Macbeth: Women In Shakespearian Times
Individuals in current society are unique and have different ideals, mannerisms, and lifestyles; the ways in which people differ in their customs is something that is celebrated. In the early 1600s this was not the case. Women were not able to be authentic or contradistinct to the accustomed stereotypes of what men thought they should be. The play Macbeth was written in the early 1600s by William Shakespeare; it reflects the social turmoil of the times and set a precident for the struggles that women were experiencing during that era. In Macbeth, Shakespeare immortalizes the general opinion of women at that time. William Shakespeare wrote the tragedy of Macbeth in 1607 for King James of Scotland and his elitist aggregation, and
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No sort of erratic or eccentric behavior was to be seen out of any woman, especially the high class women of Shakespearian times. Lady Macbeth was the complete opposite of what masses claimed she ought to be. She did not fulfill the duty of being a woman of the times, she was not the soft spoken nurturer that she was expected to be an agent for, rather she was depicted as untrustworthy and evil. She was shown as a devious creature with a ruthless aptitude for evil. She says, “I have given suck, and know/ How tender’tis to love the babe that milks me. / I would, while it was smiling in my face,” Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/ and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you/ have done to this’ (1.7.62-67). She is saying that if she had to, she would savagely beat her own child to death without remorse nor hesitation. She shows this in the most radical example when she completely shuns what should be the woman’s most sacred bond: the bond between a woman and her child. Lady Macbeth is shown as cold and heartless with no sympathy for typical human emotions; she feels that archetypal feelings are signs of weakness. When Macbeth informs her of The Witches predictions of his future kingdomship she fears that he is not apathetic enough to do whatever it takes to become powerful and to become king. She claims, Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promis'd. /Yet do I fear thy nature, /It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness /To catch the nearest way (1.5.15-18). To Lady Macbeth “the milk of human kindness” is a distasteful and abominable substance, especially for a man to obtain and express in his general demeanor. Lady Macbeth is heartless, and is fearful that her “milky” husband does not have what it takes to be able to “catch the nearest way,” which in this instance, is killing the current king. Throughout
No sort of erratic or eccentric behavior was to be seen out of any woman, especially the high class women of Shakespearian times. Lady Macbeth was the complete opposite of what masses claimed she ought to be. She did not fulfill the duty of being a woman of the times, she was not the soft spoken nurturer that she was expected to be an agent for, rather she was depicted as untrustworthy and evil. She was shown as a devious creature with a ruthless aptitude for evil. She says, “I have given suck, and know/ How tender’tis to love the babe that milks me. / I would, while it was smiling in my face,” Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/ and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you/ have done to this’ (1.7.62-67). She is saying that if she had to, she would savagely beat her own child to death without remorse nor hesitation. She shows this in the most radical example when she completely shuns what should be the woman’s most sacred bond: the bond between a woman and her child. Lady Macbeth is shown as cold and heartless with no sympathy for typical human emotions; she feels that archetypal feelings are signs of weakness. When Macbeth informs her of The Witches predictions of his future kingdomship she fears that he is not apathetic enough to do whatever it takes to become powerful and to become king. She claims, Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promis'd. /Yet do I fear thy nature, /It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness /To catch the nearest way (1.5.15-18). To Lady Macbeth “the milk of human kindness” is a distasteful and abominable substance, especially for a man to obtain and express in his general demeanor. Lady Macbeth is heartless, and is fearful that her “milky” husband does not have what it takes to be able to “catch the nearest way,” which in this instance, is killing the current king. Throughout