The Roles Women Play in Shakespearean Works

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that "the slavery of women happened when the men were slaves of kings." William Shakespeare is one of the world's most prolific playwrights, with a diverse anthology of plays which are still remembered and revered today. However upon closer inspection it becomes apparent that although Shakespeare's plays cover a broad spectrum of the human experience, there is one theme that is prevalent among almost all of them. Even William Shakespeare, who is widely renowned for being a visionary ahead of his time, is guilty of being heavily influenced by the deeply patriarchal attitudes of Elizabethan society. Despite having one of the greatest female rulers of all time at the throne Shakespeare's plays are all seeping with a singularly patriarchal attitude. It is this attitude which allows the theme of the weakness of women to pervade Shakespeare's great works, including "Hamlet, Richard III, and "Macbeth."

"Hamlet" is a Shakespearean tragedy in which the weakness of women is a prevalent theme. Patriarchy is so deeply entrenched in this work that many of the characters can be defined by their passionate disgust with women. Hamlet himself shares his misogynistic views when he exclaims "frailty, thy name is woman!" (Hamlet I.ii.46). Gertrude, who is certainly the most prominent female in the play, is an excellent example of how Shakespeare reveals this theme. Gertrude is so dependent on her husband that she does not even hesitate to jettison a marriage with his brother. Hamlet observes this with disgust and remarks that "a beast would have mourn'd longer" (Hamlet I.ii.46). Gertrude's moral ineptitude is mirrored and matched only by her vacuous capacity to critically interpret the world around her. Gertrude is completely oblivious to Claudius' true intentions when it relates to Hamlet and in fact only excels when she is in a social atmosphere. This aptitude in the realm of social graces is merely indicative of Shakespeare's traditionalist views on gender roles in society. In Shakespeare's world, women are relegated to the social sphere while men command and conquer the political sphere.

A second Shakespearean tragedy featuring the theme of feebleness of women is "Richard III." In Richard III, the main female character is Margaret. Margaret is the wife of the deceased and vanquished ruler King Henry VI. During the course of the play, the audience sees Margaret merely as a powerless woman whose only remaining weapon is the slinging of curses at her enemies. An example of Margaret's lashing out is seen when she curses Richard and calls him an "elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog" and wishes that "no sleep close up [on] that deadly eye" (Richard III I.iii.222 & 2225). In fact, this cursing of those who antagonize her becomes so renowned that Margaret teaches many of the other female characters in the play how to do so with the same viciousness which she displays. One of Margaret's main lessons to her female compatriots involves a note that they should "forbear to sleep the nights, and fast the days" and that only "revolving this will teach thee how to curse" (Macbeth IV.iv.118 & 123). This quote is an incite into just how desperate these women's situations really are. The women are so helpless that all they can do is revolve their entire lives around crafting the most vicious and heinous invective possible even if that means losing sleep. This fall from grace and rank in society reveals just how reliant Elizabethan women were on their male partners and just how few options they have in order to show their frustration. Margaret is so helpless that in order to survive she must depend upon the charity of her family's murders. Ultimately, Margaret must fall back on the only avenue she has for self-expression, which is her flinging of curses.

The patriarchal framework established in "Hamlet" and "Richard III" is continued in Shakespeare's play "Macbeth." Lady Macbeth, who is perhaps Shakespeare's most complex and well developed female character is an interesting view into Shakespeare's views on women. At first, Lady Macbeth looks like the exception to Shakespeare's rule who is meant to juxtapose the other female Shakespearean characters while symbolizing the power women can possess. When the audience views Lady Macbeth they see a character which is finally unshackling herself from the restraints fastened upon her by society. It is indisputable that at the outset of the play, Lady Macbeth is the more ruthless and powerful person in her marriage. She acknowledges this before she decides to convince Macbeth to kill the honorable and popular King Duncan. In fact, Lady Macbeth is so incensed with her husband's weakness that she wishes that the gods would "unsex me here" and "take my milk for gall" (Macbeth I.v.37 & 46). This seems to be a bold and empowering statement which asserts her dominance and control. However, it is clear that this very statement also implies that women are innately unable to take bold, brave, and violent actions. As powerful as Lady Macbeth is, even she admits that she is held back merely by her gender. This same definition of manhood is reiterated when Lady Macbeth finally induces her husband to murder Duncan by saying that "when you durst do it, then you are a man" (Macbeth I.vii.49). Even as she asserts her superior mettle, Lady Macbeth goads her husband into murder by questioning his manhood. It is quite ironic that such a powerful and aggressive woman can only get her way by attacking a man's testicular fortitude. Yet, despite this inconsistency, it is still apparent that Lady Macbeth is able through her own ambition and initiative to achieve her goals. Lady Macbeth composes her own Emancipation Proclamation in which she is able to gain the freedom to achieve her wants. Over the course of the play, however, Lady Macbeth succumbs to Shakespeare's overwhelming theme of the weakness of women. The audience soon sees that even her hesitant husband has the mental stability and capacity to deal with the murder better than Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth begins to fall apart with visions of guilt, as when she proclaims that she has blood on her hands screaming "out damned spot; out!" (Macbeth V.i. 30). Things worsen as Lady Macbeth becomes unable to sleep and suffers from other visions. In fact Lady Macbeth is so utterly incapable of dealing with her crime that she eventually commits suicide, showing that no matter how strong and invincible a woman may seem to be, in the end she will be brought down before a man. This is a gut-wrenching lesson for the audience, as it is akin to Lady Macbeth finally freeing herself from her shackles only to discover that she was still locked in a dungeon cell.

From these three Shakespearean dramas it is clear to see that there is a common thread of the weakness of women. Through his works "Richard III," "Hamlet" and "Macbeth," Shakespeare is able to convey his patriarchal attitudes, which dominated in Elizabethan England. Perhaps of all of the exquisite tragedies written by Shakespeare this is the greatest of all. Through his portrayal of women as weak and incapable of decision-making, Shakespeare inadvertently or not justifies society's treatment of women. It is this same portrayal of women that allowed men in society to rationalize women's status as second class citizens. There is a definite reason that women were unable to vote in England until the 1800s and that is the misogynistic, patriarchal views that so widely and uniformly entrenched and pervaded society that its truth was seemingly undeniable. In Shakespearean England the men were slaves of kings and it was during this time that women were enslaved. It was this patriarchal attitude which continued to allow women to be treated as slaves even into the not-so-distant past.