The sinister roles of women in MacbethWhile reading Shakespeare's tragic drama Macbeth, one meets only one good woman - Lady Macduff. The remaining female characters are fundamentally evil. Let us consider primarily Lady Macduff and only briefly the three witches. Blanche Coles states in Shakespeare's Four Giants that Macbeth's wife had considerable influence over her husband's mind: It was an opportunity for her to do what she had promised herself she would do after reading the letter. - to pour his spirits into his ear, to punish with the valor of his tongue everything that could prevent him from accessing the golden crown. We can be sure that she took advantage of this opportunity to use all her monstrous powers of persuasion. So he pushed himself, or was induced by his wife, to take the terrible oath, whether or not he had a clear purpose for keeping it. (48-49) In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, HS Wilson mentions the very feminine way in which the Queen fulfilled her essential role in the tragedy: It requires an extraordinary effort of will and persuasion on the part of Lady Macbeth to strengthen her wavering purpose. Professor Kittredge used to point out to his classes that Lady Macbeth, to get Macbeth to act, uses the three arguments that every wife, at one time or another, uses to every husband: "You promised me to do it! “You would if you loved me!” “If I were a man, I would do it myself!” But Macbeth's decision is made by his assurance that they can do so safely by placing the guilt on Duncan's chamberlains. (72) In Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy, Northrop Frye shows that a lady is the real driving force of the play: The fact that Macbeth is pushed to commit an untimely act by his wife is a point which will not escape probably not to the most apathetic member. of the audience, but Macbeth comes to regret the moment of the fatal delay in the assassination of Macduff, and draws from it the moral that the insipid aim is never o'ertaken unless the deed accompanies it. From this moment on, the firstborn of my heart will be the firstborn of my hand. That is, in the future he will try to achieve the spontaneous rhythm of action of the successful leader. (91)LC Knights in the essay "Macbeth" describes the unnaturalness in the thoughts and words of the play's dominant female force, Lady Macbeth: