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Saoirse Robertson

‘Madness is an inevitable outcome for a female protagonist’
Explore the presentation of women’s suffering in a patriarchal society in ‘The
Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘Macbeth’
Women suffering in a patriarchal society, as well as the idea of the female protagonist being driven to
madness because of the limitations placed upon her, is a theme that has occurred in literature throughout
history
...
Both pieces are examples of the
theme
...


It could be argued that Shakespeare portrays a relationship that is initially mutually respectful between Lady
Macbeth and Macbeth, thus one could argue that in the early stages of the play, Lady Macbeth does not
seem to suffer the same subjugation as the women in her society usually did
...
In addition, she is referred to as his “dearest partner of greatness”,
with the noun ‘partner’ particularly conveying that Lady Macbeth is viewed as an equal, while the noun
‘greatness’ has positive connotations suggesting equal opportunity and future abundance
...
Superficially, it may seem as if this sense of equality is also conveyed in the words they
use when greeting each other in Act 1 Scene 5 as Lady Macbeth exclaims, “Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor”
and Macbeth answers with “My dearest love”, reassuring her, and the audience, of his affection
...


423 words

Saoirse Robertson

Moreover, one could argue that Shakespeare subverts the typical Jacobean gender roles, suggesting the
character of Lady Macbeth appears to refute the idea that women suffer in a patriarchal society; she is
initially more dominant, cunning, ambitious and power-hungry than her husband Macbeth
...
The audience is witness to the way Lady Macbeth effectively assumes a male role by
taking charge and leading Macbeth down the dangerous path of performing regicide
...
The commanding and officious tone of these lines implies
she has the leading role in this relationship
...
It could be argued that possibly Shakespeare portrays Lady
Macbeth to be so manipulative, in the way she belittles and bullies her husband, due to the political context
at the time; wanting to please the new King James I by criticising powerful women in order to disparage
Elizabeth I, the previous and first female ruler of England who killed his mother
...
Women were seen as having a
physical nature that supposedly programmed them to be emotionally nurturing, submissive and weak, which,
interestingly, is also an assumption evident in The Yellow Wallpaper
...
Despite Macbeth being written over 400 years ago,
these confines of femininity can still be seen today in a modern society, as women in recent decades have
often felt that they have to adopt more ‘masculine’ behaviour in order to succeed in the workplace
...
The nameless narrator, which perhaps
emphasises her lack of autonomy and self, is powerless as her husband John controls everything
...
com/Jacobean-Era/jacobean-women
...
In reality, which
her husband does not realise, she is probably suffering from post-natal depression
...
In the
case of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare illustrates how she feels her motherly nature is holding her back, rather
than feeling depressed and overwhelmed after child-birth, which is apparent in The Yellow Wallpaper, such
as in the narrator emphatically expressing “I CANNOT be with [the baby], it makes me so nervous”
...
This disturbing suppression from
her own husband due to his use of the rest-cure, which Jane F Thraikill argues is “paradigmatic of the
patriarchal silencing of women”2, eventually leads to driving the protagonist mad
...
This style effectively emphasises, very intimately due
to the first-hand narrative in the diary entries, how the protagonist is losing her sanity
...
She begins to
personify the wallpaper with its ‘strangled heads’ and ‘bulbous eyes’ as well as the obsession with the
‘woman trapped behind the wallpaper’ who ‘shakes’ and ‘rattles it’
...


For the first decade after its publication ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ was largely seen as nothing more than a
horror fiction, firmly situated in the Gothic genre, as well as being described as merely being ‘a description of
female insanity and mayhem’3
...
This interpretation can be corroborated by the context in which Gilman wrote this short

2

Thrailkill, Jane F
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ELH, Vol
...
2 (Summer, 2002), The
Johns Hopkins University Press
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jstor
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Web
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cohoproductions
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Thus, Gilman conveys how much women suffered in a late 19th century American patriarchal
society and could have been driven to madness
...


Although Lady Macbeth is portrayed by Shakespeare as being extremely powerful, dominant and strong for
the best part of the play, the protagonist of The Yellow Wallpaper appears to be suffering throughout
Gilman’s novel
...
Shakespeare, as
does Gilman, uses hallucinations to highlight the distortion of reality and madness
...
This is
particularly shocking and disturbing for the audience, as they watch her constantly washing and wringing her
hands
...


One must consider the extent to which the patriarchal society was to blame for Lady Macbeth’s suffering
...
Although some could argue that ‘Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth as a powerful
icon for women’ by ‘display[ing] the strength of power that women have the ability to possess if they wish to’6,
4

Why I wrote the Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1913), The Forerunner October
Issue
5

Relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, tutorhunt
...
com
1,749 words

Saoirse Robertson

the fact that her lust for power ultimately overwhelms her and causes her to commit suicide supports the
more convincing argument that ‘although it is a radical idea to have a dominant female character, ultimately
Shakespeare portrays the inherent weaknesses women possess’7
...


However, although both writers portray, to a large extent, madness to be the outcome for their respective
female protagonists, the consequences can be seen to be vastly different for the two characters
...
On the other
hand, although the protagonist of The Yellow Wallpaper appears to be still under the mantle of male control
and external suppression, thus seeming to remain trapped in her suffering as is Lady Macbeth, her descent
into madness can actually be seen to allow her to discover a sense of liberation, freedom and identity
...
’ Moreover, it can be argued that only through her descent into madness due to ‘an enforced regime of
seclusion’, can she ‘discover her true voice, a voice that is surprising in its intensity’10 This new-found
energy can be seen in Gilman’s use of verbs at the end of the novella as they are far more active, such as
‘lift’, ‘push’ and ‘peeled’, as well as in the euphoric and exclamatory joy in ‘Hurrah!’
...
The fact that John has ‘fainted’, as well as the mocking nature of
her husband’s hysteria in ‘Now why should that man have fainted?’, conveys how, through the protagonist’s
descent into madness, the gender roles have finally been reversed at the end
...
The

7

Character Analysis of Lady Macbeth, bartleby
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(1971) Macbeth, Playboy Enterprises

9

Speech and Silence in the Yellow Wallpaper (2011) englishmediacentre
...
com

2,199 words

Saoirse Robertson

ending of Macbeth is very different to that of The Yellow Wallpaper as although Lady Macbeth starts out as
an atypically strong female who has power over her husband, eventually the traditional gender roles of the
Jacobean era are satisfied as Lady Macbeth deteriorates into female hysteria and weakness
...
It could be argued that Shakespeare also portrays the idea
that madness does not always mean suffering, albeit not through the protagonist
...

Shakespeare shows them to be extremely powerful in the ways in which their “prophesies” manipulate
Macbeth into actions that he possibly would not have otherwise committed, such as the murder of King
Duncan and Macduff’s family
...
Their meddling and manipulation creates
the desired chaos, yet they are never held to account nor punished for their lies
...
The focus on witches can be explained in the context of the early 17th
century as King James’ had a firm belief in, and almost obsession with, ‘witchcraft’ and the power it
potentially held over people
...
However, what is most
interesting in their two presentations of this theme, is the different reasons for madness and suffering as well
as the underlying messages about women they convey
...


Women suffering in a patriarchal society is, unfortunately, still prevalent today due to their not being able to
break through the ‘glass-ceiling’ as they may often still be viewed as inferior to men and simply ‘emotional

2,648 words

Saoirse Robertson

creatures in the workplace’11
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Mac https://
thoughtcatalog
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(1892) The Yellow Wallpaper, New England: Simon and Brown
Shakespeare, William
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Jacobean Women, http://elizabethanenglandlife
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html
2
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"Doctoring "The Yellow Wallpaper"
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69, No
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org/stable/30032030>
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3
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Relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, tutorhunt
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The Negative Portrayal of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Play, Macbeth, bartleby
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Character Analysis of Lady Macbeth, bartleby
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Roman Polanski (director)
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Speech and Silence in the Yellow Wallpaper (2011) englishmediacentre
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Struggles Every Strong Woman Faces In The Workplace (2015) J
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com/jen-mac/2015/10/9-struggles-every-strong-woman-faces-in-theworkplace/



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Title: A* A Level English Coursework essay: Madness in Macbeth and The Yellow Wallpaper
Description: -Essay question: ‘Madness is an inevitable outcome for a female protagonist’ Explore the presentation of women’s suffering in a patriarchal society in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘Macbeth -2500 words - Received an A*

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