Women in Macbeth

As someone that has previously read Macbeth in high school, I am still just as enthralled with her character’s ruthlessness and determination as I was back then. I find it to be very interesting that Shakespeare made her into the exact opposite of what a woman is “expected” to be. During her first scene in the movie, she’s, quite frankly, terrifying as she calls on the devil to help her. You quickly become aware that nothing is going to stop her, giving the reader the question of if she will accomplish her goals or if she will succumb to her classic place as a compliant woman in old literature. As she pushes her husband to be brutal and murderous, we see a strong switch in gender roles. We quickly see who is calling the shots when Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy of Macbeth leading. Instead of the man being the evil one that’s in charge, Lady Macbeth steps up into that role, leaving Macbeth in the typical “feminine” role. He questions the ethics behind the murder, saying that this man is honorable and undeserving of death. We see him extremely distraught after the murder, his hallucinations have started, and he cannot bear going back to frame the guards. Lady Macbeth uses a very aggressive tone with him and must do the job herself. It isn’t typical in this time period to see the women as the leader and I love that she’s secretly calling the shots.

In addition to Lady Macbeth, I am always particularly fascinated with the witches. In class, we brought up a topic that I paid close attention to while reading the play for homework. They describe the women as having beards, a characteristic typical of men. It’s also odd that such key characters are women as they basically guide the whole story with their predictions of the future. Each time the witches come into the reading, I tend to read closer and question how each character will react to their prophecies, all of them giving the witches their full attention and faith instead of shrugging them off as crazy.