The document presents a feminist criticism of Shakespeare's Macbeth. It summarizes that the three witches are portrayed as evil, crazy, and meddling. Lady Macduff is depicted as weak, unable to handle being abandoned, and a traitor. Finally, it analyzes that Lady Macbeth's emotional cycle is presented negatively as unreasonable and hypocritical, while Macbeth's is portrayed positively, concluding this shows Shakespeare was sexist in his portrayals of female characters.

1. The daring presentation that asks
Are all female characters portrayed as
weaker than males ?
A Feminist Criticism of The Scottish Play
By Sean Jaffe
Spoiler Alert: The answer is Yes

2. The First Example of Sexism in Macbeth is
The Three
witches

3. The Three witches
are portrayed as….
Evil
“Here I have a pilot's thumb,
Wreck'd as homeward he did come” (1.3.29-30).
Crazy
•Completing each other's sentences
“First Witch All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!
Second Witch All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”
(1.3.50-52) .
•Making Statements in riddles
Meddling “First Witch Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
Second Witch Not so happy, yet much happier.
“To trade and traffic with Macbeth Third Witch Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:
In riddles and affairs of death” (3.5.5-6). So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!” (1.3.67-71).
All in all, the witches are shown as BAD

4. Example #2: The sad tale of
Lady Macduff
When Macduff leaves for England,
Lady Macduff is alone.
Instead of trusting her
husband, Lady Macduff
falls under the pressure
“Wisdom! to leave his wife, to leave his babes,
His mansion and his titles in a place
From whence himself does fly? He loves us not “(4.2.8-10).

5. How is Lady Macduff Viewed Now?
Weak Liar
Cannot handle abandonment “Sirrah, your father's dead;
And what will you do now? How will you live? “(4.2.35-36).
Traitor
Tries to turn her own sun against Macduff
Stubborn
“Does not take advise to leave - is murdered as a result
Whither should I fly?
I have done no harm “(4.2.78-79).
Lady Macduff’s only source of reason in
this scene is her male son
“My father is not dead, for all your saying”(4.2.43).

6. And finally, the greatest example of sexism,
Lady Macbeth
Consider This:
The emotional cycles of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth directly oppose
each other throughout the story
Lady Macbeth Macbeth
No Doubt, Confidence Doubt, Guilt
Before “What cannot you and I perform upon “I have no spur
The unguarded Duncan? what not put upon To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Duncan’s His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
murder Of our great quell? “(1.7.76-79). And falls on the other “(1.7.25-26).
Doubt, Guilt No Doubt, Confidence
After “The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?-- “I'll fight till from my bones my flesh be hack'd.
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?”(5.1.38-39). Give me my armour “(5.3.36-37).
Duncan’s
Murder
But, what do these cycles mean?……..

7. Macbeth’s Emotional Cycle Portrays
a Positive, Masculine character
Having Doubt beforehand:
Shows Macbeth is reasonable and
has some morals
Being Confident Afterwards:
Shows Macbeth follows through on
something he starts, has a ‘no
regrets’ attitude

8. Lady Macbeth’s Emotional Cycle
Portrays a Negative, Female Character
Having Confidence
Beforehand
Shows Lady Macbeth to be
unreasonable, to be immoral, and to
be power driven.
Having Guilt Afterward
Shows Lady Macbeth as a hypocrite
for making Macbeth do something
she could not follow through on
herself, a quitter, and ultimately weak
for not being able to handle the
pressure she had asked for.

9. What is the Final Result?
Of the Three Female entities in Macbeth,
All of them are weak in some way.
Thus we can conclude that
Shakespeare was sexist!

10. Thanks to….
• http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/full.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lady_Macduff_and_Son.JPG
• http://www.shakespeare-
navigators.com/macbeth/Macidx.html
• http://moronepediahonors.wikispaces.com/Lady+Macduff
• http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/5700/5791/macbeth_5.htm