Feminism in Macbeth
Germaine Greer
 In 1970, Germaine Greer was one of the biggest
“voices” in the feminist movement
 Her novel, The Female Eunuch (pronounced yoonah and meaning ‘castrated man’) was a best seller
and is still seen as a “feminist handbook”
 The text examines the historical definitions of
women’s perception of self and used this to critique
modern consumer societies, female “normality” and
masculine shaping of stereotypes
Negativity and Feminism
 In the 1960s and 1970s, feminism was about
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empowerment and fighting for equality
Feminists, in general, are looking for a fairer society
in terms of the restrictions and expectation of gender
In the 1990s, some people in society started to view
feminism in a very negative way
The term “feminazi’ was coined
Originally this was meant to describe a particularly
militant feminist, but it has very negative
consequences (just think about the connotations of
the word Nazi!)
Feminist Criticism
 When we, as readers, examine a text through a
feminist discourse, it is not our job to judge
feminism as a movement
 What we actually do, is apply some feminist theories
to the text we are reading and develop an argument
based on whether a particular text can be read
through a feminist lens
Feminism and Macbeth
 Lady Macbeth tries to take on masculine
characteristics or qualities, in an effort to make
herself stronger
 In doing this, she belittles Macbeth by attacking his
masculinity
 She often tells Macbeth to “be a man” whilst wishing
she could literally “be a man” as women are too
“soft” to commit murders
Feminism and Macbeth
 Macbeth depicts a gender reversal
 The roles that men and women play are questioned:
What is it to be masculine? What is it to be feminine?
 We see that Lady Macbeth emasculates her husband
by insinuating (and sometimes outright stating) that
he is not acting as a man should
 This perpetuates a commonly held belief that a man
lacking physical power, strength and will is a sissy
(or a woman) and therefore he loses respect.
A Feminist Criticism
 In light of these examples, it is very easy to see how a
feminist reading of Macbeth is possible
 Given that feminists desire equality between
genders, Lady Macbeth’s belief that only men can be
strong, brave and cruel enough to commit murder
perpetuates gender stereotypes, for example;
 Woman are not as strong as men
 Women are supposed to be submissive and do as
they’re told
 Women are meant to be the damsel in distress: never
the hero
Feminist Criticism cont…
 In contrast to this, Macbeth breaches some
commonly held masculine stereotypes, for example;
 Men are in charge; they are always at the top
 As husbands, men tell their wives what to do
 In this way, we can see that Shakespeare is
subverting “traditional” gender roles or stereotypes
in Macbeth.
How can we argue through a feminist discourse?
 To present a strong argument for a feminist reading
of Macbeth we must outline our parameters of what
is included in “feminism”
 We must provide specific examples from the text
AND from feminist theory
 We must ensure we develop a thesis statement that
“closes the loopholes”- in other words, an argument
that is clear and defines you position
An Example
According to dictionary.com, feminism is a ‘doctrine advocating social,
political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men’ (ref).
Feminists are concerned with the ways in which gender stereotypes are
perpetuated and supported throughout society, including via literature (ref).
Many texts in the literary cannon can be viewed with a feminist discourse in
mind. Juliet Dusinberre claims that “in the sixteenth century the idea that
women had consciences which might operate independently from men’s,
might even judge and oppose the male conscience, was revolutionary” (ref).
With this in mind, it is clear that the way in which Shakespeare plays with
‘traditional’ gender roles in Macbeth was revolutionary. Through Lady
Macbeth, Macbeth and Macduff, Shakespeare subverts and calls into
question many gender assumptions. Of course, the way in which women are
presented as trouble makers (and the obvious link this holds with the Bible:
the way that Eve ‘caused’ the exile of mankind vs. how Lady Macbeth
‘caused’ the downfall of her husband) can be made, and in this light, many
feminists may be critical of Macbeth and its perpetuation of some female
stereotypes. However, in relation to feminist ideas of subverting traditional
gender roles held by society, Macbeth is arguably a text that positively
attempts to encourage society to question unequal gender stereotypes.