INTRODUCTION: Offered up in Shakespeare’s plays is the idea that women aren’t tied to their traditional gender roles, and they fall on a spectrum of hyper-femininity to hyper-masculinity. This idea is most evident in plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth through Titania and Lady Macbeth, respectively, and the actions and interactions they have with other characters and themselves. These women are the extremes in which Shakespeare used to represent his spectrum of the idea of what women are. The contention that these characters have with their male counterparts oft contribute to the main story arch within the plays, such as Titania’s want to keep her child and Lady Macbeth’s desire for power.
BODY POINT #1v2: Lying on one of the…show more content… Lady Macbeth embodies the entirety of masculinity, in which Titania does not. However, Lady Macbeth is not the direct antithesis of Titania due to there being an overlap of some qualities, however none of them being ones that are discernibly “feminine.” Lady Macbeth’s most defining qualities are her murderous tendencies, yearning for power, while somewhat still retaining her ability to love. During one of the earlier appearances of Lady Macbeth, she plots with Macbeth to Murder the king Duncan in order to claim the throne for her and her husband. “The raven himself is hoarse, that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements (1.5.37-39).” In the first part of this scene Lady Macbeth receives news that Duncan is to visit the following day, and alludes to the fact that he is coming to his death. She later goes on to say “Never shall sun that morrow see (59-60)!” for Duncan will be murdered during the night. Lady Macbeth’s violent tendency is one that helps anchor her on the masculine end of the feminine spectrum. Accompanying this is her constant urge for power, which is wrapped up within her violence and demeaning attitude toward Macbeth. “How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this (1.7.55-59).” Up…show more content… These plays are in an open dialogue with each other in terms of how the idea of hyper-femininity only exists in a fantasy world, and the dream world. Within the world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titania exists in the fantasy world of the fairies which, with the exception of Puck, is unable to interact with the real world the Athenians and Mechanics live in. All of the qualities that make Titania the beacon of femininity happen either in the fairy world, or in her sleep. The first being the argument that Oberon and Titania have about who should rightfully have the child happens in the fantastical world of the fairies (2.1). This scene was the first one in which Titania is established as a pillar for feminine characters. This is the second scene which finally helps Titania be fully defined as the feminine character that she is. “Come, now a roundel and a fairy song; . . . Sing me now asleep (2.2.1-7).” Following this she falls asleep and that is where she is put under the sleeping spell to fall in love with any man who she awakens to. These two scenes act as a contrary to the character of Lady Macbeth and her inability to exhibit feminine qualities. The character of Lady Macbeth exists in the real word, that is one where her actions have long-term consequences. This trait of hers is exhibited often and one being the scene
