To be a woman is to be submissive. Such is the case in regards to gender roles in both Euripides’s The Bacchae and in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In both tragedies, women are expected to be weak and delicate, keeping to all but house chores and childrearing. Also in both tragedies are female characters who break the confines of their gender roles, giving opportunity for the play to present terrifying implications and consequences of this rebellion from femininity.
Agave, from The Bacchae, and Lady Macbeth, from Macbeth, are examples of these women who disrupt the established role of women in their respective plays to only end up creating chaos, which in turn, could only be solved with the weakening and removal of these unconventional women. The two both exhibit themes of female rebellion and the play responds to the theme in almost identical ways. In both plays, the theme of female rebellion is presented with women who are ultimately punished for straying from conventionally established idea of being a woman, leading one to realize the plays’ favor for traditional gender roles.
This favoring of the established traditional gender roles is evident in the plays’ transitions in imagery used to define the characters, the character’s deteriorating relationships, and their eventual downfall due to madness with Agave and Lady Macbeth being the examples of the punishing of female rebellion. Progressive imagery in the plays indicate a correlation with women who break traditional roles and ultimate succumbing to madness, as both Agave and Lady Macbeth both become associated with progressively more objectionable imagery.
In the case of Agave in The Bacchae, she was initially presented regally as a “queen” of a kingdom. However, after she left to frolic and become one of the Bacchae, exiting her traditional role as a housewife, she is depicted in a much different manner. What is regal eventually becomes sickening. For example, she is described as being part of a group that is “ripping a fat, young, lowing calf apart” and “dripping blood and gore” (909). Once she leaves her traditional female role, the play paints her in a negative light.
From being one of the members of the royal family, she transitions to a frenzied animalistic state. Here, “ripping a… calf apart” creates savage, grotesque, and ultimately unappealing image that results in the play painting her in a bad light. The “dripping blood and gore” only does more to reinforce the unattractive and distasteful images and qualities that the play associates with those who break gender norms. It is as if the play is punishing Agave’s character for her being unorthodox, as the change in associated imagery correlates with her changing of gender roles.
Such is even more apparent as the animalistic imagery continues. Agave is later described as “foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling in their sockets, … possessed, in a Bacchic frenzy” (1391). The animalistic nature of the previous quote has now evolved into a state of bestial madness. Agave “foaming at the mouth” creates a violent, diseased image while her demonic eyes in “a Bacchic frenzy” generates the idea that she is in a unnatural state of possessed rage. Such ultimately paints Agave in a bad light, as, connotatively, being ascribed qualities of a possessed feral beast is negative.
It can be concluded from the examples of Agave being depicted as a feral animal that it is implied that the losing of one’s traditionally feminine side translates to one’s losing of rational thought and control over their bodies, and thus inferring the play’s rejection of female rebellion. Similarly, Lady Macbeth displays the same patterns in Macbeth. Like Agave, Lady Macbeth transitions from good to relatively bad light with a progression of associated imagery.
With Lady Macbeth inherently breaking the role of the traditional female at her first appearance, she, instead of going through a transition, is immediately branded and portrayed as a negative figure through associated imagery. She, instead of being submissive to her husband, is manipulative by nature and demanding. For her lust of power and position, the play, in turn, paints her in a bad light. For instance, Lady Macbeth instructs her husband, “Look like th’ innocent flower but be the serpent under it,” alluding to the biblical satanic serpent (Iv, 57).
In this metaphor, her husband represents the flower with Lady Macbeth taking on the role of the serpent in this metaphor and with it, the serpent’s satanic and manipulative characteristics. Not only is the simple image of a snake unsettling to most, it creates notions of danger and evil, aspects commonly associated with the reptile, to be inferred in association with Lady Macbeth. To reinforce the negative attributes given to her, Lady Macbeth’s presents grotesque images that ultimately result in her being a repugnant character.
For example, when describing a smiling baby, she notes that she would have “pluck’d [her] nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the brains out” (Ivii, 58). “Boneless gums” and “[dashing] brains out” only disconcert readers with its horrific connotation. The literal image of one bashing the brains out of an innocent infant heavily reinforces the idea that the character of Lady Macbeth is being punished by the play for her breaking of gender roles. Through pathos and the image of killing an infant, Lady Macbeth conveys an offensive idea to the readers, further shoving her into a perceived bad light.
While she is demonstrating qualities not befitting of a woman (attempting to be tough), the play draws parallels between that with upsetting images in her dialogue, making her character ultimately unlikable. The change in associated imagery affect perceptions of Lady Macbeth correlate with the breaking of gender roles. As evident, like Agave in The Bacchae, the play punishes women who stray from gender norms by presenting them in an ultimately bad light, making them distasteful to reader.
Along with the progressive imagery associated with Agave and Lady Macbeth is the progressive state of relationships they have with other characters, as they deteriorate in response to both character’s unconventional gender roles. In the case of Agave, she and her son Pentheus make a good example. With Agave, her son is at first proud of his regal mother. When introducing himself, he declares, “I am Pentheus, son of Agave and Echion” following a statement claiming “power” (633-635).
The context of the quote suggests that Pentheus uses his mother’s name as a way of solidifying his perceived power, therefore making her a rhetorical anchor for ethos. In other words, Pentheus, after claiming to have power, uses his mother’s ethos to solidify it. This puts Agave into an initial position of good light and respect, in addition to implying her strong ethos and relatively good relationship she has with Pentheus. This changes after Agave’s dismissal of her traditional role as a woman.
Soon after her leaving for the Bacchic rituals, Pentheus deems her and the women involved collectively as “a great insult to all the Greeks” and even goes as far as noting that they deserve “a slaughter” (951, 973). Pentheus consciously knows his mother is a part of this group and yet, he not only deems them an “insult” to society but calls for their deaths because of their actions. The transition of her relationship with Pentheus from good to bad is apparent here, as the diction of the words used is in stark contrast to the context of the previous quote.
Agave goes from being held high and being used as an anchor for ethos to being a complete embarrassment to her son and nation. Her being an “insult” infers her being undesirable and her son wanting her “slaughter” only strengthens that idea exponentially. Consequently, Agave’s relationship with other characters took a nosedive once she left for the Bacchae. Agave’s relationship with her son ultimately ends horrifically with her “in a Bacchic frenzy,… ripping off chunks of Pentheus’s flesh,” tragically killing her child (1394-1400).
It is also noted that she does so with Dionysus “[putting] power into those hands of hers” (1397). Since Dionysus is the representation of the breaking of the traditional, it can be inferred that it was that that causes the tragic end to Agave’s relationship with her son. It can be argued that, the “power” being put into her hands is not the frenzied state, but the breaking of traditional femininity. Similar to how Agave’s portrayal through associated imagery plunges from a regal queen to a frenzied animal, her relationship with her son also takes a critical blow, as she, at the end of the day, kills him with her own bare hands.
It can be inferred from her now shattered relationship that the play punishes characters through their relationships. Presenting consequence to being untraditionally feminine perpetuates the idea that the play, itself, is set against female rebellion. As with Agave’s tragic relationship with Pentheus, Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband deteriorates in the course of the play, due to her exhibiting untraditional gender roles. Like how Agave was respected by Pentheus at the start of The Bacchae, Lady Macbeth is respected by her husband at this point.
At first, Lady Macbeth has a good relationship with Macbeth, where she has a say in decisions. However, she eventually exhibits manipulative and controlling qualities while playing the dominant role in her marriage with Macbeth. She goes as far as to taunt him by saying “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Ivii, 49). The context and chastising tone of the quote suggests that Lady Macbeth is scolding her husband through emasculation, suggesting that she instead plays the role of manipulator and claims the governing position in their relationship by not just telling him
what to do but also degrading him in the process. It is this unfeminine behavior that hurts Lady Macbeth. Her dominant role is reversed later in the play, as a result of the power. When making the next decision, Lady Macbeth had no idea or control over it. Lady Macbeth is not even aware of the decision, as Macbeth tells her to “be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed” (IIIii, 47). With Macbeth essentially telling his wife that it is better for her not to know of his business, he strips all power from his wife.
Macbeth does not even bother telling her of his business, in stark contrast to Lady Macbeth having a role in the decision making. Lady Macbeth, coming from a position of significance, is now reduced to irrelevance, thus making the transition from a relatively good relationship to a relatively bad one. Fundamentally, Macbeth is taking away power from his wife by making her insignificant and irrelevant in their relationship. It can be argued that the play is condemning Lady Macbeth for her exhibiting of non-feminine roles , as her deteriorating relationship with Macbeth correlates with her initial breaking of gender roles.
Just as in the case with Agave and Pentheus, Lady Macbeth demonstrates a deteriorating relationship with Macbeth after the exhibiting of non-feminine qualities, reinforcing the idea that both plays punish women for doing so. In due course, being not traditionally feminine leads to both of the characters’ downfalls and removal from the plot, the play’s ultimate punishment. For Agave, her downfall as a result of breaking gender norms is apparent through her banishment from Greece. Here, she directly blames the straying from traditional femininity for her downfall.
Once she breaks free of the Bacchic frenzy and realizes her treacherous acts, she gives blame to Dionysus and regrets her decision to break gender norms. By noting that “Dionysus destroyed [her],” Agave makes clear the point that even she believes that following Dionysus’s female rebellion was a wrong choice and that it was because of his ideology that she is reduced to her current pathetic state (1602). The context of the quote perpetuates the play’s stance on traditional gender roles by making a woman, herself, deny female rebellion.
Also, the use of the word “destroyed” not only implies Agave’s defeated state, but it also demonstrates the play’s antagonism of Dionysus and his ideology by making Agave the victim and emphasizing the harm and destruction that comes with breaking the conventional roles. In the end, she is removed from the plot with her banishment with Dionysus noting, “that polluted creature, must go into perpetual banishment” (1697). Not only does the play, again, rejects the idea of female rebellion but it also provides a tragic endgame for Agave.
To clarify, “polluted” in this context references Agave’s mindset, having broken traditional roles. It can be inferred that the off-putting and distasteful connotation emphasizes the play’s negative position on women rebelling. Also, Agave’s banishment is the end result of her dealing with female rebellion; because she steps out of what is considered normal for a woman, she spirals down into this sociopathic route that eventually leads her to madness and ultimate banishment from society.
In conjunction with her regal persona being annihilated for one of a crazed beast through imagery and the tragic killing of her son, it is safe to say that female rebellion resulted in Agave’s downfall. Eventually, Lady Macbeth, too, faces a downfall; much like how Agave succumbed to madness, Lady Macbeth does the same but for guilt. While washing her hands, Lady Macbeth exclaims, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! ” (Vi, 25). Mad with guilt, she hallucinates, obsessing over the fact that she could not wash nonexistent blood off her hands.
The tone of the quote suggests anger, as the entirety is in exclamation, emphasizing her madness by adding a sense of alarm. This is a direct consequence of her breaking gender roles. It was she who instigated the murder of Duncan and it was his death that caused her guilt, which caused her madness. Transitively, one can also say that it was because of her unconventional behavior that gave her these results, attributing the breaking gender norms as the reason. This irrational behavior, combined with sleepwalking, leads to a doctor proclaiming that “[her] disease…
is beyond… [his] practice” and that only “the divine” can help her (Vi, 12). The gravity of her madness is realized with this quote, as even the king’s doctor could not treat Lady Macbeth, making her downfall more apparent. Ultimately, Lady Macbeth is so consumed by guilt that she falls from a unnaturally masculine female into an enfeebled woman and reestablish traditional gender roles by the play’s end. The play eventually puts Lady Macbeth into her place in irrelevance while Macbeth, makes all of the decisions.
By play’s end, she is forgotten, as when she is removed from the plot through death, her husband notes that he has no time to think of her, “She should have died hereafter; there would have been a time for such a word” (Vv, 3). Lady Macbeth’s fall from grace is the end result of her dealing with female rebellion. Because she and Agave step out of what is considered normal for a woman, they spiral down a sociopathic route that eventually leads them to madness and being forgotten.
With both of their madness being a direct result of her untraditional behavior, it is safe to say that female rebellion resulted in the downfall of Lady Macbeth and Agave. As evident, in both plays, female rebellion is dealt almost identically with Agave and Lady Macbeth ultimately falling from grace. Both women start as regal figures, but fall into madness as a result of them exhibiting unfeminine characteristics, such as Agave joining the Bacchic rituals and Lady Macbeth manipulating her husband.
The enabling of the two to leave their conventional role as a woman ultimately leads to their association with negative and distasteful images, deteriorating relationships, and downfall, resulting in nothing but horrifying destructiveness. Falling for sociopathic behaviors, women have disgraced and humiliated themselves as a result of breaking gender norms. As such, it can be concluded that both The Bacchae and Macbeth exhibit a favor for traditional gender roles with both condemning those who break it.
