits suicide giving proof that she has failed acting against her nature and is weak. When she fails to become more masculine and can no longer bear the guilt of convincing Macbeth to kill the king, she kills herself thus showing the stereotypes of women in Macbeth. This relates to more traditional ideas of feminism because women were usually only written in plays with the roles of one of three ways: for marriage, madness, and suicide. Lady Macbeth, while also going strongly against the ideas of women and their roles, she also follows the reasons as to why a female character are written.

In conclusion, the Lady Macbeth breaks many of the traditional feminine ideas and stereotypes through the portrayal of her character throughout Macbeth. She challenges the stereotypes through actions that a woman would typically not do; this includes inviting spirits into her to make her more cruel and masculine, calling her husband a coward and persuading him to murder Duncan. Though she goes against many of these ideas, she results in failing because she was too weak to accomplish the tasks at hand- thus, going along with the view of women at that time.

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