Why should one choose to examine the female characters of three of the most prominent Shakespeare plays although men are the protagonists in all of them ? Maybe because one may find certain parallels in the construction of woman characters in these Shakespeare plays which reflect the Elizabethan image of women in general. Maybe because Desdemona, Ophelia and Lady Macbeth are rather tragic figures with a developed character.
All main female characters seem to have the same tragic element attached to them – namely their early unnatural death. Potter sees this early death as an erotic quality which seems to be inherent in all of Shakespeare’s female characters1. All women seem to have loaded guilt upon them prior to their death. Lady Macbeth is guilty of at least helping in carrying out a murder. Gertrude is guilty of remarrying so quickly after her husband’s death. But finding guilt in Desdemona and Ophelia seems rather hard to manage. Desdemona is found guilty by her husband but the audience knows she is not, while Ophelia may be found guilty by the reader to have betrayed Hamlet by not requiting his love. Apart from guilt obedience seems to play a major role in the context of the female characters. Othello wants his wife to be obedient and fears she is not – independent of whether he is present or not – but when he is present he uses force to make her obedient. Ophelia is also very obedient to her brother and her father, which constitutes the falsehood of her character and may thus play a major role in Hamlet’s development. Gertrude is obedient to her husband the way a wife is supposed to be obedient. She does not have to be reminded and just blindly follows her husband in her words and deeds until the end of the play. Lady Macbeth may be an eception, but in the light of the reversal of order in Macbeth we may state that Macbeth is the obedient figure when he follows his wife’s command. When we consider Macbeth to be a photonegative of the world we can find the obedience motive again. One may argue that when a lack of obedience persists “chaos is come again” which is exactly the consequence of all acts of disobedience of women in the three plays. The three witches who are not obedient to anyone, Lady Macbeth and the consequences of Desdemona’s felt disobedience may serve as an example for the consequences of female disobedience.
Table of Contents
I Introduction
II The female characters in Macbeth
II.I Lady Macbeth
III The female characters in Othello
III.I Desdemona
IV The female characters in Hamlet
IV.I Gertrude
IV.II Ophelia
V Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to provide a comparative analysis of key female figures in William Shakespeare's major tragedies—Macbeth, Othello, and Hamlet—to examine how their characters reflect the Elizabethan social image of women, particularly concerning the themes of obedience, guilt, and agency.
- The construction and depiction of femininity in the Elizabethan era.
- The role of obedience and submissiveness as a social constraint for women.
- The recurring motif of tragic guilt and early unnatural death among female protagonists.
- The conflict between personal identity and patriarchal expectations.
- A comparative study of Lady Macbeth, Desdemona, Gertrude, and Ophelia.
Excerpt from the Book
II.I. Lady Macbeth
“Everything is but what is not” and “Fair is foul and foul is fair” are the two quotes that best characterize the reversal of order in the tragedy of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth fits into this state of disorder as she does not seem to have typical female traits. After having received a letter informing her about the prophecy that would make her husband king she is without doubt that she has to pour her (evil) spirits into Macbeth’s ears. Immediately after she is informed that the king is due to arrive she lays off the last female traits that remain by begging the spirits to “unsex” her. Yet she does not wish to see the wound her knife makes which might “empower her as a kind of supe-rmale”. But she has become the “innocent flower” with “the serpent under it” and recommends her husband to act like that. Unlike Macbeth who rather seems like a henpecked husband she is not only willing to carry out the murder of the king but does also carry out the planning. As it is symbolized by calling the castle “her battlements” she is the person in charge. She is able to manipulate Macbeth in order to work for her, e.g. she compares Macbeth’s unwillingness to proceed any further in the plan to kill the king to an unwillingness to love her (“such I account thy love”).
Summary of Chapters
I Introduction: This chapter outlines the research motivation, suggesting that the tragic female figures in Shakespeare's plays reflect broader Elizabethan social perceptions regarding women, guilt, and obedience.
II The female characters in Macbeth: This chapter analyzes the character of Lady Macbeth, focusing on her abandonment of traditional female traits and her pivotal role in manipulating her husband toward regicide.
III The female characters in Othello: This chapter examines Desdemona, highlighting her struggle to balance her independent love for Othello with the submissive role expected of a wife in a patriarchal society.
IV The female characters in Hamlet: This chapter discusses Gertrude and Ophelia, exploring their limited agency, their submissiveness to male figures, and their lack of independent moral judgment.
V Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, arguing that the female characters, despite their differences, are all bound by their struggle against the expectations of a patriarchal society, ultimately reflecting persistent issues of female agency.
Keywords
Shakespeare, Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Desdemona, Gertrude, Ophelia, Elizabethan era, Femininity, Obedience, Patriarchy, Tragedy, Agency, Guilt
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this academic work?
The work provides a comparative analysis of the primary female characters in three of Shakespeare's most prominent tragedies: Macbeth, Othello, and Hamlet.
What are the central thematic fields explored in the paper?
The study centers on the Elizabethan construction of womanhood, specifically investigating themes of obedience, the burden of guilt, and the social constraints imposed by patriarchal structures.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine how the female protagonists mirror the societal expectations of their time and to analyze how their personal failures to achieve independence contribute to their tragic fates.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author employs a comparative literary analysis, examining specific character traits, motivations, and interactions within the primary texts in the context of contemporary critical theory.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main body is structured into chapters dedicated to individual plays, where Lady Macbeth, Desdemona, Gertrude, and Ophelia are analyzed individually regarding their development and relationship to male figures.
Which keywords characterize this publication?
Key terms include Shakespeare, tragedy, femininity, patriarchal structure, obedience, and character analysis.
How does the author characterize Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband?
Lady Macbeth is described as the driving force behind the murder, using manipulation and the questioning of her husband’s masculinity to ensure he follows her plans, making their marriage an exceptionally intimate but ultimately destructive relationship.
Why does the author consider Desdemona a prisoner of her love?
Desdemona is seen as a prisoner because, despite her initial independence in choosing her husband, she eventually adopts a submissive, self-denying role to maintain her marriage, which ultimately leads to her tragic end when Othello misinterprets her innocent nature.
How does the author evaluate the role of Gertrude in Hamlet?
Gertrude is portrayed as an amiable character who suffers from a lack of independent moral judgment, acting as a figure caught between the opposing demands of her past and present allegiances, eventually carrying a burden of guilt for her remarriage.
- Quote paper
- Timm Gehrmann (Author), 2006, Female Characters in "Macbeth", "Othello" and "Hamlet", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/68982
