Lady Macbeth is a strong willed woman that loves to be in control. She enjoys dictating her husband telling him what to do .Her main flaw is that she is too controlling she wants things done her way, and stays true to her words . She is avery manipulative woman. Her redeeming quality is that she is a very smart woman she planned the murder of Duncan to the last detail. We could say that her plan was a very good one for the exception of Macbeth not telling her about Malcolm the successor of Duncan. I feel as though Shakespeare is denouncing woman in this book in general. We see through the three witches and lady Macbeth that woman are deceitful creatures. They charm you. Macbeth was charmed by the witches who told him that he will be king. Lady macbeth is encouraging him to commit murder she is pushing him to go along with the plan. Macbeth respects her because he knows what she is capable of. We saw that she has no problem killing the king. She would have done so if he did not look like her father. Macbeth fears her in a way because she is capable of doing what he isn't. That is why she takes the lead in their marriage.
I don't think that Shakespeare is denouncing women in general by portraying Lady Macbeth in this way (also, can the witches be considered actual women? they can disappear in mid-air, fly, and grow a beard).
ReplyDeleteI think that Shakespeare is presenting Lady Macbeth as Macbeth's tragic flaw, the element that pushes him to his downfall. She is the one that encourages him to kill Duncan for a share of the power. She comes in just as Macbeth needs a "spur" (25, 7, I) for his vacilating will. She represents the stronger side of Macbeth on repeated occasions, from the washing of the blood in Act II, scene 2 to keeping face with Macbeth's public madness in the banquet in Act III, scene 4. By the climax, which means the total loss of his morals, Macbeth is acting like her, speaking like her, and relying on her tools of persuasion to convince the murderers to do their deed. He belittles them by calling them "Shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves are clept / All by the name of dogs" (106-7, 1, III), low breeds of dogs, and so taunting them to prove their manhood.
One could argue that since Lady Macbeth is another person, she cannot be Macbeth's tragic flaw. Yet she is only represented by her title "Lady Macbeth", by their marriage, and without it, she would be nothing. Furthermore, in Act IV she is rarely present (for the moment): why couldn't we assume that there is a Fight Club situation going on? Lady Macbeth could the violent and passionate side to an always obeying Macbeth. He is prone to hallucinate...
Lady Macbeth is therefore not just Shakespeare's misogynistic representation of a woman, but a fully developped catalyst for Macbeth's downfall.
You're both right. For such a powerful woman, Lady Macbeth has disappeared from our sight. I think she, too, actually has tragic potential. She is trapped in a woman's body and misunderstands what it means to be powerful. Can she sustain this? What will be the price of trying to achieve all vicariously through a husband who can't hold it together? What does she actually know, from experience, about being a man? In the end, I think Luisa is right to ask who she would be without Macbeth. Melanie is also right to ask the question about Shakespeare and his attitude towards her--is she monstrous or pitiful?
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