Female Roles: A Contrast
Women play many roles in the societies of today and those of past. They have been gatherers and they have been homemakers. These days they wear the new mask of the conformity of the business world. The suits hide their figures and their femininity is stripped away. This stripping did not begin in this decade nor the one before it and certainly not the one before that. This subject began long before then; women's roles have always been confused and toyed with in our patriarchal societies. This essay will explore the types of female roles presented in The Crucible, Macbeth, and An Inspector Calls.
In An Inspector Calls, there are three female characters. The fact that they are outnumbered from the onset is a clue to the fact that thy play a more submissive role in the entire piece. This also reflects on how women expressed themselves very submissively in the time period being written about (1912).
Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.
The sleepwalking Lady Macbeth
Sarah Siddons in the Sleepwalking SceneThe three women are: Sybil Birling, Arthur Birling's wife, Sheila Birling, his daughter, and Edna, the maid. The fact that Edna is not even granted a last name places her in low standing, stating her role from the beginning. At the same note Sybil and Sheila are referred to as possessions, as His.
As an example in Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is a dominant character if not the lead. She aids, assists, and cajoles her husband into committing a horrible crime. Where, The Witches of Macbeth have a way of guiding the plot with the aid of their prophecies ("Hail to thee, Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor.") and appearances. As well, in The Crucible the most dominant characters are that of Abigail Williams and her foil Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail takes on the role of the lover scorned and exerts...