Morgan Cuthbert
Anderson
English 10H May 2018
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” (I.v. 75-76). William Shakespeare's 1616 play, Macbeth, medieval Scotland featuring a spectrum of characters. This includes the thane Macbeth who goes on a murderous rise to power to become king whose ambition became his demise. The play features mostly male characters, however, there are a few female characters, Lady Macbeth, Lady Macduff and the Three Witches. These characters feature three realms of womanhood spanning from traditional caretaker women’s roles to nontraditional powerful ones. In the classic play, Lady Macduff represents a traditional women's role, Lady Macbeth is characterized with a hybrid traditional and non-traditional …show more content…
To start, Lady Macduff is not a prevalent role in the play only appearing in Act IV Scene ii. In her scene, she is placed in a domestic setting in the home portraying the traditional idea of a housewife by being confined to the home realm. Additionally, a message is portrayed that a traditional housewife in not terribly impactful to the outside world as she is not exceptionally significant to the storyline of the play appearing sparsely. For one, Lady Macduff places the burden of responsibilities on the males on her life asking her son “And what will you do now? How will you live” (IV.ii 36) rather than attempting to make a plan about it herself. She does not take action and watches as others accomplish feats.. She also remarks “I am in this earthly world, where to do harm Is often laudable, to do good sometime Accounted dangerous folly. Why then, alas, Do I put up that womanly defense, To say I have done no harm” (IV.ii. 86-90). Here, she states that she is representative of goodness being a woman, but that is often punished. After this, she is chased by murderers so this statement is most likely …show more content…
These are influential women who do not need the backing of a man. To begin, these witches physically are different than traditional women being described by Macbeth as “You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so” (I.ii. 48-50). The witches do not fit the beauty standards of the day looking repugnant providing the view that in order for a woman to be powerful they must be outsiders and not fit into societal standards. Without the confines of these normalities, women have the capability to be in positions of power as men have. This inference is supported in the reactions of the witches here, where “A sailor’s wife had chestnuts in her lap, And mounched, and mounched, and mounched. ‘Give me,’ quoth I. ‘Aroint thee, witch!’ the rump-fed ronyon cries... I’ll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night nor day He shall live a man forbid... Shall he dwindle, peak and pine” (I.ii 4-6, 20-21, 25) In this quote the witches alluded to killing or harming the life of a sailor as his wife refused to share her chestnuts are brutal, powerful people. The witches lack the traditional womanly characteristics by replacing empathy with revenge, and innocence with
Anderson
English 10H May 2018
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” (I.v. 75-76). William Shakespeare's 1616 play, Macbeth, medieval Scotland featuring a spectrum of characters. This includes the thane Macbeth who goes on a murderous rise to power to become king whose ambition became his demise. The play features mostly male characters, however, there are a few female characters, Lady Macbeth, Lady Macduff and the Three Witches. These characters feature three realms of womanhood spanning from traditional caretaker women’s roles to nontraditional powerful ones. In the classic play, Lady Macduff represents a traditional women's role, Lady Macbeth is characterized with a hybrid traditional and non-traditional …show more content…
To start, Lady Macduff is not a prevalent role in the play only appearing in Act IV Scene ii. In her scene, she is placed in a domestic setting in the home portraying the traditional idea of a housewife by being confined to the home realm. Additionally, a message is portrayed that a traditional housewife in not terribly impactful to the outside world as she is not exceptionally significant to the storyline of the play appearing sparsely. For one, Lady Macduff places the burden of responsibilities on the males on her life asking her son “And what will you do now? How will you live” (IV.ii 36) rather than attempting to make a plan about it herself. She does not take action and watches as others accomplish feats.. She also remarks “I am in this earthly world, where to do harm Is often laudable, to do good sometime Accounted dangerous folly. Why then, alas, Do I put up that womanly defense, To say I have done no harm” (IV.ii. 86-90). Here, she states that she is representative of goodness being a woman, but that is often punished. After this, she is chased by murderers so this statement is most likely …show more content…
These are influential women who do not need the backing of a man. To begin, these witches physically are different than traditional women being described by Macbeth as “You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so” (I.ii. 48-50). The witches do not fit the beauty standards of the day looking repugnant providing the view that in order for a woman to be powerful they must be outsiders and not fit into societal standards. Without the confines of these normalities, women have the capability to be in positions of power as men have. This inference is supported in the reactions of the witches here, where “A sailor’s wife had chestnuts in her lap, And mounched, and mounched, and mounched. ‘Give me,’ quoth I. ‘Aroint thee, witch!’ the rump-fed ronyon cries... I’ll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night nor day He shall live a man forbid... Shall he dwindle, peak and pine” (I.ii 4-6, 20-21, 25) In this quote the witches alluded to killing or harming the life of a sailor as his wife refused to share her chestnuts are brutal, powerful people. The witches lack the traditional womanly characteristics by replacing empathy with revenge, and innocence with