Abstract

Lady Macbeth is one of the most famous characters in William Shakespeare’s plays. She is a controversial figure. There is no doubt that Lady Macbeth loves her husband. When Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth what he hears from the three witches, Lady Macbeth manages to help Macbeth to be the king. Then the tragedy comes into being. However, what she does really contributes to her husband; or in some degree, she just wants to realize her value under the control of patriarchy. She is astute enough to recognize her husband’s strengths and weaknesses, and ruthless enough to exploit them. Although in the end Macbeth alienates her, even no longer loves her, Macbeth will never win the Crown without her. In addition, as a woman, Lady Macbeth is a clever one who has her own thought and ability to achieve her dream. Therefore, as an ambitious woman, Lady Macbeth will certainly do something adventurous sooner or later. This paper will analyze the influence of Lady Macbeth’s character on Macbeth through feminism.

Key words: Feminism  Patriarchy   subordination

摘要

麦克白夫人是威廉•莎士比亚的戏剧中最著名的人物之一。她是一个有争议的人物。毫无疑问,麦克白夫人爱她的丈夫。当麦克白告诉麦克白夫人他从三个女巫听到的一切,麦克白夫人设法帮助他成为国王。悲剧也就此产生。事实是她所做的真的有助于她的丈夫,或者在某种程度上,她只是想在父权制的社会中实现她的价值。她精明到足以了解她丈夫的优点和缺点,并足够无情地去利用它们。虽然最后麦克白疏远了她甚至不再爱她,但是没有她，麦克白将永远不会赢得王冠。另外,作为一个女人,麦克白夫人是一个聪明的，有自己的思想和能力来实现她的梦想的女人。因此,作为一个雄心勃勃的女人,麦克白夫人迟早将做一些冒险的事。本文将通过女权主义理论来分析麦克白夫人的性格对麦克白的影响。

关键词：女性主义 父权制 附属

1. Introduction

Macbeth is a famous tragedy novel written by William Shakespeare. Being one of the four Tragedies, Macbeth is not an exception, excellent enough to stand the test of criticism from any perspective. This thesis is going to demonstrate that Lady Macbeth is not an evil woman but patriarchal. Through analyzing Lady Macbeth’s personality, it reveals that she is not evil, but uses evilness to cover her inner weakness. Then the reasons for such abnormal deeds are expounded, that is her patriarchal ideology, which is shown in the following four factors: extreme worship for her husband, unsexing for husband, deserting belief for husband and fear for the implied “father” who symbolizes authority in patriarchy. Through comprehending the character and the tragedy of Lady Macbeth, we may acknowledge women’s social status in history. What’s more, we are able to understand why feminism consciousness appears.