Two Unlikely Women in British Literature

Two Unlikely Wo men in British writings Rachael Haines British Literature Summer Term Critical Essay Allison, the married woman of Bath in Chaucers Canterbury Tales and peeress Macbeth from Shakespeares Macbeth, are 2 bold women in literature who abandon the expectations of society on women of the plot and instead manipulation manipulation to gain power and control. These two women, Allison and Lady Macbeth are significant female characters because they represent upheaval in their single societies both in their expression and in their expected societal roles.Allison, a cloth-maker, lives in a time following the Norman Invasion. The Anglo-Saxon ship canal including the more even playing field between sexes gave federal agency to frenchified, male-dominant way of life. Women were expected to serve their maintains yet Allison expects her men to serve her. Lady Macbeth in any case acts unexpectedly when she takes things into her own workforce and doesnt act as a submissive an d noble woman should. Following the delivery of the three witches centre to Macbeth regarding his fate, Lady Macbeth instantly realized what is being threatened and desperately wants to pitch his fate.Instead of acting honorably and as a servant to her husband, she devises a invent in which she will pass on regicide and kill Duncan herself. She instead decides to convince Macbeth to swear the murder himself. At first glance, the Wife of Bath may calculate to be in support of feminism yet Chaucer describes her in univocal ways when he writes ab come out of the closet her propositiondress, her scarlet dress, her hips and particularly her gapped teeth which were usually associated with lust during her time. Allison comes off as experienced and knowledgeable about men because she has had five husbands.Unlike the women of her time, Allison is dominant. She uses her body and versedity to manipulate and gain control everywhere her men. During her fifth marriage even a traumatic light speed to the head at the hands of her husband doesnt stop her controlling behavior and she lies on the floor as if she is dead. She dramatically pretends to be dead from the blow in order to incite concern with her husband. Lady Macbeth quickly jumps into the thickset of things when she learns about her husbands predicted fate. She and her husband both want the riches and power.Lady Macbeth devises a plan to murder the king so that fulfillment of the witches capacity might not be met. Lady Macbeth is desperate. She feels her husband is too faithful and not ruthless enough too weak. Lady Macbeth, although bold and determined recognizes that she isnt really capable in her current state of carrying out murder. Instead she asks for the supernatural ability to be unsexed to rid herself of maidenlike qualities so that she can murder the king. Instead of gaining supernatural power, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to commit the murderfreeing her from the burden of actually c ommitting the crime.Lady Macbeth becomes merely the particle accelerator for her husbands out of control murderous behavior. Both women use manipulation to get what they want and both women live outside the societal norms of their time. However, Allison ultimately is a much more durable character. Allison presents herself as a promoter of sexual freedom and not a promoter of feminism. She uses her sexual skill and her body to gain what she purports that women want most s everywhereeignty over their husbands at a time when servitude by the woman was expected. For Allison, her sexuality was her biggest profane factor.At first meet, Lady Macbeth paints an image of herself as a villainous tabby both strong and ambitious to retain her power. Yet it isnt longsighted before we realize that Lady Macbeth cannot handle the guilt associated with being a murder and committing regicide even though her hands didnt actually commit the murder, she pushed and supported her husband in completing the acts. Before long, the power peckish spree begins to take its toll on the ambitious Lady Macbeth. The interview witnesses her deteriorating health and mental stability as she fruitlessly tries to wash her hands of the guilt.In this comparison, I find that while both women were women outside of the norms of society they did catch an upheaval. They may concur represented the frustration that women and men might have felt over the ever-changing society that both writers endured. However, regarding our leading ladies, Allison is a much stronger character who is able to endure the ill effects of her manipulation, while Lady Macbeth falls victim to them in her quick demise. Neither of these bold, unforgettable ladies were typical ladies of their time.