Macbeth Act 1
Like most of the others, I have also read Macbeth, but the last time I did was about 3 years ago, so reading it over again should prove somewhat interesting. One thing that I found interesting was that the play opens not with the titular Macbeth, but with the three witches. I think Shakespeare did this to show that they are the driving force behind a large portion of the plot and to set the mood for the play. I found Macbeth to interesting in that he is so easily swayed by others (namely, the witches and his wife). He assumes that he will become the king no matter what after he realized that part of the witches' prophecy was correct, going as far as to plan to kill King Duncan ("Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires: / The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be, / Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." (I, iv, 55-60)). After he begins to have doubts ("We will proceed no further in this business. / He hath honored me of late; and I have bought / Golden opinions from all sorts of people, / Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, / Not cast aside so soon" (I, vii, 34-38)), he is quickly "persuaded" after Lady Macbeth yells at him.
Since it appears that everyone else seems to be talking about Lady Macbeth and/or the misogyny that may be present in the play, I may give my brief thoughts about it too. While the portrayal of Lady Macbeth as an "evil" character may be misogynistic, it also also overturns the normal power structures at the time, when women were seen as subservient to men. In Act I, Lady Macbeth clearly wields a lot of influence over Macbeth, even planning out the actual murder herself. While she does this by removing her more feminine traits (for example, calling upon spirits to "unsex" her (I, v, 48) and to "take [her] milk for gall" (I, v, 55)), the fact that she is willing to do this makes her all the more powerful and terrifying. The witches themselves also upset this power dynamic: although Banquo was initially unable to determine their gender (I, iii, 47-49), the three are clearly women and terrifying in their own right.
Since it appears that everyone else seems to be talking about Lady Macbeth and/or the misogyny that may be present in the play, I may give my brief thoughts about it too. While the portrayal of Lady Macbeth as an "evil" character may be misogynistic, it also also overturns the normal power structures at the time, when women were seen as subservient to men. In Act I, Lady Macbeth clearly wields a lot of influence over Macbeth, even planning out the actual murder herself. While she does this by removing her more feminine traits (for example, calling upon spirits to "unsex" her (I, v, 48) and to "take [her] milk for gall" (I, v, 55)), the fact that she is willing to do this makes her all the more powerful and terrifying. The witches themselves also upset this power dynamic: although Banquo was initially unable to determine their gender (I, iii, 47-49), the three are clearly women and terrifying in their own right.
I agree with you on your thoughts on the power structures of the time period. Although female characters are most definitely displayed in a very negative fashion in Macbeth, they do have considerably more power arguably than anyone. The Witches are able to predict the future of the Scottish kingdom, something the king himself cannot do. This, plus them being the first characters in Macbeth demonstrates both their power and importance as you said.
ReplyDeleteI think the gender norm of the time is definitely being overturned, but I think there is still something to be said for the misogyny in the story. While the witches are powerful, they do have beards, a masculine trait by any means; and Lady MAcbeth desires to be "unsex[ed]" implying that due to her womanhood she has an inability to commit strong acts of violence or anything strength related. Even though the women in the story appear super powerful, I think it's clear that their power is associated with an underlying lack of femininity. So I agree with you, just saying it's still sexist, and padding my comment with quasi-decent analysis.
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