week 7: lady macbeth & lady macduff

10/13/17                     Blog no. 7        Lady Macbeth & Lady Macduff

Pitting woman against each other is the worst thing in the world, but Lady Macduff’s role (other than playing Macduff’s wife) is to be contrasted to Lady Macbeth. Both women share qualities such as being outspoken and simply parting from the typical “quiet submissive wife” trope. This said, their differences in dialog and action enhances Lady Macbeth’s manipulative behavior that leads up to her eventual suicide in Act V. The most vital difference pertaining to the plot of the play is the two woman’s attitude towards their husbands. Lady Macduff resents her husband for abandoning their family in quest for power, whereas, Lady Macbeth supports Macbeth in the quest for power. The nurturing quality in Lady Macduff is reflected towards her child rather than her husband, falling short in a nurturing sense Lady Macbeth strays from the traditional domestic wife trope making her more fit to be a better partner in crime.

In that same notion, Lady Macduff does not support her husband, and Lady Macbeth does for no other gain than reaffirming Macbeth’s ‘manhood’ stating “too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” (Act I scene V). Lady Macduff being unable to persuade her husband into staying with the family or her son of his father’s betrayal, when speaking to Ross she says “wisdom? To leave his wife/ to leave his babes/ his mansion, and his titles, in a place from whence himself does fly? He loves us not… all is the fear and nothing is the love; as little is the wisdom, where the flight so runs against all reason” (Act IV Scene II). Lady Macduff’s resentment further proves the manipulative nature of Lady Macbeth. This can be proven when Lady Macbeth envisions Macbeth in power “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/ Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem/ To have thee crowned withal” (Act I scene V).


Lady Macduff is not a weaker or lesser woman for not being manipulative as Lady Macbeth, but Lady Macbeth was in greater control of the situation around her (until the end) and pretty awesome.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 12, 2017 at 1:00 PM

    Great blog post in comparing the two leading ladies of the book. I totally agree with the fact that these two play different roles in being wives in the book. Lady Macbeth is the won that seeks power and tries to help her husband gain that power. I think that Lady Macbeth is just trying to be a supportive wife even though she kind of created a monster in the end and she blames herself. Lady Macduff is not really a commanding force like Lady Macbeth in the story and she does not support her husband or at least try to go after him when he left her with the kids. Lady Macduff should have been more commanding and fearless like Lady Macbeth.

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