Lady Macbeth Research Paper
Fiorella Card
Echemendia Pd. 1
Research Paper
25 November 2008
Shakespeare’s Female Characters “Come, you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty!” demanded one of them furiously (Shakespeare 853). “If I be waspish, best beware my sting,” sneered the other (Shakespeare 333). Although they emerged nearly five centuries ago, the women who said these lines are undeniably two of Shakespeare’s most famous female characters. Lady Macbeth and Katherine are still known today as conspicuous figures in Shakespearean plays. The first stands out as a strong, manipulative, cunning woman; so ambitious to achieve her goal that she even becomes fear-provoking (Corwin). …show more content…
The irony of it lies in the fact that despite having a single woman as a monarch, the situation for women in society, particularly for single women, did not improve significantly. Women were expected to be the stereotypical stay-at-home mothers that they had always been. The unmarried women of the Elizabethan society remained limited to certain roles. At a certain point, women had two alternatives; marriage or life at a nunnery. However, after monasteries were terminated, the only option left for them was marriage; household service (“The Role of Unmarried …show more content…
Watching her husband hesitate to go through with the plan, Lady Macbeth reacts by suggesting that he is not masculine enough. Apart from challenging his masculinity, she also questions his love for her. She then proceeds to asking him a series of rhetorical questions as an attempt to manipulate his actions. She asks whether he was drunk earlier on when he was entirely supportive of the plan (Shakespeare 863). She calls him a coward for not daring to do that which he said he would. Macbeth replies that he is only doing what is appropriate. Lady Macbeth retorts that he was more of a man when he was willing to kill the king. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man” (Shakespeare 864). She then makes a savage remark that she would rather dash out her baby’s brains than to break her word, had she sworn anything the way Macbeth did. Near the end of the scene, Macbeth alludes do his wife’s masculinity by making a comment that she should only have male children, for her “undaunted mettle” (Shakespeare 857) would pass on to
Echemendia Pd. 1
Research Paper
25 November 2008
Shakespeare’s Female Characters “Come, you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty!” demanded one of them furiously (Shakespeare 853). “If I be waspish, best beware my sting,” sneered the other (Shakespeare 333). Although they emerged nearly five centuries ago, the women who said these lines are undeniably two of Shakespeare’s most famous female characters. Lady Macbeth and Katherine are still known today as conspicuous figures in Shakespearean plays. The first stands out as a strong, manipulative, cunning woman; so ambitious to achieve her goal that she even becomes fear-provoking (Corwin). …show more content…
The irony of it lies in the fact that despite having a single woman as a monarch, the situation for women in society, particularly for single women, did not improve significantly. Women were expected to be the stereotypical stay-at-home mothers that they had always been. The unmarried women of the Elizabethan society remained limited to certain roles. At a certain point, women had two alternatives; marriage or life at a nunnery. However, after monasteries were terminated, the only option left for them was marriage; household service (“The Role of Unmarried …show more content…
Watching her husband hesitate to go through with the plan, Lady Macbeth reacts by suggesting that he is not masculine enough. Apart from challenging his masculinity, she also questions his love for her. She then proceeds to asking him a series of rhetorical questions as an attempt to manipulate his actions. She asks whether he was drunk earlier on when he was entirely supportive of the plan (Shakespeare 863). She calls him a coward for not daring to do that which he said he would. Macbeth replies that he is only doing what is appropriate. Lady Macbeth retorts that he was more of a man when he was willing to kill the king. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man” (Shakespeare 864). She then makes a savage remark that she would rather dash out her baby’s brains than to break her word, had she sworn anything the way Macbeth did. Near the end of the scene, Macbeth alludes do his wife’s masculinity by making a comment that she should only have male children, for her “undaunted mettle” (Shakespeare 857) would pass on to