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Foreign
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The analysis of female villains in Macbeth through the
study of outstanding sources
Mukhlisa TURSUNOVA
Uzbekistan State World Languages University
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received January 2024
Received in revised form
10 January 2024
Accepted 25 February 2024
Available online
25 May 2024
This article reflects the analysis of Macbeth through the
study of outstanding sources and gives interesting facts about
this character. The author reflects real qualities of women
characters in the Elizabethan time. The tragedy of Macbeth
shows that women were powerless and had their rights only to
write and study subjects. In the Renaissance Age literature
flourished and new ideas were considered.
2181-3663
/©
2024 in Science LLC.
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-3701-vol2-iss2-pp297-303
This is an open-access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru
Keywords:
Elizabethan time,
William Shakespeare,
Macbeth,
Renaissance Age,
tragedy,
Literature.
Makbet va uning ko
‘
zga ko
‘
ringan manbalari tadqiqi
ANNOTATSIYA
Kalit so‘zlar
:
Yelizaveta davri,
Uilyam Shekspir,
Makbet,
Uyg
‘
onish davri,
Fojia,
adabiyot.
Ushbu maqola taniqli manbalarni o‘rganish orqali Makbet
tahlilini aks ettiradi va bu qahramon haqida qiziqarli faktlarni
beradi. Muallif Yelizaveta davridagi ayollar qahramonlarining
haqiqiy fazilatlarini aks ettirgan. Makbet fojiasi shuni
ta’kidlaydiki o‘sha davrda, ayollar kuchsiz bo‘lgan va faqatgina
ular adabiyotga va fanga suyanishgan. Uyg
‘
onish davrida
adabiyot gullab-yashnagan, yangi g
‘
oyalar kirib kelgan.
1
Scientific adviser, Teacher, Uzbekistan State World Languages University.
2
Master’s degree student, Uzbekistan State
World Languages University.
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
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Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Issue
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2
№
2 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
298
Анализ
отрицательного
женского
персонажа
в «Макбете»
на основе изучения выдающихся
источников
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
Eлизаветинская эпоха,
Уильям Шекспир,
Макбет,
эпоха Возрождения,
трагедия,
литература.
В данной статье представлен анализ трагедии Шекспира
«Макбет» на основе выдающихся источников, а также
приведены интересные факты о главном персонаже. Автор
исследует
реальные
черты
женских
характеров
Елизаветинской эпохи, показывая, что в те времена
женщины имели ограниченные права и возможности,
сосредотачиваясь на письме и образовании. Эпоха
Возрождения, ознаменовавшаяся расцветом литературы,
также проливает свет на новые идеи и взгляды того
времени.
INTRODUCTION
William Shakespeare was a poet and an actor. Many writers considered him as the
greatest dramatist of all time. Shakespeare was also a famous figure in the English
literature and he had an influence on the development of English language. He was born
in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, Northwest of London. He lived in Henley Street.
William Shakespeare pointed out women and their roles in all of his plays in
Elizabethan Era. The representation of women in Shakespeare's plays became an
interesting topic for scholars. His female characters were distinguished with some
qualities such as obedience, strength, purity and so forth. During Elizabethan time,
Shakespeare's heroines in tragedies and comedies displayed a significant role in play
acting. William Shakespeare was an English poet, actor and playwright, he wrote many
works which were considered the greatest in Western literature and in the English
language. Shakespeare's plays are divided into tragedies, comedies and tragicomedies.
One of the most famous tragedies of William Shakespeare was that of Macbeth. The
tragic play Macbeth is the last, shortest and the bloodiest work of Shakespeare. In this
play, the psychoanalysis partis clearly appeared in the character of Lady Macbeth. This
article attempts to show real features of women characters in Shakespeare's writings,
essentially in Elizabethan time. It is also focused on the tragic play Macbeth, moreover,
indicating the psychoanalysis of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. One more thing,
Shakespeare wrote about women during the Elizabethan Era. In Elizabethan era, and in
hierarchy of sexes, men were masculine, hardworking, strong and they had authority
over women; however, women in that period were important only for their duties as
housewives. In the Elizabethan era women were educated and taught by the older
women especially in noble families. In this period, women were considered the only sex
who gave and made decisions to males and had the rights to ascend the throne.
The Representation of women in Elizabethan Era were compelled to a series of
restrictions and limitations, they were freer than the old ones. Furthermore, Queen
Elizabeth supported the idea of education for women to make them independent. The
purity, obedience and softness were considered as the main aspects of the education of
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
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Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
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Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Issue
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2
№
2 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
299
women. The young women in Elizabethan era were powerless against their fathers
'decisions, especially in marriage and their private lives. In this research, Lisa Jardine
states that "Publicly the absolute rights of parents over their daughter s was a
commonplace". In Elizabethan society, the power of patriarchal rules was dominant.
In that time, the husband had the right to punish his wife, and women were not permitted
to inherit. Despite the fact that there were several constraints and limitations in the
patriarchal society; women had the freedom to write literature and select the
appropriate subjects.
METHODS
Having been studied the literature of Shakespeare we have encountered a lot of
information related to authors such as;
“Hamlet”,
“Othello”,
“King
Lear”, “Macbeth”,
“Antony and Cleopatra”,
and ‘Romeo and Juliet” so we sorted out these facts
are required
to follow certain rules, criteria and principles when we are researching these kinds
resources. The method that we used in our research work is the descriptive analytical
method. This method allowed us to get more information about the characterization of
the main character of Lady Macbeth through her actions, believes, physical and mental
appearance. It also connection with the real and the strong relationship between Lady
Macbeth and her husband in this tragic play with focusing on the evil side of Lady
Macbeth.
RESULTS
The playwright and the dramatist William Shakespeare involved women in his
tragic and comic plays. In the tragic plays, he demonstrated positive attitude towards the
female characters, particularly in his major tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear,
Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and Romeo and Juliet. Whereas in the comic plays,
Shakespeare applied the device of "Cross-Dressing" which refers to the act of wearing the
clothes of the opposite sex: men who wear women's clothes and women who wear the
clothes of men. This appeared in the plays of As You Like It, Twelfth Night and The
Merchant of Venice. Stratford. John and Mary Shakespeare were his parents and his
grandfather was Richard Shakespeare who worked as a wittier and a farmer too. In the
government of Stratford, he worked as a member of the Council (1557), a constable
(1558), a chamberlain (1561), an alderman (1565) and utterly high bailiff (1568).
Around 157, John Shakespeare was replaced as an alderman because of his debts and the
lack of responsibilities. He was also prevented from going to the church in 1592.
Shakespeare was the third child of Mary and John out of eight children.
The history of English literature has gone through several periods.
One of the most important periods is Elizabethan Era. The latter refers to the reign of
Elizabeth I from 1558 to 1603 which was characterized by the birth and the emergence of
new ideas and intellectual thought, it is also known by an age of adventure, innovation and
discoveries. The Elizabethan period represents the period of glory and Triumph in the life
and the literature of English society. It is attributed to the Renaissance Age.
During the history of England, this period was named the Golden Age when Drama
and Poetry had been thrived. The Elizabethan era considered as the greatest period in the
history of the English Literature. As an age of discovery, English literature was also
influenced by the interaction of the sailors with different cultures and civilizations.
Therefore, their interaction had its impact on the way people think. In this period, the
English writers such as Edmund Spenser, John Lyly, Sir Philip Sidney, and William
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
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2
№
2 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
300
Shakespeare had been influenced by the writings of the Italian Renaissance. One of the
most important works of William Shakespeare that explore the role of women is
Macbeth. The play Macbeth was first performed in 1606, but it was published in the Folio
in 1623.
Macbeth is a tragic play written by the British writer William Shakespeare.
It narrates the story of a courageous and loyal general to the king Duncan, after receiving
the witches' prophecies telling him that he will be the king of Scotland. As Lady Macbeth
heard about the predictions of the witches. She induces her husband to murder King
Duncan to attain the kingship. Lady Macbeth is a strong and more ambitious woman than
her husband in achieving her dream to attain the throne and become a queen of Scotland.
The second one is about the way Shakespeare presents women in the Elizabethan
era and how he introduces the psychoanalysis of the main character of Lady Macbeth in
the tragic play Macbeth. The third chapter is the practical part which demonstrates the
character of Lady Macbeth through her actions, physical and mental descriptions, and
gives an insight on the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and finally it
tackles the impact of evil character of Lady Macbeth on the work of William Shakespeare.
The development of English literature has gone over several centuries.
Elizabethan age is the period that is associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
(1558
–
1603), and it is known as the golden age in the history of English literature. It is
also considered as English renaissance, and a period of great flourishment in both prose
and poetry ("The Elizabethan Era: Years of Grand Development"). William Shakespeare is
a man of Elizabethan theatre and he considered himself as a professional man of theatre
who shifted from play acting to play writing. This chapter attempts to shed light on the
history of English literature which has gone through several ages, and it examines the
characteristics of Elizabethan era. In addition, it tackles the period of William
Shakespeare's life, language and works such as Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth.
To know the beginning of English literature, we should return to the time of the
ancestors of English people who settled on the European continent (Moody and Lovett).
Literature has several qualities. The first quality is artistic. All art embodies the reflection
and the expression of beauty and truth in the world. Suggestiveness is the second quality
of literature that continued our imagination and emotions rather than intellective
suggestion.
However, the third quality of literature is permanence which raised from to
Artistic and suggestiveness. Studying literature has only one object is to know men.
It means to understand the history of the ancestors from different ages through what
they did, felt, thought and believed. Actually, literature saves people's beliefs and liberty.
The History of English Literature in Elizabethan Era expression of human life. It also aims
at knowing man's soul rather than his actions.
The Dramatic works of Shakespeare did not remain in manuscript, however,
comedy works such as The Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labor's Lost, The Comedy of
Errors, and A Midsummer Night's Dream and his early tragedy Romeo and Juliet were
done in the early 1590s. The four great tragedies of Shakespeare were produced in the
early 17
th
century, namely Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Shakespeare wrote
over 150 sonnets, which were published in 1609.Venus and Adonis and Lucrece are two
Heroic narrative poems. Language and classical references of Shakespeare were archaic
though they were familiar to his modern readers, who came from all classes of society.
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Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
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His plays were from "highbrow" to "lowbrow". Shakespeare used clown characters for
comic relief in his tragic plays, and he expanded his audience's vocabularies through his
plays. Nowadays, the most common words and phrases that the writers use were coined
by Shakespeare as "In my Mind's Eye", "Amazement", and "The Milk of Human Kindness."
Shakespeare's plays were a mixture of varied words more than any other works in the
English language.
DISCUSSION
The history of English literature is divided into several periods. Each one has its
own characteristics. Furthermore, in English literature, Elizabethan Era, which has been
named after the Queen Elizabeth I, was considered as a great era. It is also characterized
by the boom and the abundance of literary production such as prose, poetry, and so forth.
The most important poets and writers in this era were John Lyly, Edmund Spenser, Sir
Philip Sidney and William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is one of the greatest and
most famous writers in English theater as he wrote many works like Hamlet, King Lear
and Macbeth.
Macbeth was a tragic play written by William Shakespeare between 1599
–
1606.
It is also considered as one of the shortest tragedies of Shakespeare. It narrated a story
about a hero named Macbeth who was courageous and strong Scottish general, he
succeed in a battlefield against enemies for his country protection with his military
forces.
When he returned from the battle, he encountered three witches; telling him a
prophecy that he will be the king of Scotland. Their prediction influenced on Macbeth's
mind and became full of greed and ambition. Macbeth sent a letter to his wife, informed
her about the prediction of the witches, she enjoyed the happy news and started plan to
achieve this prediction. When he returned, he induced him to kill the king Duncan. Both
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth invited the king to their castle, planning to his murderous to
attain the kingship. When they murdered him, they blamed the servants about the death
of the king Duncan. When the sons of Duncan heard that their father is killed, they
escaped to England to protect themselves. Macbeth attained the throne and became the
king of Scotland and his wife the queen.
After Macbeth became the king, he killed everyone who stood in his way to take his
position. Duncan's son Malcolm with his armies returned from England to Scotland to
fight against Macbeth to revenge for his father death and depose him. When his army
succeeded to kill Macbeth, Malcolm became the king of Scotland after him. Whereas Lady
Macbeth fell in hysterical state and became sleepwalker because of her guilt that led to
her suicide.
The theory of psychoanalysis was produced by Sigmund Freud. This theory studies
the sub consciousness of human issues. According to Lois Tyson, In Critical Theory
Today, Freud believed that "the notion that human beings are motivated, even driven, by
desires, fears, needs, and conflicts of which they are unaware." Based on this perspective,
Freud applied the theory on Shakespeare's character of Lady Macbeth ("How can
Sigmund Freud's Theory of Psychoanalysis be applied to Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth").
In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is considered as a typical image of
hysteria. Freud's school of psychology has not been interested only with fields of medical
science, but it has been extended to various aspects of human analysis and interpretation.
Furthermore, psychological theories are combined of childhood, creation of art in
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literature, myths, painting, poetry and folklore. Most activities and psychological theories
of Freud are focused on the comprehension of the mental state or disease of Lady
Macbeth, especially in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Mental processes are either
unconscious or conscious and they are the absolute connection to one another. In the
tragic play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is characterized by masculinity, courage and strength.
These traits, originally refer to the expression of Lady Macbeth's sub consciousness. First,
she appeared in act one of the fifth scene and after reading her husband's letter, she was
dominated by fixed ideas of ascending the throne and being a queen of Scotland
The dream of obtaining sovereignty led to her decline and madness. The most noticeable
scene is the sleepwalking or Hysterical Somnambulism in the tragic play Macbeth.
It represents the obvious and reasonable emergence of Lady Macbeth's past
emotional experiences and complexes. Because of her great desire to become a queen,
Lady Macbeth entered to a typical case of hysteria. This mainly refers to her repression of
sexual motive. The scene of the sleepwalking is related to Pathological somnambulism
and the entire decline of the personality of Lady Macbeth. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth,
the conversation that happened between the doctor and gentle women about the state of
Lady Macbeth in act 5 scene 1 was:
Doctor. You see, her eyes are open.
Gent. Aye, but their sense is shut (qtd in Coriat 23).
In this conversation, the doctor discovers that Lady Macbeth suffers from a group
of complexes because of her past repressed attacks. These complexes start with: The first
complex associates with the murder of the King Duncan and it appears clearly in the
scene of washing her hands. "A little water clears us of this deed", this quotation
expresses the attempt of Lady Macbeth to make her husband comfortable after
committing the crime. Then, the second complex relates to Banquo's murder, and it is
noticed well in the following words: "I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he cannot
come out of his grave." This quotation demonstrates the anger of Lady Macbeth wither
husband without ignoring his role in the crime. And the third complex is linked to the
murder of Macduff's wife and children, demonstrating in this expression "The Thane of
Fife had a wife, where is she now? "This quotation is told in the sleepwalking scene, when
Lady Macbeth seeks for Macduff's wife and children to kill them.
In addition, Rosen, Laehr, Regis, Grasset and Janet recognize the hysterical state of
Lady Macbeth without giving such evident idea at systematic analysis. Furthermore,
Coriat asserted that the psychological aspect of Lady Macbeth began in the first Soliloquy
“The first soliloquy is remarkable, it is her first dream of ambition, so strong and
dominating, that she believes she possess what really she does not possess namely,
brave. It is this imaginary wish fulfillment to be queen which later causes the hysterical
dissociation. Lady Macbeth was haunted by the idea of obtaining sovereignty and power,
for this reason she became a sleepwalker.
Because of fear and terror that possessed Lady Macbeth after the death of the king
Duncan, her mental dissociation is increased. From Coriat perspective,
“She
shrinks from
the guilty secret, and here enters the first element of mechanism which leads to her
hysterical dissociation”. This can also be embodied in act 2 of scene 2 in the following
passage of the play:
“These deeds must not be thought After these ways. So, it will make us mad.”
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CONCLUSION
The ambition of Lady Macbeth to obtain the authority and become a queen pushed
her to do such a crime in the time when women had no power and reign. These terrible
actions led to her mental collapse.
In short, this chapter showed how William Shakespeare focused on the real
depiction of women and their roles in all of his writings, especially, during Elizabethan
period. In addition, it showed how the female characters are distinguished from men in
specific qualities such as purity, obedience and softness. This article merely discussed the
tragic play Macbeth through emphasizing on the psychoanalysis of female character of
Lady Macbeth.
We recommend the students of Literature to read more about this play to reach
new knowledge and results about the evil character of Lady Macbeth.
This research work is also deal with the English Literature in the Elizabethan
period, which was considered as a Golden Age.
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