Lady Macbeth A Misogynist Analysis

Shakespeare is often referred to as a man before his time, or even called a feminist. He revered amongst many audience members for his use of the woman in his plays. Others disagree, saying Ole Willy Shakes is a misogynist who hated women. Neither of the extremes is completely accurate, and neither have claims that could be taken very far. Shakespeare lives somewhere between being a feminist and being a misogynist, he uses female character radically; for his time at least. As explained by Bianca-Oana Petrut, “Despite the relative insignificance of women in Elizabethan social order, Shakespeare uses them in many significant ways. He seems to be extremely sensitive to the importance of women in society even though they are often overlooked. The idea that men are often a product of the women in their lives is indirectly suggested in the significant impact women have on the men in plays.” (Petrut) Stating the obvious; Petrut is saying that it is the women in Shakespeare who run the plays, not the men. It may seem like Shakespeare treats his female characters worse than his male characters, but it is his female characters that drive the plot

She is the one who wears the pants, for it was she who actually murdered Duncan. In the eyes of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is weak. It is she that has to do his dirty work, and she who pays for her sins. Unlike most of the other Shakespeare women Lady Macbeth is ruthless, as quoted here, “Lady Macbeth is one of the most interesting and intriguing Shakespeare’s female characters. She is dominant and superior, controls her husband’s action.” (Cooper) Shakespeare treats Lady Macbeth as no less of a villain than any of his male villains. She, like most of Shakespeare’s villains gets what’s coming to her. She takes her own life out of guilt and fear. Lady Macbeth is a strong independent woman who murdered then paid the