The Witches and Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth (Essay Sample)

Patriarchy is a social system that has existed for hundreds of years with its core values being the backbone of our society today. Women who do not meet these expectations have been shamed and shunned by society. Lady Macbeth and the witches from William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth are examples of women who do not follow the traditional roles of females during the renaissance and as a result, they are displayed as the villains of the drama. 

Lady Macbeth was very controlling of her husband, Macbeth at the beginning of the tragedy. She used various manipulative tactics to convince her husband to carry out the murder of the Scottish king, Duncan. One is questioning Macbeth’s manhood during their fights; “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man” (Macbeth 1.7. 49-51). This quote demonstrates how during this period a man’s worth was determined by their bravery and how Lady Macbeth used her husband’s insecurities to her advantage. Lady Macbeth processes many nontraditional female traits, one being her lack of children. Lady Macbeth lives a life without bearing any children and does not seem to have many mothering qualities and even threatens to harm a child when arguing with Macbeth;  “Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you / have done to this," (Macbeth 1.7 find page number). This line reveals that Lady Macbeth has no desire to be a mother. During the Renaissance, women were expected to stay home and take care of the children while maintaining the household, yet this quote illustrates that Lady Macbeth is nonnurturing and appears to the audience as cold-hearted. 

The three witches are the supernatural element of the play. After Macduff didn’t show up at the party, Macbeth went to the sisters to question his future as king “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes” (Macbeth 4.1 44-45). This quote illustrates the witches preparing to give Macbeth a false sense of security of his title while additionally revealing that Macbeth is an evil man. This line demonstrates how the sisters told the prophecies to Macbeth because they knew that he had evil within him and would go on to become a tyrant.  The witches do not have traditional female features and are often portrayed with beards, crooked noses, and unruly hair. Banquo expresses his disgust at their looks when he and Macbeth are returning home from battle, “What are these that look not like the inhabitants of the earth, and yet are n't?...You should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so” (find page number). The witches have lost any kind of respect from Banquo or Macbeth simply because the two men consider the sisters masculine and unattractive.  

When thinking about who to blame for Macbeth’s downfall, Lady Macbeth and the three witches come to mind. One thing that these women have in common is the fact that they possess masculine characteristics. Lady Macbeth is manipulative along with being the head of the household at the beginning of the play. The weird sisters don't fit in with the beauty standards of the renaissance with their masculine features. Why did Shakesphere make the villains of Macbeth untraditional women? Did he believe that women who didn’t follow society’s expectations were a danger to all? Did Shakespeare create this mindset that a strong female with ambition is the one who causes society to deteriorate?