Could females in the 15th century England pursue power? No, the only path to power wound around characters born or married into royalty. Independent women were bot characterized as strong, but as witches. This defined the life of women back in the time of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. When it’s first performance occurred in 1611, women were denied the luxury of power. However, Shakespeare defied the norms and gave power to Lady Macbeth, by giving her the strength to persuade her husband, Macbeth, to murder King Duncan. The three witches in the play were also given power to play with Macbeth’s mind, warping the future. However, Shakespeare does not shine a light on feminism the way we think he would. Feminism is negatively depicted in Macbeth through the portrayal of masculine characteristics in these women, and the bad consequences they experienced.…show more content… Even though the Elizabethan era improved the female status by a fraction, women were still far from equal to men. They were allowed to get a basic education in reading and writing, however they had no say in, “political and legal issues” (The Life and Role of English Women- 1600’s). Women were thought to be weak and in need of protection. The only respect they received came from bearing children. “…they were taught that their sole function in life was to marry, have children and look after their homes and husbands” (Trueman). Unfortunately, independent women were often accused of being witches and were regularly executed for denying the traditions of society. Women could only gain power by becoming royalty.
