The Bride and The Bearded Ladies- post 6
In “Macbeth,” women are viewed in a condescending fashion, similar o the way women are viewed in Beowulf. However, there are a few women that break the stereotypical manner men are used to, the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth.
The Three Witches are a power trio that act as magical beings which can glimpse into the lives of others. In Act 1, the Witches are set in a scene with Macbeth and Banquo, “....What are these, so withered, and so wild in their attire...You should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so” (Act 1, scene 3, 40-49). It is as if the Three Witches knew they would not be taken seriously if they were to appear like average women during this time period. In order to be regarded with respect, it is possible the Three Witches had to masculinize themselves by having beards. This excerpt also focuses on the idea that the appearance of a woman is heavily scrutinized, idealized body images can be rooted in the 1600s.
Lady Macbeth, married to Macbeth, breaks social expectations by showing audiences a more daring and bloodthirsty Shakespearean woman. After the killing of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth acts confused and concerned. She questions Macduff and he responds, “O gentle lady, ‘Tis not for you to hear what I can speak. The repetition in a woman’s ear would murder as it fell” (Act 2, scene 3, 96-99). Unaware of what Lady Macbeth is capable of, Macduff assumes she cannot bear to hear the truth. Nonetheless, the audience knows just scenes earlier Lady Macbeth takes over the crime her husband could not finish, she declares, “Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures….” (Act 2, scene 2, 69-70). Lady Macbeth uses her position as a woman to her advantage in this case because, no one would believe she had a hand in killing the King.
The Three Witches and Lady Macbeth are women of force and power in “Macbeth.” They have the drive and means to instill fear in the men of this play and to acquire what they want. They use their positions to their advantages and, in a way, use the men like puppets.
I decided I wanted to comment on this post primarily because of the title, it made me chuckle. :) However, upon reading your post, I found that much of what you said reflected my personal feeling towards Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters. While we went from reading Beowulf, where many of the female characters conformed to traditional female stereotypes of the time, to Bitch Planet, where the female characters seemingly resided on one of two ends of the spectrum, either compliant or noncompliant. However, Lady Macbeth represents a female character from a time period long before Bitch Planet, who isn't necessarily looked down upon for being able to access her dark side. The Weird Sisters, on the other hand, remind me a little bit of Grendel's Mother. Both seem to represent society's "not idealistic" women. They don't look like the typical fair damsel, and they definitely don't conform to society's standards of passive, quiet, women.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you ended with the comment about how these women are meant to instill a sense of fear in the hearts of them men within the play, as well as the audience, and they are able to do just that, which leads me to believe they really are examples of powerful women.
I love your idea of the women presenting themselves with beards to appear more masculine! I think that's a very interesting way to give reason to their masculinity. In my post, I discuss that the men never bat an eye at giving the witches full attention and thoroughly believe exactly what they predict. This is something that’s so different from what we have previously read in Bitch Planet where women are never thought twice about and men are always put above them. In Beowulf, although the women are respected, they barely ever, if at all, present ideas. I love that the women are so respected and Macbeth continually take their predictions to heart.
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