Sonnet 20 and Macbeth

In the first half of Shakespeare's Sonnet 20, he describes a woman that is reminiscent of Lady Macbeth:


"A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women's fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue, all 'hues' in his controlling,
Much steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure."

                     - William Shakespeare, Sonnet 20

Shakespeare says that the subject of this poem has the appearance of a gentle woman, however she is not greatly affected by matter that would typically be considered emotional; thus, Shakespeare begins comparing her to a man.  This poem reminds me of the scene where Lady Macbeth calls upon the the spirits to "unsex" her.  Since she is a woman, others don't expect the treachery that she is capable of; however, she is a very evil character despite her lovely outer shell.  

However, as we continue to read the sonnet, we realize that Shakespeare is lamenting about his love for a woman that prefers other women.  Nonetheless, it is interesting to note that Shakespeare used a similar characterization for the woman in the sonnet as he used for Lady Macbeth.

Claribel, the King's Daughter

           

In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, there are three women characters, two of which, Sycorax and Claribel, are mentioned but never seen. Claribel is the daughter of Alonso, King of Naples, who had recently been married to the King of Tunis. In act 2, scene i, we learn that the king and his men had been making their return journey from this wedding when they landed on Prospero’s island, seemingly shipwrecked.


During the Elizabethan era, women were treated subserviently; during their childhood, they were considered property of their father, and after marriage they were considered property of their husband. Women had little to no choice in determining who she would make her husband. Marriages were arranged as if they were business contracts; the marriage serves to both families in the form of wealth or acclaim.

Since the marriage between Claribel and the King of Tunis would generally be viewed as undesirable, King Alonso must have been benefitting from the union through political means. Furthermore, it is likely that the king planned to take over the land of Tunis; Elizabethan doctrine stated that land not ruled by a Christian leader was deemed a land of heathens and barbarians, and ripe for possessing. Thus, Claribel was used by her father as a tool to achieve his political goals; her feelings about the situation were unlikely taken in to consideration, even though this move likely ruined her life.

Sycorax and Miranda

Although Miranda doesn't seem to be a typical Elizabethan woman, she is still very good natured, and causes no trouble to others in the play.  However, the witch Sycorax exemplifies a woman that is downright evil.

She was banished from her original home in Algiers due to her sorcery, and came to live on the island.  We are reminded about her pure evil through interactions between Prospero and Ariel; apparently the witch trapped the spirit in a tree because he would not let her use his powers.  Thus, Ariel remained there for many years in agony until Prospero freed him from the torture.  

Although she is the only mother figure in the play, she seems to have not done a very good job; her son Caliban is presumably just as wicked.  Shakespeare may have placed her there as Prospero's opposite; the two are very powerful, but she is portrayed as an evil women.  Since Prospero is made to appear as a protagonist, this comparison could be potentially viewed on commentary of the roles of men and women; men with power are benevolent, while women with power are wicked and intend to do others harm.

Miranda in the Tempest

Miranda is the only major female character in Shakespeare's The Tempest; although Caliban's mother, the witch, is mentioned, she doesn't contribute significantly to the plot.

Miranda grows up on a deserted island with no one but her father and their slave, Caliban.  Even though they live far away from any civilization, Miranda and her father both behave as if they are living in Elizabethan society; Miranda is still expected to be subservient to her father, and "womanly values" are still expected to be followed.  Her virginity is an important factor that is emphasized throughout the play; in fact, the reason that Caliban is despised so much by Prospero is that he tried to rape his daughter.

When considering the situation of few people being stranded on an island, I would normally expect a Lord of the Flies-like situation.  Realistically, I would expect Prospero and Miranda to break from their cultural values, which would include allowing Miranda and Caliban to populate the island.  However, such improper behavior was too great a sin for Elizabethan women, and no such thing would have been discussed in a play by William Shakespeare.

In many situations, Miranda is the ideal daughter.  However, when Prospero has an opinion that she disagrees with, she will say it flat out, or disobey him altogether.  At the beginning of the play, Miranda sees her father casting spells to bring the king and his men to the island; she doesn't want them to be hurt, and strongly voices this to Prospero.  In addition, when Prospero pretends to despise Ferdinand, Miranda ignores what he says and continues to spend time with him.  When Miranda expresses her strong will, the play becomes more realistic; I wouldn't expect a woman who grew up on an island with only two other people to share values with large societal groups.

Lady Macbeth's View of Women

Elizabethan women are better seen than heard, an idea that surfaces in many of Shakespeare's plays.  Although some of the strong female characters portrayed in these stories would disagree with this idea, such as Kate Minola in The Taming of the Shrew, there are others who see this opinion as their reality.

In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is an essential character; she has a great deal of power that amounts to her being the driving force of the play.  However, there is one particular spot in the play where she indicates that women are the weaker gender:

"The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. 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! make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, 

To cry 'Hold, hold!'"

- William Shakespeare, Macbeth

In the passage above, Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to "unsex" her.  She is asking the spirits to give her power to commit Duncan's murder, and make her cruel and impervious to emotions; to do so, she believes that she cannot be a woman.  Lady Macbeth also asks for the spirits to turn her breast milk to poison.  Women were generally believed to represent kindness and good, so she must shed these characteristics to be able to do as she pleases, which in this instance requires opposing behavior.

Evil Women in Macbeth

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the female characters have noticeably evil personalities.  Instead of being loud or rebellious, like the women we've seen in other Shakespearean plays, these women have the power to make their will a reality, and will do so even if it hurts the people around them.

Lady Macbeth is a very important character to the plot of the play; she is able to convince her husband to perform actions that will benefit her.  When Macbeth decides it would be better not to murder Duncan, she convinces him otherwise; when he commits the murder but forget to plant the daggers and frame the servants, Lady Macbeth performs this action herself.  Men living in the Elizabethan era should feel threatened of her not only because of her strong will and malevolent behavior, but also because her husband considers her as an equal.  Macbeth makes sure to inform her of his run in with the witches immediately, and the driving actions of the play are performed by Lady Macbeth and her husband as a team.

The witches are very evil characters; although they have nothing to gain by putting their curse on Macbeth, they do so anyway.  To an extent, it would make sense that they would harm someone that they believe to have mistreated them, such as the sailor and his wife.  However, the play tells us of no reason for the witches to hate Macbeth to the extent that they would cause his untimely death.

The men in this play, with the exception of Macbeth, act as proper gentlemen throughout the play; this helps us see the contrast between the two genders.  This reflects many of the ideas set forth by Elizabethan society, none more so than the feeling that women shouldn't be trusted.

Opinions of Much Ado About Nothing, Then and Now

We can tell a lot about a time period based on individual interpretations of texts that have been present over a long period of time. Many Shakespeare plays have been made into films in ways that the modern era is more likely to enjoy. For example, director Baz Luhrmann created a film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that retained most of Shakespeare's original script, while changing the meaning of it based on locations and the character's actions.

More recently, BBC One made a film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing that changed Shakespeare's script but mimicked the plot of his play. Shakespeare's original work, in addition to film adaptations of it before the new millennium, captured the plot in a way that would best please a more conservative crowd. To create a happy ending in his play, Shakespeare made it so Hero would be able to marry Claudio despite the scandal that occurred. However, in the more recent film version of Much Ado About Nothing, Hero chose not to marry Claude for his mistrust. As a woman living in modern times, the ending of the more recent film had a more satisfactory ending; when reading Shakespeare's play, it's difficult to process the fact that that a woman would still marry man who had more trust in someone with an ill reputation than in his own fiance.

Since what is considered a "happy ending" can change based on the social movements of a time period, its important to consider the role of women in the Elizabethan era to truly understand Shakespeare's work.

Juliet, Kate, and Beatrice

Thus far, we've examined the role of both Kate in Taming of the Shrew and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.  Kate fights against the perception of "womanly behavior" through her temper; she is outspoken and violent towards others.   Juliet goes against this ideal by purposely acting against her parents wishes; although she looks polite compared to Kate, her behavior is still considered abnormal.

In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice seems to use a combination of Kate and Juliet's tactics.  Like Kate, she is very witty and wont pause before hurling an insult at anyone whom she thinks deserves it.  Like Juliet, she goes against the wishes of her guardian.  Beatrice's uncle wishes her to be married, as it would be the proper thing for a woman to do; although he doesn't name any particulars, Beatrice swears that she will never marry.  Although Juliet was contradicting her parents because she found someone she wanted to be with instead, this situation is still comparable; both were unwilling to compromise when it came to the person who they would (or would not) spend the rest of their lives with.

However, unlike Kate, Beatrice doesn't resort to physical violence.  In addition, Beatrice's biting words are said with less anger that those spoken by Kate; Beatrice lets her voice be heard in a manner that makes her seem calm, which helps strengthen her words.  Also, unlike Juliet, Beatrice doesn't seem like the person to give up her family ties for a man; even though Benedick became an important part of her life towards the end of the play, she still cared for her family, particularly Hero, more than anything.  This can be demonstrated by Beatrice's request to Benedick; after Claudio shames Hero at the altar, she says that if Benedick truly loves her, he would kill Claudio for her.

Taming of the Kate Part II

Petruchio tames Kate by being just as much of a shrew as she is. When the two meet, Kate finds it impossible to give the last word; her insults are quickly responded by comebacks with equal wit. Eventually, Kate becomes very annoyed at Petruchio's behavior, but there is nothing she can do; Petruchio demands that they will be married, and eventually, that is the case.

During their honeymoon, Petruchio continues to torment Kate, until Kate finally realizes that she needs to play his game. At the end of the play, it would appear that Kate is tamed; out of all the wives, she seems to be the only one willing to obey her husband. However, this is unlikely to be the case in reality; Kate is too smart and independent of a character to have changed so easily. During her time with Petruchio, she likely realized that she needs to let him believe that she has been tamed; in tricking him so, she will be able to control her husband as she wishes, and she will be dominant in the marriage while letting Petruchio think that he is.

Taming of the Kate

In The Taming of the Shew, William Shakespeare gives us a direct look about the general opinion of women in Elizabethan society.  Women who were coy and silent were considered to be more attractive and desirable than brash and outspoken women.  In fact, it was completely unheard of in society for the latter to occur; women who were who spoke their minds were considered embarrassments, and the men in her family would likely attempt to cover up her behavior from the outside world.  These women were considered "shrews", which was a curse word at the time that equates to "a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman".

In beginning of the play, Bianca plays the role of the typical, desirable woman.  She is a silent beauty, who has many gentleman callers.  However, her father will not allow her to marry until her older sister, Kate, does so, which seems an unlikely prospect.  Kate is the epitome of the word shrew, who goes so far as to even hit her own sister for not responding to her.  No man was willing to even think of being close to her, until Petruchio, who wanted her family's fortune more than anything, came into the picture. 

Queen Elizabeth, Juliet, and Marriage

It was not uncommon for women to be expected to marry; this notion even extended to Queen Elizabeth I, "The Virgin Queen". Despite common derogatory opinions on the subject, the queen remained unmarried to her death, even though she was courted strenuously by many. Based on the male dominated society in which she lived, she likely made this decision to stay in power; if she married, her abilities would be limited by her husband.

Erik of Sweden proposed to her many times, and in a 1560 letter, she politely declined him again, saying that she does not wish to take a husband; any husband. Even though Queen Elizabeth rejected the man on several occasions over a long period of time, it was likely that he was so shocked by her behavior that he just kept trying; he couldn't make sense of it.

Juliet's behavior in denying marriage to Paris can be seen similarly; even though she knew her contrary attitude wouldn't be accepted, she stated her opinion on the matter anyway.  However, Juliet wasn't in a place of power to be making these treacherous decisions; unlike the queen, she had male family members who would be able to control her.  Thus, the outcome of Juliet's situation was very different than the queen's.

"Disobedient" Women in Romeo and Juliet

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare paints many images of womanly behavior uncharacteristic of Elizabethan era norms. Children, regardless of gender, were expected to behave as miniature adults, and women were to fully submit themselves to the will of the male figures in their lives.

Juliet expresses this contrary behavior throughout the play by committing to a secret marriage, downright rejecting her father's will, and by scheming for a release from her life as a Capulet. Likewise, Juliet's nurse is equally disobedient; she openly expresses her true opinions to both Lord and Lady Capulet, and often speaks out of turn. Furthermore, the nurse acts upon these personal opinions by assisting Juliet with her "unruly" plans.

In the beginning of the play, in Act 1, Scene 4, Lady Capulet approaches Juliet with Lord Capulet's wish for Juliet to be married to Paris. In the interim, the nurse goes off on a miniature rant about how Juliet's marriage would make her proud, and how much she loves Juliet, fondly remembering events in her childhood. Lady Capulet becomes annoyed with the nurse's speech, exclaiming, "Enough of this. I pray thee, hold thy peace".

The status of a nurse in the Elizabethan era was that as a servant; they would serve as a nanny in a wealthy household, and receive food, clothing, and shelter in exchange for work at all hours. Thus, it isn't surprising that Lady Capulet didn't value the nurses input into the conversation. She believed she was being kind enough in letting her be present to hear the matter of Juliet's marriage being discussed, but any more than this was unwelcome.

Lady Capulet then asks Juliet, "Can you like of Paris' love?" At this point in the play, Juliet is willing to be an obedient daughter, even though she would rather not marry. However, in Act 3, Scene 5, Lady Capulet informs Juliet that the date is set for this nuptial arrangement, to which she responds that she would sooner marry her enemy, downright rejecting the request.

When Lord Capulet hears of Juliet’s reaction he begins to scold her to the point that he says he would have her disowned and begging on the streets. The nurse interjects, directly telling Lord Capulet that he is speaking too harshly, to which he snaps back by telling her to be quiet.

It is interesting that this scene brought out the “worst” in these two women. The nurse spoke out of turn to defend Juliet, whom she loves as a daughter, while Juliet rebels because she seems to have no control over her life.

Women in Elizabethan England

In Elizabethan England, men were considered to be the dominant figure.  Wives and daughters were expected to be submissive to their husbands and fathers, and were treated as property in this sense; marriage's were frequently arranged by the patriarch, with finances rather than feeling in mind.

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet's father expects her to marry Paris, who is of well-breeding.  When Juliet expresses her discontent with this arrangement, her father becomes angry; it is the place of women in this society to be obedient.  Going against the social normality of the period, Juliet rebels against her father's wishes and marries Romeo in secrecy.


The painting above is “Romeo and Juliet”, and was created on September 29, 2009 by James Vilkus of Wilton Manors, FL. It represents a more modern depiction of a scene from Romeo and Juliet, but accurately represents Elizabethan feelings towards women.  
Juliet's body is exposed to the elements, while the chivalrous Romeo is offering his hand in assistance.  In a sense, I feel that the artist is labeling Juliet as promiscuous; in the play, she and Romeo have physical relations before being married.  If others had known of this act, Juliet's name would have been smeared, while Romeo would have felt little consequence.