Essay: Characterization of women in Macbeth

“Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, “She doesn’t have what it takes.” They will say, “Women don’t have what it takes.” This is a quote by Clare Booth Luce that depicts the idea that women are often judged as a whole rather than a group of individuals. Throughout centuries, it has become apparent that many women seem to have a lack of equality in the worlds society. One of the earliest depictions of the misogynistic characterization of women is presented in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is presented as one of the strongest characters in the play, which is unusual taking into account that the play was written in the 17th century. The ending does not come as a shock however, because by the end of the play Lady Macbeth is the frailest of all, turning into the coward she once detested. Thus, proving that women can be strong, but in the eyes of society, they will almost never have what it takes. Ultimately, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth develops the idea that when some females are put into positions of power it may lead to their downfalls due to their unique natures, desire for authority and their role in society.
There is a stigmatism that women are more emotional than men. However, although it seems very black and white there is some truth to that statement. Women are more emotional than men because if a person is upset or there are disturbing emotions, women’s brains usually stay with those feelings whereas men’s brains have feelings for a moment, then tune out of the emotions and switch to other brain areas. When putting this into comparison with the downfall of Lady Macbeth, it is very interesting because for a long time Lady Macbeth did not show a lick of sympathy, or emotion for that matter, throughout a large portion of the play. Thus, strengthening the idea that perhaps Lady Macbeth was suppressing her emotions. In act 5, scene one, the doctor and the gentlewoman are looking after Lady Macbeth and discussing what is wrong with her. The gentlewoman says, “Ay, but their sense is shut”, (V, I,16), meaning that Lady Macbeth has become mentally ill. Because of the quick and drastic change in Lady Macbeth’s character, it becomes apparent that the stress of the situation finally got to her. For someone clearly so intelligent, it is interesting that she did not understand the immense impact the murders would have on her psyche. Statistically, it is proven (by Dan Goleman Ph.D) that women do have an overall higher emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is one’s ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions as well as the emotions of people around. The usage of emotional intelligence is conveyed many times throughout the play, but the strongest way it is portrayed is when Lady Macbeth is convincing Macbeth to kill Duncan. Someone with a high emotional intelligence is very good at manipulating others. In Act one, scene 7, Lady Macbeth says, “Such I account thy love. Art, thou afeard, To be the same in thine own act and valor, As thou art in desire?”, (I, vii, 38-42). With this, she is manipulating Macbeth into believing that he is a coward which then ultimately questions Macbeth’s masculinity. Macbeth is one of the most honorable men in all of Scotland, so there is no way he can be portrayed as a coward, and Lady Macbeth knows this. For this reason, it becomes clear that due to her ability to tune into her emotional intelligence, it makes her exceptional at the art of manipulation. The art of manipulation does not end there however, because people who are good at manipulating are also good at deception and acting. Manipulative people do not comprehend the concept of boundaries. They are relentless in the pursuit of what they want and have little regard for who gets hurt along the way. With this in mind, Lady Macbeth will try anything to make sure that no one will know that it is her and Macbeth who killed Duncan. She understands that as a woman, she has the ability to convey the fragile and feeble. In act 2, scene 3, Macduff says, “Look to the lady” (II, iii,97) because Lady Macbeth “faints” once she hears that Duncan has been killed. This is an excellent example of how Lady Macbeth is using her manipulation tactics to act and to make everyone in the scene not even question whether she is guilty or not. Ultimately, once Lady Macbeth tuned into her emotional intelligence, the art of manipulation and her acting skills it created this palette of unique natures that she could use to her advantage. Even when it seemed like nothing was in her favor in terms of power, she used her unique natures to get her way. Lady Macbeth most likely experienced oppression which then acted as a catalyst to fully comprehend how to use her unique natures.
Oppression is defined as the state of being subject to unjust treatment or control and the oppression of women is not a new concern. The oppression of women emerged alongside class society and that both class exploitation. Throughout history, many women have advocated for women’s rights and to this day, there is still issues with men and woman equality. There is a fight woman have which is that they would like to be treated as equals rather than less than. Woman were and sometimes still are presented as frail and helpless, but throughout centuries, there have been countless women who have changed this stereotype. Strong women continue to inspire many and are certainly a force to be reckoned with. The continuous fight for women to gain authority in society has been a reoccurring theme for years. When correlating the strong woman figure with Macbeth, it becomes unambiguously clear that Lady Macbeth displays the characteristics of a very strong woman. Throughout the play, it becomes legible that it is very difficult for a strong woman to coincide the characteristics of the everyday housewife. Although Lady Macbeth craves a sense of authority, it would be very difficult to gain due to her womanly status. In act 1, scene 6, Duncan arrives at Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s castle in Inverness. Duncan approaches Lady Macbeth and says, “See, see, our honored hostess! The love that follows us sometime is our trouble… And thank us for your trouble.” (I,vii, 14-17). Lady Macbeth is referred as the hostess and nothing more. This quote exemplifies the idea that by many people, Lady Macbeth was recognized as nothing more than a hostess, or a housewife. By this, it could be insinuated that because she was deemed so low as a person, a lot of people did not acknowledge her. With this, it is easy to come to the conclusion that because she was a strong woman in such an oppressing time, it was very difficult to obtain any kind of recognition. Making her desire for authority even more apparent. Taking this idea further, due to the fact that she was oppressed in everyday life, this could create the basis of motivation behind her desire to become queen. A lot of people talk about how Macbeth was the one that was obsessed about the witch’s prophesy’s but he was not the only one. If it were not for Lady Macbeth pushing Macbeth to kill Duncan, perhaps Macbeth would have never gone through with it. In act 1, scene 5, Lady Macbeth receives the letter from Macbeth that tells her about the prophesies. After she opens the letter she says, “Hie thee hither,That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, And chastise with the valor of my tongue, All that impedes thee from the golden round…” (I, v,28-31). This embodies the idea that perhaps Lady Macbeth wanted to Macbeth to be king so desperately only because it would heighten her status in the kingdom and potentially make her queen. With this quote, she made clear that no matter what, she would convince Macbeth into killing Duncan because it would not only benefit him but ultimately feed into her desire for authority. Throughout the play it becomes evident that Lady Macbeth wants authority but how can this be insinuated? There is a characteristic of Lady Macbeth that is displayed multiple times throughout the play. She holds herself as a very strong woman. Because the play is set in the 17th century, her character is very obscure in that she is given a large role that is impactful and displays more emotion than the stereotypical woman. Lady Macbeth holds herself with a lot of dignity and will not let anyone question that. The most effective example of Lady Macbeth’s need to display stronger than the average woman is after Macbeth has killed Duncan. Macbeth makes the mistake of taking the bloody swords with him rather than leaving them at the scene. In act 2, scene two, Lady Macbeth says, “Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead, Are but as pictures.” (II,ii,68-70). This quote enhances the idea that Lady Macbeth will do whatever it takes to not appear weak in the eyes of a man. Even though Lady Macbeth clearly witnessed the immense damage Macbeth immediately had after the killing, she was willing to visit the crime scene in order to make sure no one would know it was Macbeth. With this, she is portraying herself as someone who is more capable than a man and mentally more powerful. Thus, connecting the idea that Lady Macbeth’s underlining desire to acquire power is an important element and establishes her motivation throughout the play. Finally, deteriorating the stereotype of the basic housewife.
Throughout history the image of women in society has drastically changed. Like mentioned in the previous paragraph the oppression of women emerged alongside the class system. To take this idea further, the class system is something that still exists today and is truly a nuisance to society. Although it has changed a lot in terms of gender, the economic class system is still something that is apparent in society. In terms of the class placement of women however, throughout the play there are subtleties that are displayed that give the reader insight of the struggles of the woman in the 17th century. In the play, stereotypes seem to be broken (at least at the beginning) in terms of the everyday female character. However, it is a struggle for Lady Macbeth to express herself in such an oppressing time. A quote that exemplifies her struggles with her determined role in society is when Duncan is arriving at the palace and she says, “Come, you spirits that tend on moral thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.” (I,v, 48-50). This quote conveys the idea that Lady Macbeth believes that it would be much easier to be a man in this time. If she were a man it would be a lot easier to be harsher and cruel. Even if Lady Macbeth were to appear stronger and show more perseverance than she actually had, she would not be able to convey a message to others due to her social class placement. Adding to this, Lady Macbeth also likes to question Macbeth’s manliness throughout the play consistently. Perhaps, this is because she feels as though that if she were given the opportunity to be a man, she would not be a “coward” like Macbeth. An example that correlates with this idea is when Macbeth “sees” Banquo’s ghost at the dining table. Lady Macbeth says,” Impostors to true fear, would well become, A woman’s story at a winter’s fire, Authorized by her grandam” (III, iiii,77-79), the idea presented is that Lady Macbeth questions the realness of his hallucinations because she feels as though they are pathetic. It becomes apparent that Lady Macbeth likes to torment Macbeth’s masculinity because it is something that she could never have. She wants him to appear tenacious because if she were in his shoes she would never presented herself the way Macbeth presents himself. What is most interesting in the play however, is the way Lady Macbeth ends her life. She spends a lot of time nagging Macbeth due to his inability to display courage in her eyes, yet she ends her life in a very un-honorable way, by killing herself. There is a drastic shift in her character because she portrayed a unusually strong woman, who had no fears. Yet, her fears ended up eating her alive at night, while her mind was dreaming her darkest thoughts. When Macbeth says, “Out, out, brief candle!” (V, v, 26), it really demonstrates the change of Lady Macbeth’s character. Her life was lived with bad intentions and therefore was cut short. With this, one can come to the conclusion that although Lady Macbeth was strong and courageous, she still falls into the weak stereotype of women which then correlates with her unfortunate determined role in society.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth explores a large variety of themes and motivations throughout his 17th century play. One of the most apparent ideas explored however, is the characterization of women. Macbeth is an insight of the 17th century female and her complexities. Not only does it give an exclusive point of view of early misogyny, but it ultimately develops the idea that although woman can be strong and independent, their downfalls will be caused by their unique natures, desire for authority, and their role in society.
Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Macbeth. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009.