How is the identity of characters challenged or how does it change in two works that you

have studied?

With the thirst for power in the society of the 11th century of Scotland, Lady Macbeth breaks the
stereotype of women to push Macbeth to what was presumed to be unattainable power -
becoming the king. Consumed by this thirst for power, Lady Macbeth expresses her desires in a
series of degrading and devaluing insults. Both Lady Macbeth the antagonist of Shakespeare's
Macbeth produced in 1606 and the protagonist character of the flaxen-haired girl of Angela
Carter’s the company of wolves- one of the ten short stories in her novel the bloody chamber
produced in 1979 showcase challenges to the identity of their characters. With Lady Macbeth
opposing the societal norms of 11th century women she presents herself with the strength of a
man through the manipulation of Macbeth into attaining a higher position in the hierarchy
through her controlling and degrading ways. The rise to masculine power is similarly seen in the
company of wolves where the flaxen-haired girl’s identity is challenged through the use of gothic
association and the power taken back from society in terms of her ‘innocence’. Through
exploring the identities of characters between the studied literatures of Macbeth and The
Company of Wolves it is apparent that both characters share a fixed identity which is challenged
by their actions within each literary text, their actions are frequently expressed through the
themes of power and gothic elements alongside the disconformity of gender roles.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a story about the hunger for power. Macbeth who was once
the distinguished and honorable Thane of Glamis was manipulated by his duplisitist wife known
as Lady Macbeth. In a society where the identity of women was based on their husband and
their fondness for reading, sewing, music and dancing; Lady Macbeth formed her own identity-
opposing her supposed ‘honorable’ husband. She schemed, manipulated and partook in murder
as well as challenged her husband's masculinity with her own in order to satisfy her hunger for
power. The author's use of characterization through actions and the use of an imperative
reveals the femininity of Lady Macbeth's identity to be challenged: “come you spirits”, stated in
Act 1. Scene 5. The use of this demanding and controlling term challenges Lakoff’s deficit
theory as the ‘female language’ is supposedly comprised of weak expletive terms as men had a
higher power than women and therefore could use a more assertive tone and language in order
to fit social constructs. Lady Macbeth does not use imperatives once but in fact multiple times,
such as when she states “unsex me here”. From this quotation we can clearly see Lady
Macbeth's opinion on gender, she uses the imperative ‘unsex’ with the intention of sounding as
though it is a demand that must be fulfilled to remove her femininity from her identity as though
it is a must and a need. Relating these two quotes together with the context of this soliloquy
Lady Macbeth demands the spirits to come forth and take away her gender so she is capable of
attaining the power she desires which is the crown on king Duncan's head. Although, within this
soliloquy there is no mention of Macbeth being a part of this plan but only Lady Macbeth taking
charge of it. To the readers, this sudden grasp of power and dominance from the use of
imperatives from a woman in the 11th century must be surprising as women were thought to be
soft spoken and submissive to men with no desire for power as thought by the difference theory
by Tannen. Women are supposed to desire support and build relationships in a world where
men seek status from their connections.
The theme of power is prominently displayed, this is clear through the display of the control
Lady Macbeth has and the power within her compared to Macbeth who is supposed to be
leading Lady Macbeth to this power but rather Lady Macbeth is leading him therefore
challenging the identity of Lady Macbeth and what a woman should be- a follower not a leader.

Similarly, the theme of power and the identity of femininity is challenged in Angela Carter's - The
Company of Wolves, a short piece from the novel The Bloody Chamber. The flaxen-haired girl
has the identity of a young child and therefore presents herself with innocence, although she
parallels Lady Macbeth's power. Lady Macbeth formed her own identity and this innocent girl
formed her own values and claimed her power back through the preconceived societal norms.
With the Bloody Chamber being produced in 1979, the societal norms which circled around a
woman's virginity at the time was that it was a sacred act which only a woman is supposed to
preserve for their wedding night and if not preserved for that time a sin was committed and the
woman was deemed as unfit to marry. From the company of wolves we can see this power
society held over a woman's virginity to deem her fit for marriage was taken back by this
‘innocent’ girl. Towards the end of the chapter the girl and the wolf engage in intimate acts as
seen from “she ripped off his shirt for him and flung it into the fire.” Comparably, the girl takes
charge and leads this act by ripping the wolf's shirt off, showcasing her desire to take the lead
which is similar to Lady Macbeth and her leadership rather than being submissive and a
follower. From this the audience can interpret that this once innocent girl has taken back her
power from society as Lady Macbeth did as she grasped onto her power which society deemed
unfit for a woman. It is clear to the audience that the once innocent girl had chosen her virginity
does not determine her placement in society and her innocence is now shades of red.
Innocence is represented through the color white, white is a clean slate, purity, the color before
anything is muddied; although the white transforms to a fiery red. Within the quotation fire is
mentioned in relation to the intimacy between the girl and the wolf. The audience can interpret
that the fire can represent the burning passion between the two characters and therefore can
associate it with the color red as passion runs through our veins and our blood therefore linking
it to the association of the color red. With the association of the color red, the reader can
interpret the gothic imagery behind the color red and the passion within the blood. The gothic
imagery represented is morbid as it relates to blood, and women during such a time in society
were the opposite of morbid- they were considered “damsels in distress”. Damsels appear in
spring, when the sun is shining and smiles frolic through the air- which is what a women’s
identity was expected to be; nothing but smiles and sunshine whereas men fit into the gothic
identity as it was seen as overbearing and powerful. Although the relation between the girl’s
burning passion and the gothic imagery showcases her identity breaking through those
expectations and displaying her masculinity as the power within her as her white damsel turns
to a red damsel.

The gothic theme is parallel within both texts and used to showcase the identity of the
characters being challenged. Within Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 1. Scene 5. The fragments
of gothic imagery create an environment of fear for the reader. The mention of “raven”
associates Lady Macbeth with the gothic theme therefore causing the readers to feel a sense of
fear from her as she has this dark, gothic power. With various mentions of the gothic theme, it is
clear that lady macbeth has a passion for the darkness and morbid power. With passion comes
the desire of achieving, this understanding may cause the reader to understand the intensity
behind lady macbeth's desire for power; although with the relation to the gothic theme it can be
interpreted that this power will be achieved through dark ways; as dark as a raven's coat. The
raven is known to symbolize loss and ill omen, this allows us to understand that the trail left
behind Lady Macbeth's strive for power will be loss- meaning death and an unlucky future for
her through the ill omen- this foreshadows Lady Macbeths madness in Act 5. Scene 1 where
she envisions blood on her hands. The mention of “blood” could also be used to symbolize
courage as a motif used throughout the play, though paradoxically it is symbolic of guilt. As
mentioned above, the mention of blood in Act 1. Scene 5 foreshadows Lady Macbeth’s visions,
blood on her hands as a symbol of her guilt for the deaths she has caused. Although the blood
symbolizes courage. Courage is a trait of a man in the 11th century, but it was a trait that lady
Macbeth possessed. This challenges her identity as a woman as it took courage to even fathom
an idea about murder let alone being a woman plotting murder. Men took responsibility over the
pressing matters whereas the woman supported their household. Lady Macbeth took over the
role of the man.

Dissimilarly, Lady Macbeth and the flaxen-haired girl may challenge their identity as a woman;
although Lady Macbeth never conforms to the societal norms of a woman whereas the
flaxen-haired girl does. The girl shares intimate affectionate moments with the wolf as seen in
the quotation “she will lay his fearful head on her lap”. This conforms with the difference theory
of independence vs intimacy, where a woman is expected to share intimacy with the man. This
is showcased through the wolf laying on the girl's lap, this action is normally associated with
mothers and their children. Children will often lay on their mothers lap for comfort and the
mother would nurture them by stroking their head which is what the girl does to the wolf-
therefore showcasing the nurturing side to her which is associated with femininity, hence, not
challenging her identity as a woman. This may cause the readers to react in a loving way as the
nurture from our mothers is familiar to us therefore causing a heartfelt effect on the audience.
Although Lady Macbeth does the opposite rather than showing affection she diminishes
Macbeth's masculinity through her criticism as seen in Act 1. Scene 7. “When you durst do it,
then you were a man”. Here Lady Macbeth is suggesting that Macbeth is not a man, does not
identity nor act like a man unless he commits murder to gain power. Through Lady Macbeth
getting Macbeth to question his masculinity, she is building up her own. According to the
Zimmerman and West dominance theory men are supposed to undermine women, although
contrastingly it is Lady Macbeth who has taken on the role of the man through undermining her
own husband therefore attaining the confidence and ego of a man enough to tear down who is
to be an honorable man apart of society.

Identity can be challenged, whether it be a man or a woman; who you are, what gender you are
and what society expects you to be does not determine your identity- your being. Through
Shakespeare’s and Carter’s works it was clearly showcased that identities can be impacted by
our words, our direct actions and our indirect actions as well as our passions and desires. To
conclude, both Lady Macbeth and the flaxen-haired girl’s identify as a woman but their identity is
filled with masculinity rather than femininity which is shown through the gothic elements within
their speech and their actions as well as the power they hold in their societies during
constricting time periods. Just because a woman is a woman does not mean her identity cannot
be of a man.