Introduction
Thesis: Lady Macbeth is the greatest female villain and one of the most notorious female villains in Shakespeare’s works and the western literature in general. The role she plays in Macbeth is evident.
- As a powerful and influential woman
- She has the qualities of a man
- Evil was tied to masculinity, but she crosses over
- Her Impact in Macbeth
- She is responsible for Macbeth’s fall
- Overambitious as a tragic flaw
- Her role in the death of Duncan
- ‘Performing for men’
- Conclusion
Thesis restated: Although she is not the main character in Macbeth, everything revolves around Lady Macbeth. Her strong influence on Macbeth dictates everything. Her impact means that she can rightly be considered as the greatest female villain in western literature.
Introduction
In the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth appears in few acts. Although this is the case, she is to date considered as the greatest female villain in Shakespeare’s works. Such was her crucial role that she played in literature that that the western literature regards her as being the most notorious female villain. She is not only famous; Lady Macbeth is a frightening character that is powerful and influential. To some extent, she is considered as having the qualities of a man. The social construction of gender seems unfair to her because she was restricted from further actions because she was a female. During this time, evil was tied to masculinity, hence she could not bring out her character effectively. Despite this, she portrays a character of a powerful and influential woman, though as a villain. This paper explains how Lady Macbeth brings out her power and strength in Shakespeare’s play.
Lady Macbeth takes responsibility for Macbeth's fall. Although the witches played a role, Lady Macbeth played a big role in influencing Macbeth. In the beginning, the author portrays Macbeth as a loyal person to the king of Scotland (McPherson et al. 212). Although he was ambitious, Macbeth respected the king and was contended with the position that he was in. On his way from the battlefield where he had defeated the invading enemies, Macbeth meets the witches who prophesy to him that he would become the king one day. The only mystery to Macbeth was as to when this was to happen. Macbeth takes advantage of the role that the witches played and the ambition of Macbeth to influence and manipulate him for her benefit. The events that occurred were mainly influenced by Lady Macbeth (McPherson et al. 220).
In the play, one can compare the three witches to the gas responsible for implanting the idea that Macbeth would become a king. However, it is Lady Macbeth who crafts the flame in her husband. She achieves this by mocking her husband’s gender. The play portrays Macbeth as a brave soldier who was famous and widely known. Lady Macbeth takes advantage of this to ashame him. Whereas the author does not reveal Macbeth’s outline on how to become a king quickly, Lady Macbeth is quick to suggest that they kill King Duncan. Although Macbeth was unsure of this move, it is her wife that influences him on how to execute the murder so as to gain power. We get to see Macbeth’s conscience against this move, but the influence and power of Lady Macbeth forces him to commit the crime (Stevens, 104). It is highly unlikely that Macbeth would have committed this offence were he not to be under any form of influence and pressure. Men are supposed to be brave. This is what Macbeth wanted to prove to Lady Macbeth after she mocked her of being a coward. In the society, most people are always keen to prove to the persons they love that they are strong and brave. As a result of this, Macbeth killed Duncan. At this point, we understand her power and strength in influencing her husband.
Although Macbeth had the ambition and desire to become a king (which was influenced by the prophecy of the three witches), his ambition was not strong enough. Lady Macbeth’s ambitions motivate Macbeth to commit the offence. The actions leading to this can be compared to a man who intends to commit suicide on the edge of the cliff. Whereas Macbeth had the intention and ambition, it is Lady Macbeth who pushes him to do so. She is portrayed as a greedy person who is angry for power. She does not allow Macbeth to consider his situation and position (Stevens, 106).
The role played by Lady Macbeth in the play is sufficient for her to be considered a villain. At best, she is incompetent in her malice and at worst, she cuts a figure manifested by demons. It is ironical that the author discloses her bright and urgent moral centre which could not allow her to live after they killed Duncan. After the death of Duncan, we see Macbeth distressed and having a sickened spirit. At this point, Lady Macbeth can be described as a tragic hero who has her ambition as her tragic flaw. This brings the comparison between her and Julius Caesar. Caesar’s ambitious nature saw him fly so close to the sun, eventually paying the ultimate price. The major difference between Lady Macbeth and Caesar was the fact that Lady Macbeth uses a male surrogate to help her gain power. Most critics consider her as the most powerful villain in the western literature based on her role
The manner that Lady Macbeth managed to convince his husband was also amazing and portrayed her big impact in the play. The author portrays Macbeth as having objections to whatever Macbeth had planned. At this scene, we get to understand her inner power. First, she questions the manhood of Macbeth repeatedly to the extent that Macbeth agrees to kill the king so as to prove himself (Stevens, 107). She then goes on to plan how the execution would be carried out, planning how to get the chamberlains drunk so that they would be blamed for failing to play their role. This character portrays hr as a major female villain in the western literature.
Lady cannot be said to be a ‘help mate’ in the play. Although it was Macbeth who killed Duncan, Lady Macbeth takes the biggest responsibility to this murder. This is why she feels guilty of the role she played in the murder of Duncan. Although females were expected to be a bit considerate during her era, Lady Macbeth exceeded the expectations and could only compete with noble men. With ambition as her tragic flaw, she succeeds to cause the downfall of the hero in the play. Her behavior can be described as a male-oriented femininity.
In Act II scene 3, she literally ‘performs for men’. She portrays a high feminine behavior. Aware of the evil she has committed to influencing the murder of Macbeth, she fakes her faint. This was so in order to distract attention from the failing excuses her husband was giving. This manipulates men and effectively, she makes good use of her sexism against them. She plays this role perfectly that nobody can understand that she is faking (Pronko et al. 110). At this point, Macduff refers her as a ‘gentle lady’, contrary to her actions which have gone unnoticed by the other actors in the play.
In one way or another, the play stereotypes gender by associating virtues such as violence to masculinity. Whereas this was a common trait in the western literature, Lady Macbeth goes contrary to the expectations. It is only a villain that can stand out in such immoral issues. She plays the role of a complex character, perhaps the most complex character in both the play and the history of western literature. She manages to achieve a deep understanding about her humanity, albeit at a cost of her life. She helps bring out the masculine monster in her husband.
Shakespeare clearly brings out her qualities as a person who is difficult to understand, leave alone manipulating. Because of the immense role she plays in the play, she can rightly be considered as the most notorious female villain in western literature.
Works Cited
Mcpherson, Heather. "Masculinity, Femininity, and the Tragic Sublime: Reinventing Lady Macbeth." Studies in Eighteenth Century Culture, 2010, p. 299-333. Print.
Pronko, Leonard, William Shakespeare, and Tadashi Suzuki. "The Chronicle of Macbeth." Theatre Journal 2006, p.110. Print.
Stevens, Andrea. "Macbeth (review)." Shakespeare Bulletin: 103-07. Print.
