Guilty, or Women’s Power?

In four great tragedies of William Shakespeare, two female protagonists affect the male protagonists even the whole story’s development. One is Lady Macbeth in the The Tradegy of Macbeth, and another is Goneril in King Lear. Both of them have abysmal desire to leading their life. Equally, they also have three identical points namely the  same motions, instigations, and miserable life ending.

       Goneril and Lady Macbeth both have same motive-greedy. Goneril conceals her greed in order to capture the property. When King Lear asks her how deep her love to him, she shamelessly response her father with some exaggerate words. Like her sentences, GONERIL. Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter; dearer than eye-sight, space, and liberty; beyond what can be valu’d, rich or rare. Anyone who has wisdom can easy to tell the words apart, but unluckily, King Lear’s clear eyes were covered by his self-complacence. He takes everyone’s respect for granted, and Goneril grabs this human shortcoming. Afterward she reveals her original instinction which dishonor King Lear. Just like Goneril’s sentences. GONERIL. Idle old man, that still would manage those authorities. That he hath given away. The motives of Lady Macbeth are the same to Goneril. She hopes her husband become a king so that she can also be a queen who enjoys high class life. Confronting with unsure-mind spouse, Lady Macbeth suddenly determines a decision which assassinates Duncan and usurps his throne. That’s what she says. LADY MACBETH. This night’s great business into my dispatch; which shall to all our nights and days to come, give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. She is a witty woman but uses her wisdom to the wrong place, never thinking about the consequence of the murder which can destroy her.

        Beside two women’s greed, the instigation surely represents their further aggress on them. Both of Goneril and Lady Macbeth know they can’t do it by themselves, so they find assistants. Goneril choose her second sister, Regan, because she is not only her left sibling but also despises their old father. Shakespeare depicts the “brotherliness in collusion” in this part. Like what Goneril says. GONERIL. Pray you, let us hit together: if our father carry authority with such dispositions as he bears, this last surrender of his will but offend us. When Goneril alleges her plan to Regan at the first time, she doesn’t agree immediately. Regan’s hesitation is as well as Macbeth. Lady Macbeth incites him to murder Duncan, than Macbeth hesitates, too. Nevertheless, the way of instigation of Lady Macbeth is superior to Goneril. Just like her sentences. LADY MACBETH. Was the hope drunk, wherein you dress’d yourself? Hath it slept since, and wakes it now, to look so green and pale at what it did so freely? It’s obviously discovered that Lady Macbeth accurately clutch at male dignity. Macbeth’s ego is striked by his wife, and he kills Duncan in order to win his face back. Although the gimmick of instigation between Goneril and Lady Macbeth, it really let accomplices influent the story development.

        The last similar point is the ending. They choose suicide to terminate their criminal life. Shakespeare arranges Goneril and Regan fall in love with one man, Edmund, than lead them into a situation of jealousy. Finally bring them into devastation. After Goneril perceives Regan wants to snatch her new lover, she feels furious at her sister, and then poisoning her under a heart burning with rage. It’s not only a tragedy of sibling but a reasonable punishment of sinner. Shakespeare use “poetic justice” to uphold reader’s justice, but there are not whole leading roles receive impartial trail because King Lear is a tragedy, not a comedy. Moreover, Lady Macbeth suffers from mental disorder which let her see the hallucination that she can’t clear her hands. LADY MACBETH. Here’s the small of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh! Oh! Oh! Although the author doesn’t tell all the readers that dead reason of her, it can be infer to that she kill herself in insane condition. In sum up, Goneril and Lady Macbeth use death as their life ending.

        The two important female protagonists have the same motives about greed, instigation to other people, and ends their life in a tragic tone. Perhaps their guilty behavior of the most heinous crimes, yet it exactly stands for female decision-making power in Renaissance.

Work Cited

梁實秋. 李爾王. 台北市:遠東圖書公司, 中華民國88年4月

梁實秋. 馬克白. 台北市:遠東圖書公司, 中華民國88年4月