Women are portrayed as powerful, manipulative and unnatural in Macbeth discuss
William Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth' is set Scotland in the eleventh century. The play is about the protagonist Macbeth's, bloody rise to power, through the murder of the Scottish king, Duncan. Macbeths ambition is to become king. In the play there are both powerful, manipulative and unnatural women portrayed by the likes of Lady Macbeth and the witches and the not so powerful and more traditional portrayal of females such as we see in Lady McDuff. The witches are portrayed as having ultimate power over Macbeth and the way in which they make potions, mixtures and use magic which makes them quite unnatural as this is not something an ordinary human would do. Lady Macbeth is shown as the more dominant figure with lots of power and is manipulative and a unnatural character. However after the murder of King Duncan she is overwhelmed by the guilt and begins to lose power, and is less manipulative over Macbeth. Lady Macduff on the other hand is the complete opposite of Lady Macbeth and the witches and is portrayed as being a stereotypical women from the eleventh century. She has very little power and perceived as being a normal female of the time.
At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is a strong, powerful and manipulative person and she is more controlling than her husband Macbeth. Generally in the eleventh century, males are more domineering and powerful over females but that was not the case in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth seems to have more power than Macbeth as she successfully changes Macbeths mind to kill king Duncan through her manipulation 'Look like th' innocent flower but be the serpent under it'. Lady Macbeth is very unnatural as she want to be filled with cruelty to go through with the deed.'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'. Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth where he states he is having thoughts of killing Duncan but he does not say that he will.
At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is a strong, powerful and manipulative person and she is more controlling than her husband Macbeth. Generally in the eleventh century, males are more domineering and powerful over females but that was not the case in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth seems to have more power than Macbeth as she successfully changes Macbeths mind to kill king Duncan through her manipulation 'Look like th' innocent flower but be the serpent under it'. Lady Macbeth is very unnatural as she want to be filled with cruelty to go through with the deed.'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'. Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth where he states he is having thoughts of killing Duncan but he does not say that he will.