Explore Shakespeare(TM)s Presentation of Lady Macbeth Essay

In the time Shakespeare was writing Macbeth there were many new ideas and concepts coming forward and the country was changing. There was growing tension between parliament and the King, resulting in many debates about kingship and what makes a good king and growing tension between Protestants and Catholics, resulting in plots and rebellion like the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. There were sharp divisions between rich and poor and society at the time was dominated by men. The church was very influential. Plays at the time often reflected political situations and taught moral lessons, and Macbeth, written in the early 1600s, echoes all the changes and tension present in the country at the time. In particular, Shakespeare focuses on the issues of kingship through Macbeth’s struggles to, and on, the throne but it is Lady Macbeth that demonstrates how women were perceived in the male-dominated culture and the links between good and evil that are subtly examined by Shakespeare throughout the play. The way that women were perceived in Shakespeare’s time is shown by widespread belief in witchcraft. Witches were believed to be women who had sold their soul to the devil in exchange for doing evil deeds. This suggests that women at the time could not be too powerful or independent and that women were maybe the inferior sex as they were easily coaxed into evil. The widespread belief in the supernatural is repeated often in Macbeth, often in the form of the three witches. The opening scene features the three witches hinting that there is lots of wrongdoing to come in the play. The three witches are also all women, showing that women were often behind evil-doing. How women were perceived and expected to behave is further suggested when Lady Macbeth receives Macbeth’s letter recounting his encounter with the witches. At the beginning of the scene Lady Macbeth is seen to be acting conventionally, reading a letter that has been sent by her husband whilst he is away in battle. This is how women were expected to behave – to wait patiently for their husbands to return and to care for the home and family. So far she is acting as any women should but after reading the letter, Lady Macbeth’s attitude quickly changes. Instead of acting conventionally, she begins to show more masculine traits. She thinks that Macbeth is â€Å"too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way† which is not how a conventional women would think. She is thinking of murder which would be too ruthless and brutal for a conventional woman to contemplate. This also shows that Lady Macbeth is taking the manly role rather than Macbeth, as Macbeth is described as being too kind, a trait that is more womanly than masculine. Her unconventional behaviour continues when she decides to persuade Macbeth to kill to fulfil the witches’ prophecies. â€Å"Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear† she commands of the absent Macbeth. She is seeking to control Macbeth and give him orders, but wives of the time were expected to obey their husbands. There is also a suggestion that she is evil and supernatural, as she has ‘spirits’ to pour into Macbeth but this may be a suggestion that women were perceived as being manipulative. The letter itself is an important part in demonstrating what is going on inside the characters’ minds. The letter is written in prose; Shakespeare uses prose for low characters or character with an abnormal state of mind. This suggests that either Lady Macbeth or Macbeth are not thinking how they should, which links back to the fact that Lady Macbeth is acting eccentrically, or that they are planning to perform a low deed – the murder of King Duncan for their own gain. The language used by Lady Macbeth further suggests the mindset that she is in. She commands â€Å"come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here† which uses harsh and unpleasant language, showing how Lady Macbeth is acting. It is also in the imperative, so she is making an order which is not a feminine thing to do. Once Macbeth enters, Lady Macbeth takes control of the situation. â€Å"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t† she commands Macbeth whom she should be obeying, not ordering around. The line itself is a biblical metaphor which brings in the idea that Lady Macbeth is like Eve in the Garden of Eden – she places temptation and evil in front of Macbeth which he otherwise would not have contemplated doing. Lady Macbeth takes complete control of the situation when she excluded Macbeth from any of the planning of the deed – â€Å"Leave all the rest to me†. She is not acting like a woman here as she is being stronger in spirit than a man and she is disobeying her husband. Lady Macbeth’s masculinity is further explored when she manipulates Macbeth into agreeing to the murder by questioning his masculinity. â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man†, she is saying that when he thought up the idea of killing the king he was being manly but now, when he is backing out of it, he is not. The idea that violence equates to masculinity is shown by Macbeth’s adoration of Lady Macbeth’s masculine qualities. After she says that she would have â€Å"dash’d the brains out† of a baby if she had said she would, Macbeth says â€Å"For thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males† as he believes that she is so masculine inside that she cannot even create anything feminine. Due to this, Lady Macbeth cannot be acting as a woman should be as violence and aggression were not feminine qualities. The language she uses in the scene is taunting as she is mocking Macbeth. She likens Macbeth to â€Å"the poor cat i’ the adage† making him an object of pity and stupidity and so ridiculing him and undermining his masculinity. A woman of the time should not be acting like this as they were expected to be obedient to the husband’s wishes and not to manipulate them as Lady Macbeth is doing. As Lady Macbeth says that she would dash a baby’s brain out, this brings to mind the idea of witches, as typical ingredients to a potion or spell may include objects from innocent children. It may have also been believed that witches stole and killed infants and as Lady Macbeth is willing to do so, it suggests that she is a like a witch. Her lack of a child with Macbeth might also have made her more willing to suggest that she would kill a baby as she would not have any maternal urges towards sheltering any babies. Macbeth goes to commit the murder whilst Lady Macbeth stays behind wondering how he is faring. At this point, Lady Macbeth can be said to act conventionally as she is waiting for her husband to return from doing an unpleasant act that was deemed unacceptable for women to do. Her streak of femininity is continued as she begins to worry. â€Å"Alack, I am afraid they have awaked† she says to herself showing that she is worrying about either the plan or Macbeth. If she is worrying about the plan failing, that could be argued to be a feminine trait as typically women worry more than men. If she is worrying about Macbeth and his safety, this would mean she is acting as a conventional wife as she is showing concern for her husband, as a wife should do. Some vulnerability is shown by Lady Macbeth as she tells of her reason why she could not have committed the murder herself. â€Å"Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done ‘t† she says, demonstrating that she has a feminine side as she was obviously fond of her father – affection being a feminine trait. Once Macbeth returns from the deed however, Lady Macbeth’s masculine traits return as she takes control of the situation to ensure their plan goes without a glitch. When Macbeth seems to regret killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth chastises him; when he thinks that the blood on his hands is a sorry sight she tells him â€Å"a foolish thought, to say a sorry sight† as she believes that it was not a bad thing to commit the crime. This means that she has returned to being masculine as a women would be shocked at the thought of murder and would be jolted by the blood on Macbeth’s hands. The idea of witchcraft comes up when Macbeth says he â€Å"could not say â€Å"Amen,† when they did say â€Å"God bless us!†. Being unable to say a prayer was said to be a sign of being bewitched, so Macbeth could be under Lady Macbeth’s spell as he is committing the murder against his will and it is only due to her manipulation that he is doing it. It could also be said that Lady Macbeth is acting like Eve as she has placed the temptation of a bad deed in front of Macbeth and coaxed him into doing it, like Eve did to Adam in the Garden of Eden. While she is trying to calm Macbeth she uses lots of imperative language. â€Å"Consider it not so deeply† she commands him. Once again it is Lady Macbeth doing all the commanding when it should be Macbeth that should be commanding her. Shakespeare uses stagecraft to show the audience Lady Macbeth’s contribution to the murder. She takes the daggers from Macbeth once he refuses to, showing the audience that she is in control and that she has an equal part in the murder as Macbeth and suggests that she will suffer the same consequences for the deed. After the murder has taken place, others find out that the king is dead. To protect both her and Macbeth, Lady Macbeth uses her femininity. With the others discussing the murder, she pretends she knows nothing of it and the horror of it makes her swoon; â€Å"Help me hence, ho!† she cries as she faints. Earlier on, Macduff had said that the news of the murder would kill a woman instantly, so Lady Macbeth is fulfilling this stereotype that women were unable to cope with bad news. This also helps to divert the suspicion from herself and her husband as it is showing the news of Duncan’s death is new to her. Her manipulation of the situation and of the men present shows how she may be perceived as evil as she seems to be innocent when she in fact is guilty. This links back to the perceptions of witches who would take normal human forms but be evil beneath the innocent faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade. With the king murdered, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth take the throne. Their perceived superiority is shown by the use of the Royal ‘we’. â€Å"Ourself will mingle with society† Macbeth says to his guests at the banquet he throws in his honour, suggesting he perceives himself to be royalty, although it is not rightfully his. At this time, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are acting conventionally – he is being the perfect host, while she is behaving as a woman should, staying out of the way until her husband summons her. â€Å"Our hostess keeps her state, but in best time we will require her welcome† Macbeth says to his guests, suggesting that he is in control of what Lady Macbeth does. This shows that Lady Macbeth is acting as a wife of the time should be. Nevertheless, Lady Macbeth soon begins to act unconventionally when Macbeth begins to lose control of the situation and draws suspicion towards themselves of the murders that they have committed. As Macbeth hallucinates and believes he is seeing the ghost of Banquo, Lady Macbeth tried to persuade him into acting normally. â€Å"Are you a man?† she questions him, taunting his lack of masculinity at his fear of his own imagination. This is not how women of the time should be acting as they should be comforting their husbands rather than mocking them; it was their duty to care for the home and the family. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth is shown as a strong and masculine character but after the murders, she begins to lose her mind. A doctor is summoned as she is sleepwalking; this is â€Å"a great perturbation in nature, to receive at once the benefit of sleep, and do the effects of watching†. This is saying that it is unnatural to sleep and walk and this links back to the idea of witchcraft. People who were bewitched or possessed would act unnaturally, suggesting that Lady Macbeth is bewitched. To show the audience that Lady Macbeth is losing her mind, Shakespeare changes the language that she uses. During her sleepwalking speech, Lady Macbeth talks in prose, rather than blank verse to show to the audience Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness. Shakespeare also employs stagecraft to show the audience what Lady Macbeth is feeling. While she is sleepwalking, she performs the action of washing her hands – ‘Yet here’s a spot†¦ Out, damned spot! Out, I say!’. This is to show the audience that she is trying to wash the blood off of her hands and so wash herself free of the guilt she feels for the murders. Through the entire play, Lady Macbeth is shown to have two sides, to have a seemingly innocent side and then to have a masculine, manipulative and evil side. With this manly and sinful streak, Lady Macbeth managed to influence her husband into committing crimes that he would not have committed on his own willpower. Because of this, Lady Macbeth could be said to be the one to blame for all the crimes that her husband committed; Macbeth can be said to be a â€Å"butcher† and Lady Macbeth his â€Å"fiendlike queen†. Rarely does Lady Macbeth act as women should act and this could be Shakespeare showing that women have an immoral and controlling side which they do not show.