The Woman Delusion: Male Anxieties over Female Sexuality in Jacobean Literature by Maria Georgiou A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Ogden, Utah April 12,2016 Approved Scott Rogers JL P. iUU f r. John E. Schwiebert The Woman Delusion: Male Anxieties over Female Sexuality and Power Presented in the characters of Duchess of Malfi, Sophonisba, and Lady Macbeth By: Maria Georgiou 2 Chapter 1: Introduction In the fourteenth century, Petrarch's sonnets about Laura set the groundwork for what became the Petrarchan ideal—women's piousness, virtue, and beauty. The Petrarchan ideal transformed expectations that men had about women in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries because of the unrealistic qualities that Petrarch's Laura embodied. Petrarch's sonnets—which focused on his love and affection for the beautiful, blonde, modest Laura—set the stage for other poetry to come, in turn creating misleading interpretations of women's sexuality, beauty, and personality in early modern Europe. The archetype of the Petrarchan Lady was a double edged sword. Men wanted the Petrarchan Lady, but she was not pursuable because of her chastity. With that being said, the Petrarchan ideal created fallacious, unobtainable standards for men. Petrarch's sonnets portrayed unrealistic and high expectations for what women were supposed to be. The ideal condemned women to subservience, but, in reality, women were not anything like this, and men knew it. Because early modern society believed in dualities—good vs. bad, God vs. Satan, Eve vs. Mary—women were either the Petrarchan ideal or not, and more often than not they were the latter. The extremity of the latter depended on the nature of the woman.1 Scholars argue that Laura was not a real woman, but rather the ideal woman that Petrarch imagined. In "The Ambiguity of Beauty in Tasso and Petrarch," Naomi Yavneh states that 1 In Half Humankind: Contexts and Texts of the Controversy about Women in England, 1540-1640, Katherine Usher Henderson and Barbara F. McManus discuss the two different stereotypes about women during the Renaissance, spending time analyzing poetry and plays from the period. They state, "The two stereotypes of women found in the pamphlets that appear most frequently in the poetry of the period are the opposing images of the seductress and the unassailably chaste woman" (100). 3 "Laura herself is unimportant, for the lesson of the Petrarchan lover is that he can read the Lady as he desires, even projecting presence into her absence, recreating her image from her hand, eyes, or sometimes only her veil" (Yavneh 136-137). Yavneh argues that Petrarch's Laura was a figment of his imagination. Petrarch and other writers can read the woman as they desire and create whatever characteristics they want for her. Therefore, every man had a Laura—a woman he created in his imagination who is perfection in his eyes. Attractive women, both mentally and physically, fascinated men like Petrarch. Future poets illustrated their good or bad thoughts about women, which also demonstrated what men expected from women in coming centuries. Following Petrarch's footsteps, poets of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries expressed their thoughts about women in their writing, especially women's beauty. In Astrophil and Stella, Sir Philip Sidney writes a series of 108 sonnets in which he articulates his love and desire for Stella. In the beginning sonnets, Sidney focusses on his love for Stella, often ending in a similar fashion. For example, in sonnet five, Sidney ends with "True, and yet true that I must Stella love" (Line 14). Similarly, in sonnet six, Sidney ends "When trembling voice brings forth that I do Stella love" (Line 14). Like Petrarch, Sidney focuses on the beauty of Stella, but in sonnet seven he takes his description of Stella further. Petrarch described Laura with blonde hair and blue eyes, but Sidney's Stella has brown eyes. Sidney writes, "Lest if no veil those brave gleams did disguise,/ They sun-like should more dazzle than delight," and "That whereas black seems beauty's contrary,/ She even in black doth make all beauties flow" (Lines 7-11). Sidney expresses that nature made Stella's eyes brown for men's own safety. If Stella's eyes were like that of Laura's then men would be "dazzle[d]" rather than "delight[ed]." Like Sidney, William Shakespeare wrote sonnet 130 that incorporated similar qualities to his own mistress. Shakespeare wrote, "My mistresses eyes are nothing like the sun" (Line 1). Sidney and Shakespeare's descriptions of women can be identified as the anti-Petrarchan Lady, since the women they describe do not hold the same fair qualities as Laura. Their poetry transforms the Petrarchan ideal into women as beautiful as Laura without similar fair features. Unlike Sidney and Shakespeare, who focused more on the description of women's beauty, Christopher Marlowe, John Donne, and Ben Johnson focused their poetry on the pursuit of women. In Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to his Love," he attempts to persuade a woman to be his love. He writes, "Come live with me and be my love, / And we will all the pleasures prove," and proceeds to explain what he will do for the woman for five stanzas (lines 1-2). John Donne's "The Flea" uses insect-based seduction to woo a woman. He writes, "Mark but this flea, and mark in this,/ How little that which thou deniest me is;/ Me it sucketh first, and now such thee,/ And in this flea our two bloods mingled be" (Lines 1-4). By using a flea who sucks the blood of both the narrator and the woman, Donne argues that the flea has mingled them together and they "nay more than married are" (Line 11). In "Song: To Celia," Ben Johnson writes about secretly seducing a woman. He wrote, "Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup, And I'll not look for wine" (Lines 1-4). Johnson urges Celia to flirt with him secretly, wanting to seduce her in private because of society's expectations of how women should act, according to the Petrarchan ideal. Poets during the reign of both Elizabeth and James also wrote poetry about the dangers of loving a woman, finding their inspiration from Petrarch's work. Sir Thomas Wyatt's "Farewell, Love," illustrates the narrator's distrust of female love and his recognition of how love can threaten male identity. The narrator recognizes that love is associated with appetite (an 5 emotion located on the bottom of the Great Chain of Being)2, so he casts his feelings of love away, stating, "thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more," and, "Me lusteth no longer rotten boughs to climb" (Line 14). In "Farewell, Love," Wyatt indicates that women had the ability to manipulate men and make them forget the higher feelings in life, such as knowledge and understanding. Women enlightened men, who saw them as muses, but, when men fell in lust with these women, they saw these women as at fault because of their femininity and ability to seduce. Women were the enchantresses, even when they were modest and virtuous. Poets throughout the Renaissance wrote to women, imaginary or real, confessing their love. Wyatt's "Farewell, Love," is just one demonstration of poetry that reflects men's anxieties over women's beauty and love. Wyatt's poem influenced others writers to either respond or create their own versions of the piece.3 If a woman did not fall under the Petrarchan ideal, then she was more likely to go against the norms of society. To follow the norms of society, a woman must be chaste, obedient, and submissive to her husband. A woman's highest achievement in life was to marry and bear male heirs to further the family line. If a woman did not marry or was impious, then society considered her to be dangerous, often marginalizing her and accusing her of witchcraft. During the Renaissance, if a woman was openly sexual, and then the antithesis of a virtuous housewife 2 The Great Chain of Being was a religious hierarchy that demonstrated where humans, animals, and religious beings existed. If someone attempted to rise from their position on the Great Chain of Being, like Dr. Faustus, it would upset the natural order of things, often leading to negative circumstances, most likely even death. 3 Sir Walter Ralegh's "Farewell, False Love," comments on "A fortress foiled which reason did defend/ A siren song, a fever of the mind," in regards to the love of a woman. Similarly, Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," and John Donne's "The Bait," also mimic Wyatt's "Farewell, Love." Other poets also wrote about the dangerous act of loving a woman and the dangers of women's beauty. Sir Philip Sydney, in his "Astrophil and Stella" sonnets plays off of Petrarchan sonnets, focusing on AstrophiPs confliction over his love for Stella. Shakespeare, in his sonnets, also writes about the dangers of loving a women, specifically in Sonnet 144. 6 or virgin—the Petrarchan Lady—she was deemed a witch. These beliefs were spread because of learned men's understandings—or perceived understandings—of a woman's sexuality. If a woman defied Renaissance societal expectations by not getting married, not having children, or being overly sexual and not virtuous, then she was more susceptible to accusations of witchcraft. Early modern European society considered witchcraft real. Of those society accused of witchcraft in the fourteenth century, eighty percent were women (Hanks 254). Although men were also accused, women were the majority. Treatises surfaced during the fifteenth century that detailed how to identify a witch and what a witch could do. The most famous of these treatises was the Malleus Maleficarum, written by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger in 1487. The Malleus Maleficarum gives three reasons why women were more susceptible to witchcraft. Sprenger and Kramer state that the first reason is that women "are more credulous; and since the chief aim of the devil is to corrupt faith, therefore he rather attacks them," the second being "that women are naturally more impressionable, and more ready to receive the influence of a disembodied spirit," and the third "that they have slippery tongues, and are unable to conceal from their fellow-women those things which by evil arts they know, and, since they are weak, they find an easy and secret manner of vindicating themselves by witchcraft" (183- 184). Men believed women were gullible, vulnerable, and use their voices to influence other women into also practicing witchcraft. Thq Malleus spread beliefs that other learned men, such as Martin Luther recognized as true. Accusations of witchcraft varied, but for the most part, women's sexuality was a primary cause of the accusations. During the 16th and 17th centuries, women were commonly considered sexual beings, even more so than men, because women's sexuality was easily identifiable. Her visible pregnancy outside of marriage was also problematic because sexuality was only 7 acceptable within the confines of marriage. If not careful, women's emotions would have led them astray, which is why women's sexuality tempted women and made them more susceptible to witchcraft. If a woman was visibly pregnant outside of marriage, she had proven that women were more sexual than men (Hanks 64)4. Similarly, women were also susceptible to accusations of witchcraft because society recognized them as the weaker sex. Thomas Aquinas, a scholastic from the 13th century who gathered his thoughts from classical philosophers, believed that women were weaker by nature, not only because of Eve, but because of their origin.5 Sprenger and Kramer state, "Therefore, let us now chiefly consider women; and first, why this kind of perfidy is found more in so fragile a sex than in men" (181). To support their arguments, Kramer and Sprenger relied heavily on the Bible. For example, they state, "And it should be noted that there was a defect in the formation of the first woman, since she was formed from a bent rib, that is, a rib of the breast, which is bent as it were in a contrary direction to a man. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she always deceives" (184). Women are imperfect, inheriting their imperfect nature from Eve; therefore, they are more likely than men to be tempted towards witchcraft. Kramer and Sprenger further express "that since they are feebler both in mind and body, it is not surprising that they should come more under the spell of witchcraft" (184). Similarly, Martin Luther, who is 4 Merry Wiesner-Hanks argues, "Because the consequences of sexual misconduct became visible within the bodies of women, they appeared more frequently than men in the courts that handled moral behavior, which confirmed people's notions that women were more sexual" (" Women and Gender" 64). 5 Wiesner Hanks states, "Thomas Aquinas, the most brilliant and thorough of the Scholastics, synthesized classical and Christian ideas about women, stating that women's inferiority was not simply the result of Eve's actions but was inherent in her origins of creation. Even in procreation, her role was minimal, for the mother provided simply the material substance in the child, whereas the father supplied the active force (an idea Aquinas drew largely from Aristotle). Women needed male assistance in everything because of their physical intellectual weakness, although they did have souls and so were responsible for their own salvation" ("Women and Gender" 22). surmised to have read the Malleus Maleflcarum, believed that women were inherently mentally deficient because of Eve. Because men saw women as the weaker sex, especially during the 16th century, men ousted women from the work force, banning them to the domestic.6 In early modern Europe, lower-class elderly women were those most likely to be accused witches. Higher status women were rarely labeled as witches, as most of the witch hunts in England dealt with the lower class—an exception would be Anne Boleyn.7 Upper class women would only be labeled if they did something severe, such as in Boleyn's case of not bearing Henry VIII a son. Similarly, women who were accused or deemed more susceptible to witchcraft were unmarried women and/or elderly woman past menopause. Hanks states that, "Postmenopausal women were widely believed to experience increased sex drive, which might even lead them to seek demonic lovers to satisfy themselves. They were held to emit vapors from their mouths that could cause nursing women's milk to dry up or animals and children to sicken" (96). The witches depicted in Jacobean literature, such as the witches in Macbeth and the witch in The Tragedy of Sophonisba, are outsiders of society who are either sexually ambiguous or hypersexual. Since the authors of the literature identify the witches as living on the outskirts of society, the witches do not have a status because they do not belong in society. Women labeled as witches, such as the Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi, were of higher status, but men accused 6 Wiesner-Hanks argues that many occupations professionalized in the sixteenth century. People needed to be licensed and trained in certain occupations to be labeled as "physicians" (103). Because of religious and secular laws, the only vocation a woman could achieve was being a wife and mother, making it difficult for them to have certain jobs. Similarly, Wiesner-Hanks states that women were deemed unfit to be a part of certain occupations because of their clumsiness. 7 Retha M. Wamacke, In "The Fall of Anne Boleyn Revisited" discusses Henry VIII's accusation of witchcraft against Anne Boleyn. Likewise, in "Fantasizing Infanticide," Stephanie Chamberlain discusses the accusations of witchcraft against Anne Boleyn on page 77. 9 them of witchcraft because they ignored expectations set by men (in the Duchess' case, marrying a second time, to her steward). The fallaciousness of the Petrarchan ideal and the discourse of the Malleus Maleficarum demonstrate that men did not understand women. Popular literature of the time identifies men's anxieties over women, specifically those that include witches. The literature illustrates specific anxieties and fears that men had over women's sexuality, and by extension, their power over men. In this thesis, I will explore the literature of the Jacobean Era—specifically The Tragedy of Sophonisba, The Duchess of Malfi and Macbeth— and how these depictions demonstrated dualities between good and evil female stereotypes and the anxieties of men over the sexuality, beauty, and power of women. I will argue that the three Jacobean plays reflect fears about women who defy societal standards with the use of literal and metaphorical witches who use their voices and bodies to manipulate men, exemplifying the importance for women to follow the rules set by society. 10 Chapter 2 Early modern Europe placed women were placed into specific typologies, based on their pious or impious qualities and actions. Early modern European plays portrayed dualities in regards to women, stemming from positive and negative stereotypes based on men's anxieties. Society saw women as either being good or bad: either pious and obedient housewives or evil women, often labeled as witches. The origin of the duality within women stems from the Bible with Mary and Eve. Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus, is seen as the obedient, and domestic mother, who is pure and virtuous. Eve, on the other hand, is the first sinner of humankind: the woman who defied God. In Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe, Hanks argues, "Mary's peculiar status as virgin and mother allowed her to be honored as both pure and nurturing at the same time, and she came to be viewed as the exact opposite of Eve, creating a good woman/bad woman dichotomy that would become extremely strong in European culture" (23). This duality, especially during the witch hunts, inspired the distinct expectations that men had for women. Society deemed women witches if they defied the expectations set up for them. Men had distinct and specific expectations of women during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Men expected women to be domestic, obedient housewives who were subordinate to their husbands. Society did not allow women to work outside of the home because of their weaker nature. Men also saw women solely as child bearers to carry the family name. Martin Luther argues, "Women are created for no other purpose than to serve men and be their helpers. If women grow weary or even die while bearing children, that doesn't harm anything. Let them bear children to death; they are created for that" (Hanks 17). At a certain point, when a woman was going through menopause, there was no reason for her to remarry or have sexual 11 intercourse because she did not have the ability to procreate; therefore, women past menopause were seen as outcasts, of no use to society. Popular treatises, especially Jacob Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer's Malleus Maleflcarum, expressed why women were more likely to be tempted towards witchcraft: their "carnal lust." During the Renaissance, a popular belief was that women were more sexual than men.8 Similarly, society perceived women as more emotional and passive, making them all the more dangerous (Martensen 110).9 Only those women who could keep their sexuality and emotions in check (often by marriage) were seen as pious and virtuous. Martin Luther had distinct expectations of women, creating a similar binary. A woman was either an obedient housewife or a sinister witch, there was no in between. Luther believed that elderly women were more prone to witchcraft because of their unchecked emotions. Like the authors of the Malleus Maleflcarum, Luther believed women were overly sexual beings, but he believed that witchcraft was tempting to women not because of their sexuality, but because of their female deficiencies inherited from Eve, which reflects to the duality referred to earlier. Luther asserts, "The Devil is laying snares against the modesty of this sex, which by nature is weak, irresponsible, and foolish and hence exposed to the snares of Satan" ("Luther on Women" 8 Popular treatises discussed women's sexuality, such as the Malleus Maleflcarum, which stated that "witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable." In chapter 6 of Luther on Women: A Sourcebook the Susan Karant Nunn and Merry Wiesner-Hanks included Luther's thoughts on women's sexuality. In "The Arraignment of Lewd, idle, Froward, and Unconstant Women," Joseph Swetnam writes about the nature of women. He says, "Young men do not realize that women bring nothing but trouble" (195). Similarly, he argues that women are "'subtle and dangerous for men to deal with, for their faces are lures, their beauties are baits, their looks are nets, and their words charms, and all to bring men to ruin'" (100). In Half Humankind, Henderson and McManus assert, "Perhaps the most heavily stressed stereotype is that of the seductress: the image of woman as enticing, sexually insatiable, and deceitful in the service of her lust" (47). 9 Sexual Knowledge, Sexual Science: The History of Attitudes to Sexuality is a compilation of essays on sexuality and perceived sexuality from the classical to modern eras. Similarly, Sexuality & Gender in Early Modern Europe discusses texts and images about sexuality during the early modern period. 12 72). He believed women were weak by nature, hence their susceptibility to witchcraft. To Luther, and other Protestants, marriage was the highest attainable goal of women's lives, and, in marriage, they would have the protection of their husbands from the snares of the Devil. Men also expected women to be modest and watch their language around men, especially when the language was about female sexuality (a stereotype reflected by Petrarch's works on Laura).10 Women should have no knowledge of the sexual, since society generalized them as virtuous, if they followed societal standards.11 If women did not follow the roles mentioned, society ostracized them and often labeled and deemed them as witches, especially in literature; however, even if women did follow the norms set out for them, there were still instances that the women were the cause for men's destruction, demonstrating that women were the cause of negativity either way. Because of the good/bad female dichotomy, there are many representations of both types of women in literature.12 In Spencer's Faerie Queene, Spencer illustrates the most prominent example of female duality. In the Faerie Queene, there are two types of women: the innocent Una and the evil Duessa. Una is the representation of a virtuous and a pious female companion, while Duessa represents an evil conspiring woman who manipulates men for pleasure. Spencer describes Una as "A Lovely Ladie rode him faire beside" who wore a veil: "Under a vele, that wimpled was full low." Spencer's use of the word "vele" is representative of the Petrarchan Lady 10 In "Sexual Knowledge in England, 1500-1750," Patricia Crawford asserts, "The boundaries for talk about sexual matters were drawn so that no modest unmarried woman discussed sexual matters in mixed company, and even married women were guarded about what they said before men in public" (Crawford 96). 11 Crawford discusses female gossip and "the boundaries for talk on sexual matters" (95-97). 12 Deborah Willis argues, "Stage witches are regularly absorbed into an antithetical structure that splits 'woman' into good and bad; they are used in many plays to endorse a normalizing set of beliefs about women's 'proper' role, including in particular female chastity, modesty, and subordination" ("Malevolent Nurture" 161). 13 because of Una's chastity, demonstrated by the covering up of her beauty. Duessa, on the other hand, in her true form, is described as "The divelish hag," implying her old age and her evil nature (II, 42). Spencer also writes that Duessa is "a false sorceresse,/ That many errant knights hath brought to wretchednesse," demonstrative of Duessa's difference from the fair, virtuous Una (II, 34). The quote also illustrates that Duessa has seduced other knights, indicating her sexuality and manipulation over men. According to Hanks, "The witch was also the inversion of a 'good woman,' and set a negative standard for women; she was argumentative, willful, independent, aggressive and sexual, rather than chaste, pious, silent, obedient, and married" (Wiesner 229). Duessa is sexual, independent, and aggressive in Faerie Queene; she also is an enchantress, able to disguise and manipulate men as she pleases. Similarly, in The Tragedy of Sophonisba, Sophonisba is the epitome of good to the men around her, while Erictho, the witch, is the evil character within the play. Sophonisba is a married woman who rejected Syphax' love: "Though Sophonisba did reject thy love" (I, i, 4). As the readers learn about her, it becomes apparent she is the Petrarchan Lady archetype; Sophonisba is seen as the Petrarchan Lady: modest and virtuous, obedient to her husband. Sophonisba's husband, Massinissa, states that Sophinisba is "even fit for gods, not men," and "nature made all the rest of thy fair sex As weak essays to make thee a pattern of what can be in woman" (I, ii, 224-227). Massinissa regards Sophonisba as the epitome of what it means to be a woman, calling her a "wondrous creature" who is more "fit for gods." Behind closed doors, however, Sophonisba mocks the men and the societal expectations of women. In scene ii, Sophonisba speaks to her maid, Zanthia, stating, "I wonder, Zanthia, why the custom is / To use such ceremony, such strict shape, About us women." She further expresses that she "hate[s] these figures in locution, These about-phrases forced by ceremony" (I, ii, 6-12). Sophonisba 14 questions societal constructs, mocking marriage ceremonies and expresses dissatisfaction about how marriage affects women specifically. The men do not know this so they still revere her as the epitome of good. Her redeeming quality is the fact that she commits suicide to protect her country. Sophonisba states, "My death gives help to all" (V, iii, 85-86). Erictho, on the other hand, is evil in private and in public; she is the antithesis of Sophonisba. Erictho is everything that Sophonisba is not: she is overly sexual, disguising herself as Sophonisba to have sex with Syphax. In Act IV scene i, the stage directions indicate that Erictho is disguised "in the shape o/SOPHONISBA, her face veiled, and hasteth in the bed of SYPHAX." In the beginning of ACT V, after sexual intercourse, Erictho says, "We, in the pride and height of coveted lust / Have wished with woman's greediness to fill / Our longing arms with Syphax' well-strung limbs" (V, i, 13-15). Erictho refers to herself as lustful and greedy, wanting to fill her "longing arms with Syphax' well-strung limbs." In the introduction of Three Jacobean Witchcraft Plays, Peter Corbin and Douglas Sedge express that Erictho lusts for sex, "representing] the extreme of distorted appetite" (12). Her sexual appetite and her motivations influence her to want solely to achieve those appetites. Sophonisba and Erictho are the representations of the good and bad women respectively. Sophonisba is able to control her sexuality dying "with breast unstained, Faith pure, a virgin wife" (V, iii, 102-103). On the other hand, Erictho is conspicuously sexual and proud of it. She expresses, "know we, Erictho, with a thirsty womb," expressing her lust and sexual appetite to Syphax. The female antitype became rather common in English literature, such as Una and Duessa in the Faerie Queene and Sophonisba and Erictho in The Tragedy of Sophonisba. What is interesting, is that a woman can also be her own antitype depending on the men that converse with her. For example, in John Webster's Duchess ofMalfi, the Duchess' husband sees her as the 15 epitome of good, but her brothers see her as a woman, or a witch, that is ruining their lives. Before marrying her, Antonio calls the Duchess, "The right noble Duchess," that "stains the time past, lights the time to come" (I, i, 180,202). On the other hand, the Duchess' brothers see her as a "lusty widow" who will ruin their statuses if she remarried, especially beneath her (I, I, 330). When her brother, Ferdinand, finds out about her secret marriage, he states that the Duchess, "shook hands with Reputation And made him invisible" (III, ii, 134-135). Antonio idolizes the Duchess while her brothers see her as the femme fatale, who she shames by the decisions that she makes to marry beneath her. She, as the main protagonist, is her own antitype because the men in her life all see her in a different light. Another dichotomy within The Tragedy of Sophonisba is what Sophonisba says in public and in private to Zanthia, her maid. The men are not privy to what Sophonisba says behind closed doors, so they see her as the representation of the ideal woman. In privacy, however, Sophonisba demonstrates her independence and understanding of the repression the males hold over women, discussing the marriage ritual, as noted earlier. Because of this dichotomy, Sophonisba can be represented as her own antitype. The men around her see her as the archetype of the Petrarchan Lady, and yet the readers and viewers of the play know who she truly is: an independent woman who mocks societal standards of women. Sophonisba, as well, is the epitome of a good, pious woman to the men around her, but she is the cause of the fight that breaks out between men. Although she is virtuous, she is also dangerous, causing men to feign over her. Women, good or bad, are dangerous in these plays. They cause the ruin of men around them whether they mean to or not. Aside from the good/bad dichotomy, there is also a rural/urban dichotomy represented in Shakespeare's Macbeth. The characters of Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters are 16 representations of the duality between the rural and urban. The Weird Sisters, living on the outskirts of society in Macbeth, represent rural witchcraft, which is considered more maniacal and evil because the sisters do not follow societal expectations or norms. The Weird Sisters are also able to use their witchcraft on whoever they want. In the beginning of the play, the sisters discuss "killing swine" and sinking a ship of a man whose wife angered one of the sisters. The first witch states that the ship "shall be tempest-tossed," indicating the power she has over elements, a power that Lady Macbeth does not have. Similarly, in Act III of the play, the witch, Hecate, claims to be "the mistress of [their] charms," indicating a higher, sinister power in relationship to the rural. The Weird Sisters and Hecate are able to prophesize what will happen to Macbeth and Banquo, while Lady Macbeth is unable to prophesize; she merely is able to persuade her husband to act for her. In "Jacobean Witchcraft and Feminine Power," Stephanie Irene Spoto argues, "And with the influence of the female figures in the play—Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, the former practicing a sort of domestic witchcraft within the home, while the latter represent the outdoor and more wild elements of witchcraft—rising so their gender becomes more difficult to distinguish as they cast aside traditional roles and acquire new masculine or anti-maternal, positions, and appearances" (Spoto 66). Spoto's argument that the Weird Sisters represent more "wild elements of witchcraft" is also represented in the sisters' use of wind to sink the ship and the thunder in the stage directions whenever the sisters appear (III, 5 and IV, scene 1). Lady Macbeth represents a domestic kind of witchcraft, since she resides in the realm of the domestic. When Lady Macbeth finds out that the sisters' prophesize Macbeth's role as king, she knows that her husband does not have the ambition to commit regicide, although he is a man. For that reason, she calls upon spirits to unsex her: "Come, you spirits That tend on mortal 17 thoughts, unsex me here And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull Of direst cruelty" (I, 5). By asking to become unsexed, Lady Macbeth wants to be stripped of her femininity—which is associated with weakness—so that she can take on a masculine role, causing amenorrhea, something demonstrative of witches during the time.13 Similarly, since the Weird Sisters have male qualities, they have given up their maternal aspects, identifying as witches. The Weird Sisters are more maniacal because of their identities outside of the domestic, which is why they are able to meddle with Macbeth's life as well as Banquo's. Since the Weird Sisters live on the outskirts of society, they do not follow societal rules. They have the power of prophecy and choose Macbeth and Banquo to meddle with. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, is less maniacal because she resides within the domestic, only having power over her husband. As a member of the society in which she lives, Lady Macbeth is a wife who only has authority over her husband. She does not have magical powers; she only has ambition for more power in society. She is able to control Macbeth by questioning his masculinity when he does not act to commit regicide. She states, "Yet do I fear thy nature It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness," and "that I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valor of my tongue" (I, 5,15-26). Lady Macbeth recognizes that her husband does not have the "illness" that "should attend [ambition]," so she knows she must persuade him into having the masculinity needed to kill the king. Lady Macbeth is not able to control elements or prophesize what is to come like the 13 In early modern Europe, elderly women past menopause were considered to be more susceptible to witchcraft because they were either overly sexual or could not control their emotions. By asking for amenorrhea, Lady Macbeth wants to become a witch. In Shakespeare's play, he equates masculinity with witchcraft and, by extension, the ability to act. Merry Wiesner-Hanks states, "Female sexual drive was viewed as increasing throughout a woman's life, making, in learned eyes, the postmenopausal woman most vulnerable to the blandishments of a demonic suitor (Hanks 263). Weird Sisters; she is only privy to controlling and persuading the man within her grasp who she is matrimonially tied to, equating to domestic societal witchcraft. Not only was there a dichotomy between good vs. bad women, but there was mother vs. anti-mother. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth wishes to be unsexed, so that she may have the strength to commit regicide with her husband to pursue her ambitions for power. She states, "unsex me here" and wishes for the spirits to "take [her] milk for gall," wishing to be stripped of her feminine ability to be a mother to a child so that she can become more masculine (I, v, 39-49). By calling for amenorrhea, she is essentially asking to be stripped of her femininity that allows her to be a mother. Hanks states that, "The cessation of menstruation (amenorrhea) was regarded as extremely dangerous for a woman, either because it left impure blood in her that might harden into an abnormal growth or because it would allow excess blood to run to her brain, which would become overheated" (Hanks 58). Lady Macbeth willingly wishes to be "unsexed" for power, making her the anti-mother—the domestic witch. The good/bad dichotomy located within the three plays, The Tragedy of Sophonisba, The Duchess ofMalfi, and Macbeth, also reflects male anxieties over the females within the plays because each female protagonist within the plays represents a certain type of anxiety, whether she is the embodiment of the Petrarchan Lady or not. The extreme that the female falls under dictates what kind of woman she will be in the play. Sophonisba, the embodiment of the Petrarchan Lady, mocks societal expectations behind closed doors with her maid, reflecting anxieties of a woman's power over men but is a "wondrous creature" in public. Similarly, the Duchess and Lady Macbeth also have power over their respective husbands and other men in their plays, again, demonstrative of power. Erictho, the Weird Sisters, and the Duchess ofMalfi are representative of the dangers of sexuality, either being witches or metaphorical witches to the 19 men around them. All three plays demonstrate male anxieties over female sexuality, beauty, and power, reflective of the common expectations of women in real life society. 20 Chapter 3: The Anxieties of Women's Sexuality, Power, Beauty, and Voice When James of Scotland ascended the throne of England in 1603, he brought with him his ideas and interpretations of witchcraft, stemming from his personal encounters with witches in Scotland. Although the witch as a character in literature appeared before James ascended the throne in England, the anxieties that James had, which were represented in his Demonologie, further motivated the creation of a figurative and/or literal witch character in literature during the Jacobean era.14 James I's anxieties over witchcraft and femininity were known, and especially evident because of his abolishing of Elizabeth's 1563 witchcraft statute and the creation of his own, which "contained] harsher and broader punishments for witches and practitioners of magic" ("Demonologie" 6). In his Demonologie, James I discusses his thoughts on women in relation to witchcraft. In response to Philomathes, the sceptic's question, "What can be the cause that there are twenty women given to that craft, where there is one man?" Epistemon, the believer, replies, "The reason is easy, for as that sex is frailer than man is, so it is easier to be entrapped in these gross snares of the Devil, as was overwell proved to be true by the Serpent's deceiving of Eve at the beginning, which makes him the friendlier with that sex since then" (128). Like Luther, James I believed that women were the weaker sex, making them more susceptible to witchcraft. In The Witch in History, Diane Purkiss states that, "The sorcerer must not only avoid becoming a witch; he must also avoid the least trace of femininity. This anxiety is a Jacobean development, arising at least in part from the pressure put on the discourse by James I's appropriation of the role of magus or royal sorcerer as a figure for the providential absolutism 14 There are literal witches in "The Witch," "The Witches of Edmonton," "Masque of Queens," "Macbeth," "The Tragedy of Sophonisba." Women were also labeled as witches for going against patriarchal society expectations, as can be seen in The Duchess of Malfi and The Winter's Tale. In Malevolent Nurture, the author states, "Thus in The Winter's Tale, Leontes castigates Paulina as a "mankind witch" when she defies his commands, and Polixenes later accusingly comments on Perdita's 'excellent witchcraft' when he is dismayed by the power her beauty exerts over his son" (MN 9). 21 of his rule" ("The Witch in History" 184). James I associated witchcraft with femininity, which reflects why there is an association between women and witches in Jacobean literature. James I's rule and his apparent interest in witchcraft prosecutions led to distinct witchcraft plays where there were either roles that contained witches or witches as metaphors. Although society believed that witches were to be elderly women past menopause, there was an association with witchcraft roles and metaphors within plays with women of presumably all ages to demonstrate the disorder they create and their disregard in following societal expectations. The specific plays that I will discuss in this chapter are The Tragedy of Sophonisba, The Duchess ofMalfi, and Macbeth, all of which contain witchcraft—whether literal or metaphorical—that demonstrate and reflect male anxieties over women. In John Marston's The Tragedy of Sophonisba (1606), Sophonisba's choice to marry Massinissa over Syphax leads to Syphax's jealousy and revenge on Sophonisba's country, Carthage. In John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi ("1623), the Duchess marries her steward, Antonio, despite her brothers' wishes, ultimately leading to each of their demises. In Macbeth (1623), the prophecy of the Weird Sisters and Lady Macbeth's persistence persuade Macbeth into committing regicide, successfully leading to the madness of Lady Macbeth and the death of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Sophonisba, the Duchess, and Lady Macbeth are the catalysts of their respective plays. Their choices of love and/or power create a domino effect of death and destruction. Similarly, within these plays, there are female witches named as witches because of their actions that fall outside of the societal norms of Jacobean England. Therefore, I will argue that sexuality, power/agency, beauty, and the female voice are all anxieties that men held about women, and these are reflected in the female characters of The Tragedy of Sophonisba, The Duchess ofMalfi, and Macbeth. 22 Men had certain and specific expectations of women in early modern England, which literature of the time reflected. Men worried about women not following their patriarchal expectations, thereby causing societal anxieties. These anxieties are demonstrated specifically in The Tragedy of Sophonisba, Macbeth, and the Duchess of Malfi. Women, good or bad, ruined the lives of men in literature; they were often catalysts for destruction.15 The Duchess's choice to remarry is the reason everyone dies. Sophonisba, although virtuous, is the reason why the men of the play are at war. The Weird Sisters manipulate the lives of the people around them with no specific motivation, and Erictho takes advantage of men because of her sexual appetite. Authors still portray women, pious or impious, as being able to manipulate men. These women are attractive and, in their virtue, seduce men into pursuing them. They depict the anxieties of men regarding female sexuality.16 Women's sexuality was the most prominent anxiety that men had during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. This can be seen by how often women who are sexual in literature are depicted as witches or women who are characterized as witches within the plays are sexual. Women's sexuality was seen as a threat because there was a popular belief among men that women were more sexual.17 A woman's womb was described as thirsty for a male's seed, and, if 15 Duessa's sexuality attracts and manipulates men in The Faerie Queene. Similarly, Cordelia, a pious daughter, ruins King's Lear's Kingdom because of her honesty and virtue. 16 In Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe, Merry Wiesner Hanks states, "These attitudes were shaped by one of the primary underlying concepts in both Greek and Christian thought, a dichotomy between order and disorder, which was linked to other polarities including culture/nature, reason/emotion, and mind/body. In all of these, men were linked to the more positive first term and women to the more negative second. Witches were women who let these qualities—links with nature, their emotions, and their bodily drives—come to dominate them completely; they were both disorderly and actively bent on destroying order" (Hanks 262). 17 Wiesner Hanks states, "Women were also more 'disorderly' than men because they were unreasonable, ruled by their physical body rather than their rational capacity, their lower parts rather than upper" (Hanks 296). She further expresses, "The idea that women had a greater sexual drive than men did not die out in popular understanding with the triumph of Galenic ideas among learned writers, however, but remained constant until very late in the eighteenth century" (Hanks 38). 23 men were not careful, too much sexual intercourse with women could shorten their lives. A woman's ability to shorten a male's life with her womb gave her control over a man's lifespan, which men found as dangerous and menacing. In "Sexual Knowledge in England, 1500-1750," Patricia Crawford states that, "Evidence from popular literature reveals a wide range of male fears of women. Men worried lest women's powerful desires should prove irresistible, for they knew that the female seed had a greedy desire' for the male seed" (Crawford 97). Similarly, because women were popularly known as being more sexual, that made them more susceptible to the snares of the devil, as shown by the Malleus Maleficarum. In The Faerie Queene, Duessa is demonstrative of the anxieties that men had about women's sexuality, but in a different way than can be seen in the Jacobean plays that will be discussed in this chapter. In Crafting the Witch: Gendering Magic in Medieval and Early Modern England, Heidi Breuer asserts that, "Duessa has no husband and no children, no one to restrict her movement, and this places her firmly outside the ideal feminine roles of wife and mother. She is the pre-maternal witch, the beautiful temptress, using sex against the system" (Breuer 116). What is interesting in the three Jacobean plays is that Sophonisba, the Duchess, and Lady Macbeth are all married women (the Duchess marries in secret in the beginning of the play) who still manipulate and have power over men. Although these women are married, each of their beauty and female sexuality successfully manipulates and controls the men around them, even if they do not wish to be manipulative. In The Tragedy of Sophonisba, the sexual female character is the witch, Erictho. She is tempted by her own sexual appetite and her motivations are solely to achieve those appetites. Erictho demonstrates her excessive sexuality when she laughs at Syphax after she successfully tricked him into having sex with her. She states: 24 More ignorant thing, Know we, Erictho, with a thirsty womb, Have coveted full threescore suns for blood of kings. We that can make enraged Neptune toss His huge curled locks without one breath of wind; We that can make heaven slide from Atlas' shoulder; We, in the pride and height of covetous lust, Have wished with woman's greediness to fill Our longing arms with Syphax' well-strung limbs. (V, i, 7-15) It is no surprise that the witch is an overly sexual being, tricking a man into sexual intercourse.18 Erictho refers to herself as "we" which can express her role as witch, since it is as if she is possessed. Similarly, "we" can also demonstrate her power over men, specifically Syphax, because she pluralizing herself, making it seem like she is more than one woman. Like other witch characters portrayed in literature, Erictho is represented to be hypersexual. She has a "thirsty womb," "covetous lust," and "woman's greediness." In the introduction to Three Jacobean Witchcraft Plays, Peter Corbin and Douglas Sedge express that Erictho lusts for sex, "representing] the extreme of distorted appetite" (12). Similarly, her supernatural power over Syphax is demonstrated by her expression that she can "make heaven slide from Atlas' shoulder." Corbin and Sedge state that, "Her grave-robbing, her control of base creatures and her manipulation of the air to produce erotic and sensual music mark her as a figure of 18 Like stated earlier, witches were often depicted as sexual women, not only in literature but in artwork as well. Albrecht Durer and Hans Baldung Grien portrayed sexualized female witches in their artwork in early modern Germany. In "Witch Riding Backwards on a Goat," Durer portrays an elderly female witch who is sexualized by the fact that she is naked. She rides backwards on a goat to reflect disorder. In Hans Baldung Grien's Witches Sabbath and Three Witches, there are similar scenes: naked, elderly witches who are illustrated in sexual positions. "The Witch in Early 16th Century German Art," by Dorinda Neave contains for information on these pieces. unconstrained appetite over against Sophonisba who can forgo the pleasures of the bridal-bed and maintain her virtue in the face of physical and moral pressures" (12). Erictho, like discussed in Chapter 2, is the antithesis of Sophonisba. Sophonisba and Erictho are the representations of the good and bad woman respectively. Sophonisba is able to control her sexuality, keeping her virtue, while Erictho is conspicuously sexual and proud of it. In "Witches and Wives: Female Crusade for the Acquisition of Meaningful Roles in Jacobean Drama," Sonia Hernandez Santano argues that, "Because, throughout the whole play and only in the privacy of her soliloquies, [Sophonisba] shows a conscious awareness of playing the role patriarchy has designed for women; she becomes a metacharacter, fully conscious of the need of representing herself as the chaste wife understanding the chastity not only as faithfulness to husbands but as lack of sexual needs" (Santano 285). Although Sophonisba is not regarded or represented as a sexual woman in her own regard, Syphax sees her in a sexual way, wanting to have intercourse with her. We see that Syphax sees Sophonisba in a sexual way when he willingly and eagerly sleeps with Erictho when she shapeshifts into Sophonisba. Sophonisba is catastrophic to the male characters within the play—specifically Syphax who claims to love her, causing the war that kills most of the characters. Syphax states, "I am disgraced in and by that which hath no reason—love, and woman" (I, i, 73-74). His love for Sophonisba and her rejection are the cause of his revengeful feelings. In The Duchess of Malfi, the Duchess is the female protagonist of the story whose decision to marry Antonio leads to the tragedy of the play. In the beginning of the play, the audience finds out that the Duchess is a new widow, her husband having died of unknown causes. The Duchess' fate is set at the beginning of the play because of her decision to marry a 26 second time to a man whose rank is beneath her own. She is "imprisoned among madmen, shown the apparent corpses of her own children, and tricked into kissing what she believes to be the dismembered hand of her husband—all for the crime of marrying beneath her station" (Pandey 267).19 Webster demonstrates anxieties of men in the form of female sexuality in the character of The Duchess. The Duchess, recently widowed, decides that she wishes to marry her steward, Antonio. Not only is marrying beneath oneself frowned upon for a woman of status in this period, but the Duchess' desire to remarry also demonstrates a quality that is against societal expectations. Her brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, are against her wish to remarry, calling her "a young widow," who "[they] would not have her marry again." In their dialogue to the Duchess, we can see what was expected of women during the period. Because of her position as widow, her brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, wish for her to be watched so that she does not stain the family name and blood by remarrying. Ferdinand asks Bosola to observe his sister for fear that she will get married again. He states: I give you that. To live I'th'court here and observe the Duchess, To note all the particulars of her haviour: What suitors do solicit her for marriage And whom she best affects. She's a young widow, I would not have her marry again. (I, i, 242-247) 19 For more on madness during the early modem period, see Mystical Bedlam: Madness, Anxiety, and Healing in Seventeenth-century England by Michael MacDonald. 27 By commenting that he "would not have her marry again," Ferdinand illustrates what men expected of women who were higher class widows during the 17th century.20 The court observes and notes "particulars of [women's] 'haviour[s]." If a woman becomes a widow, she is not expected to remarry, especially if she is past menopause. A woman going through menopause cannot conceive, thereby she has no need to remarry.21 Similarly, Martin Luther expressed, "...A maiden, as you wish; a widow, as she wills. Beware of her who has had two husbands," indicating that a widow who married twice had a negative connotation surrounding her ("Luther on Women" 134). Ferdinand further expresses to his sister: You are a widow You know already what man is, and therefore Let not youth, high promotion, eloquence... (I, i, 284-286) The Cardinal, his brother, interrupts and states to his sister, "No, nor any thing without the addition, honour,/ Sway your high blood." Both brothers believe that the Duchess has already married and knows what it feels like to be a wife. They both claim there is no reason for her to remarry because "[she] know[s] already what man is." They are afraid her womanly emotions may sway her into another marriage, tarnishing her status and royal blood. Ferdinand is more forceful in his dialogue in wanting his sister to stay pure as a widow. He ends his conversation by stating, "Farewell, lusty widow." Hanks states that, "The 'lusty widow' who wants to remarry as quickly as possible is a common figure in early modern literature, but studies indicate that 20 In Chapter 3 of Women and Gender, Wiesner Hanks discusses Women's economic roles in early modern Europe. Women were to be domestic housewives because they were deemed unfit to work in certain professionalized areas. In chapter 5 of Luther on Women: A Sourcebook Susan Karant Nunn and Merry Wiesner-Hanks discuss Luther's views on women in regards to marriage and the family. 21 For more information on widowhood, see Chapter 2 of Wiesner Hank's Women and Gender, specifically pages 94-98. women who could afford to resisted all pressure to remarry and so retained their independence" (Hanks 95). The Duchess, who is of higher class than Antonio, has no need to remarry, as can be shown by her brothers' eagerness in keeping her a widow, but she is adamant in marrying Antonio; whether it is for love or lust is up to interpretation—although Ferdinand would choose the latter. When Ferdinand bids his sister farewell by calling her a "lusty widow," the Duchess replies: Shall this move me? If all my royal kindred Lay on my wall unto this marriage I'd make them my low foot-steps, and even now, Even in this hate, as men in some great battles By apprehending danger have achieved Almost impossible actions—I have heard soldiers say so— So I, through frights and threat'nings will assay This dangerous venture. Let old wives report I winked and chose a husband. (I, i, 331-330) The Duchess hears her brother's words, but chooses not to do what he wants, "[wink[ing] and cho[osing] a husband." She decides to marry Antonio and controls her own fate and sexuality. The Duchess' decision to marry Antonio, despite her brother's wishes, is considered blasphemous because a woman is supposed to be obedient to the men of the household. As a widow, Ferdinand and the Cardinal expect the Duchess to be content, but by remarrying she actively deceives her brothers and demonstrates that she is sexual and has power over them. 29 In this play, the Duchess is not a witch; she is merely called one because of actions her brothers—specifically Ferdinand—saw as uncharacteristic of a woman in her position. Throughout the play, the Duchess is called different names for her promiscuity with Antonio. After years have passed and the Duchess has had two more children, Delio asks Antonio what the common people say about her. Antonio replies that, "The common rabble do directly say/ She is a strumpet." Similarly, Ferdinand states in Act II scene V, "Read there: a sister damned, she's loose I'th'hilts,/ Grown a notorious strumpet!" Likewise, the Duchess's sexuality and her brothers' fear that she will remarry lead to witchcraft metaphors. Ferdinand asserts, "The witchcraft lies in her rank blood" and says to his sister: Now hear me: You live in a rank pasture here, i'th' court. There is a kind of honey-dew that's deadly: 'Twill poison your fame. Look to't. Be not cunning: For they whose faces do belie their hearts Are witches ere they arrive at twenty years, Ay, and give the devil suck. (I, i, 297-302) Here, Ferdinand is insistent that the Duchess sway away from temptation, for it will "poison [her] fame." If her blood is tainted, then by extension, her and her brothers' reputation are tainted. Ferdinand alludes to his sister being a witch because of her decision to remarry by saying "For they whose faces do belie their hearts," which is a reflection of male fears over a woman's sexuality and the relationship to witchcraft. The Duchess remarried, therefore she is "loose I'th'hilts" and "grown a notorious strumpet." Ferdinand also asks his sister to "be not cunning." 30 The Duchess' first response to Ferdinand's speech is to do just that: be cunning and remarry despite her brothers wishes. In response to his sister's promiscuity, Ferdinand says, "That known, I'll find scorpions to string my whips / And fix her in a general eclipse" (II, v, 78-79). Ferdinand is upset by his sister's promiscuity in participating in sexual relations and having a child, and later multiple children. He is more disturbed than his brother, the Cardinal, who deems Ferdinand mad for becoming so distressed by the events. Spoto argues, "A witch was identified through her visible rejection of a society's moral code and her actions against commonly held standards for women." The Duchess rejects her brothers' standards and acts against their commands. Spoto further expresses, "promiscuity was perhaps the most dangerous and subversive activity for women to engage in during the witch-hunts, as the most common attribute in portrayals of witches is their exaggerated sexuality, and perhaps more dangerously, their power over male sexuality" (Spoto 58). Ferdinand sees his sister, the Duchess, as a witch because of her decision to remarry. They claim that she has already known what it is like to be married, so she does not need to do it again. The Duchess wants to marry, and disobeys her brothers, marrying in secret. Antonio confesses that, "she hath had two children more, a son, and daughter," after the first child, further demonstrating her unrestrained sexuality, especially since the brothers believe her to be having sexual relations out of wedlock (III, i, 6-7). Ferdinand's insistence on the Duchess' following his expectations accidentally empowers the Duchess into becoming what he and his brother fear: a disobedient, promiscuous woman. The Duchess is a demonstration of male anxieties because she is disobedient and cunning. By holding on to the Duchess and trying to make her subservient to the societal standards, they instead lead her towards it. The Duchess then has power over the men, especially Ferdinand. Because the 31 Duchess is disobedient, Ferdinand wishes to punish her by attempting to drive her mad. In Act IV, the stage directions address that Ferdinand, gives her a dead man's hand, making her think it is the hand of Antonio (IV, i, 43). Likewise, Ferdinand also sends madmen from an insane asylum to the Duchess to make her insane. He says, "I am resolved/ To remove forth the common hospital/ All the mad-folk and place them near her lodging" (IV, i, 122-124). The Duchess says, "I am the Duchess of Malfi still," and is strangled to death without putting up a fight (IV, ii, 130). The Duchess' prideful claim that she is still the Duchess of Malfi can reflect unease about women's authority and lack of fear in the midst of death. The Duchess demonstrates her superiority to her brother because she courageously welcomes death. Ferdinand wishes to lead his sister towards madness because of her infidelity. By attempting to do so, he himself ends up losing his sanity. The irony is that Ferdinand is so focused on the idea of the Duchess tainting her blood, that he doesn't see his spiral into his own tainted masculinity after his execution of the Duchess. The Duchess holds so much power over Ferdinand, that in her death he becomes insane. The lycanthropy is a metaphor for his distorted and emasculated self. Throughout the play, Ferdinand alludes to his madness when he refers to wolves. He says, "The wolf shall find her grave" and "The howling of a wolf is music to thee" (III, ii, 97- 98). The situation between Ferdinand and his sister is a double edged sword; as he tries to control her, she ends up controlling him. The madness he tries to impose on his sister rebounds back to him. His sisters' death leads to his own madness, as he imagines he has become a werewolf. In Act V, after his sister's death, a doctor expresses that Ferdinand believes he is a werewolf. The doctor says, "In those that are possessed with't there o'er-flows/ Such melancholy humour they imagine/ Themselves to be transformed into wolves" (V, ii, 8-10). Ferdinand becomes a tainted, 32 distorted sort of masculinity because of his sister's death. The bestiality associated with werewolves reflects Ferdinand's descent into madness. His obsession with his sister is further demonstrated right before he dies. He declares, "My sister! Oh my sister, there's the cause on't! 'Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust, Like diamonds we are cut with our own dust'" (V, v, 70-73). Ferdinand's obsession with his sister and tainted masculinity after her death signifies the anxiety of women's power over men. Similar to the Duchess, in Macbeth, the women possess agency, although Macbeth is the pawn through whom they act. Shakespeare associates the agency with a certain type of sexuality: masculinity. The Weird Sisters live outside of the domestic, represented by their words and their guises. They meet "in thunder, lightening, or in rain" and have power over elements, making them supernatural (I, i, 2). When encountering the witches, Banquo states: What are these, So withered and so wild in their attire That look not like th' inhabitants of the earth And yet are on't? Live you, or are you aught That man may question? You seem to understand me, By each at once her choppy finger laying Upon her skinny lips. You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so. (I, iii, 39-47) 33 Banquo identifies what the Weird Sisters look like stating, "[they] should be women/ And yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so." They have both masculine and feminine qualities, making them androgynous and dangerous because we do not know if they are "inhabitants of the earth"—an idea that also expresses that they live in the outskirts of society where they are unseen. Their dispositions reflect the gender binary: male and female, which demonstrates that evil witches, to Shakespeare, need to embody both masculine and feminine qualities—which can also be seen when Lady Macbeth asks to be unsexed. This is a more worrisome kind of sexuality, differing from other witchcraft plays. Duessa, Erictho, and Hecate are illustrated as hypersexual and promiscuous women. The Weird Sisters, and Lady Macbeth for that matter, seem to either call for or already have forms of masculinity within them, leading to a different kind of sexuality. Witchcraft sexuality in Macbeth coincides with masculinity. Women become more powerful because they hold male and female qualities. A woman needs to suppress her femininity to hold agency and act in Macbeth. Critics note that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, men had specific knowledge about a female's body. Women were more emotional than men because their menstrual cycle was linked with the phases of the moon. Patricia Crawford argues that, "Such ideas of physiological instability thus reinforced in turn the idea of the female person as unstable and changeable, at the mercy of the moon" (Crawford 91). Society recognized women as more sexual than men, as writers of the time prescribed sex for female diseases (Crawford 85). Similarly, the Malleus Maleficarum expressed that "witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable" ("The Hammer" 188). It was common knowledge in early modern Europe, whether it be through word of mouth or through writing, that women were sexual beings, which is why literature reflected these anxieties through female witches, those that allowed their sexuality tempt them. Witches were those women who went against societal expectation, disobeying the norms. The anxieties of men are reflected in literature in the form of literal or metaphorical witches. Literature portrayed women's power over men and other members of society as dangerous. Society expected women to be subordinate to men; confined to the domestic. Men considered women who had agency or power over a man dangerous. People were supposed to follow societal norms, and women's roles were to be obedient housewives. Those who "stepped outside their prescribed roles in other than extraordinary circumstances, and particularly those who made a point of emphasizing that they were doing this, were seen as threatening not only relations between the sexes but also the operation of the entire social order" (Hanks 296). Therefore, women's agency emasculated men, causing fear. Lady Macbeth, the Duchess, and Sophonisba are examples of women who have agency and power over men in their respective plays. In The Tragedy of Sophonisba, John Marston depicts Sophonisba as a fiercely independent woman who would do anything for her country of Carthage. Sophonisba is not only independent, but she is also virtuous, beautiful (for Syphax loves and lusts for her), and aware of the limits she has in society because of her gender. Although she is portrayed as a close to perfect woman, being described as even being fit for gods, Sophonisba reveals her true independence in private to the audience and to her maid, Zanthia. Sophonisba holds power over Syphax a king of Libya who seeks Sophobisba's love. Throughout the play, Sophonisba continuously exerts her independence from Syphax, making him look like a fool. In the first scene of the play, Syphax says, "Thou Sophonisba did reject thy love" (I, i, 4). Sophonisba chose Syphax' rival, Massinissa as her husband, rejecting Syphax 35 which ultimately began a war between Carthage, Sophonisba's kingdom, and Libya. Syphax states: I am disgraced in and by that which hath No reason—love, and woman. My revenge Shall therefore bear no argument of right: Passion is reason when it speaks from might. (I, i, 73-74) His only reason for going to war is revenge on Sophonisba, the woman who rejected him. At the end of the play, Syphax repeats his words: Sophonisba, 'twas she, Twas Sophonisba that solicited My forced revolt. 'Twas her resistless suit, Her love to her dear Carthage, 'ticed me break All faith with men. (V, ii, 69-73) Even Sophonisba admits, "[Her] choice of love hath given this sudden danger/ To yet strong Carthage," and decides to commit suicide at the end of the play to save her country from more death and destruction (I, ii, 164-165). As a representation of the Petrarchan Lady, Sophonisba has control over the men in her play. The anxiety is represented by how Syphax seeks revenge by going to war with Carthage and how the men are unable to see that she is more self-aware then she lets them be privy to. Sophonisba's suicide is predetermined because only in death is order restored to her kingdom. Sophonisba holds power over not only Syphax, but also over almost every man in the play because of her virtue and selflessness when it comes to her country. When Massinissa is about to go to war, Sophonisba declares, "Go, best man,/ And make me proud to be a soldier's 36 wife/ That values his renown about faint pleasures" (I, ii, 216-218). She admires that her husband holds Carthage of high value. Massinissa replies, "Wondrous creature! Even fit for gods, not men/ Nature made all the rest of thy fair sex/ As weak essays to make thee a pattern/ of what can be in woman" (I, ii, 224-227). Massinissa is impressed by Sophonisba's words, thinking highly of her as a woman, reminiscent of how Antonio views the Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi. Gelosso also pronounces, "A prodigy! for now the world/ hath seen a woman," when Sophonisba shows courage and love for her country (II, i, 154-157). Most men see Sophonisba as the epitome of woman, but the anxiety that Marston portrays in this play is that it is all a fafade. Sophonisba acts like a Petrarchan Lady, being obedient and virtuous, but in privacy she is not. She successfully controls the men around her although that is not her intention because of her piety and love for her country. She is the catalyst that controls the fate of the characters within the play because of the choices she makes rejecting Syphax and committing suicide to save Carthage. Like Sophonisba, the Duchess also has power over the men around her. The most obvious person the Duchess has control and power over is her brother, Ferdinand. Her actions stir his emotions and lead him towards madness, in which he thinks he is a werewolf in the latter half of the play. The Duchess actively goes against her brothers' wishes in marrying Antonio, and keeps her marriage and love a secret, until it is revealed that she has three children. Similarly, the Duchess has power and authority over Ferdinand, the Cardinal, and Bosola due to her cunningness. She is quick to lie to Bosola and Ferdinand, making up instances where Antonio stole from her so that he can flee away from the danger, saying "Antonio, the master of our household/ Hath dealt so falsely with me in's accounts" (III, ii, 165-166). She, like Sophonisba, 37 is an independent woman who has control over men because of her beauty, awareness, and cunningness—Sophonisba's cleverness can be seen when she tricks Syphax, giving her time to flee. The Duchess also has power over Antonio because of her apparent beauty and goodness which is described in the beginning of the play. Antonio described Ferdinand and the Cardinal as foul and rank humans, but, when asked about the Duchess, spends nineteen lines describing her personality and beauty. Antonio describes the Duchess as a representation of the Petrarchan Lady, having virtue and beauty that other women could only dream of. According to Antonio, the Duchess is a medal unlike her brothers, "cast in one figure, of so different temper." He calls her "the right noble Duchess" that "throws upon a man so sweet a look." By indicating that she has "so sweet a look," Antonio describes the Duchess' beauty, reveling in her physicality. She is "divine;" therefore she rises above other woman who are worldly, and has "such noble virtue," symbolic of her role as Petrarchan Lady to Antonio (I, i, 180-198). When Antonio recommends that "all sweet ladies break their flatt'ring glasses" and "dress themselves in her," the reader can assess his love-struck nature. Because of the Duchess' beauty and virtue, she holds power over Antonio, even tricking him into marrying her. She says, "'twas my wedding ring, And I did vow never to part with it But to my second husband," and explains that "we are forced to woo because none dare woo us" (I, i, 432). Through the Duchess' beauty and virtue, Webster illustrates the power that women can hold over men. In her cunningness of proposing to Antonio, Webster also describes a woman's ability to deceive and manipulate, thereby holding power over men. Lady Macbeth, a different sort of evil compared to the Duchess and Sophonisba, is considered a "witch" because of her power and agency over her husband, Macbeth. She 38 persuades her husband to commit regicide by questioning his masculinity, "Wouldst thou have that / Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life / And live a coward in thine own esteem" (I, vii, 41-43). What identifies her as a "witch," according to scholars, are her actions seen as unfavorable characteristics in women at the time, as Wiesner Hanks states, "her actions against commonly held standards for women." Lady Macbeth has a stronger personality than her husband, acting on her will and motivation to rise up the great chain of being and become queen. Macbeth, on the other hand, is less motivated to act. Through her motivation, Lady Macbeth urges her husband to kill Duncan, using him as the instrument of agency throughout the play. Although Macbeth is the one to act throughout the play, Lady Macbeth is the catalyst, along with the prophecy of the Weird Sisters, to inspire Macbeth's actions. Because of this, Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters can be seen as dangerous women who disrupt the norm because of their power and agency over men. Macbeth's reluctance to follow Lady Macbeth's plan demonstrates the anxiety early modern society held about women's power. Lady Macbeth's agency is disturbing and dangerous that even Macbeth, who is a man and is supposed to hold the agency, does not want to act. Lady Macbeth is supposed to be subordinate, but she is the master of the plan that leads to regicide. Macbeth asks Lady Macbeth, "If we should fail?" to which she replies, "We fail?/ But screw your courage to the sticking place/ And we'll not fail" (II, i, 60-62). She urges him to follow her and believe that her plan will work. By listening to his wife and committing the murder, Macbeth becomes mad, thinking he sees a dagger in front of him and seeing a ghost, further illustrating male anxieties about women. He questions, "Is this a dagger which I see before me/ The handle toward my hand?" (II, i, 44-45). Lady Macbeth's manipulation leads to Macbeth's further emasculation and madness, similar to Ferdinand in The Duchess of Malfi. 39 Lady Macbeth uses her words to manipulate her husband, who, by her manipulation, is persuaded to commit regicide. The actual witches within the play are identified as androgynous; they hold both male and female qualities, making them all the more maniacal and dangerous because they do not belong to one gender. Lady Macbeth seems to think that she must become more like a man in order to have the agency to commit murder, asking the spirits to unsex her so that the "passage to remorse" is stopped (I, v, 40-43). Although she herself does not act, except through her husband, she and the Weird Sisters are the catalysts for what occurs. Deborah Willis argues that, "Yet in Shakespeare's plays witchcraft is clearly intertwined not only with treason but also with gender transgression. Shakespeare's witches and the women associated with them, often endowed with masculine traits, regularly step out place and become usurpers of the male role" ("Malevolent Nurture" 6). As Willis argues, Shakespeare's witches are different from other witches because of their masculinity and fusion of gender qualities, making it possible for them to have control over the men around them. Macbeth himself recognizes the masculine in his wife, asserting that she should only bear male progenies. He says, "Bring forth men- children only/ For thy undaunted mettle should compose/ nothing but males" (II, i, 72-74). The androgyny creates fear and anxiety because the men no longer hold power, and the women become hybrids who hold both qualities, giving them more agency then the men. Lady Macbeth's power and agency can be seen when she calls for spirits to unsex her so that she can have the power to do what needs to be done: regicide. She states: Come, you spirits That tend on moral thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood; 40 Stop up th' access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose nor keep peace between Th' effect and it. Come to my woman's breasts And take my milk for gall, you murd'ring ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature's mischief. (I, v, 39-49) Lady Macbeth asks to be unsexed, willing away the portions of her femininity that make her weak so that she may hold power and agency over her husband. She asks to be filled with "direst cruelty," because she understands that masculinity is associated with action and remorselessness. She wishes for the "Passage of remorse" to stop, so that she can lessen her feminine emotions and become more manly, and by extension, able to act. Similarly, by asking for the spirits to "take [her] milk for gall," she is tainting her feminine ability to nurse a child, effectively making her the anti-mother and witch because of the connection between amenorrhea and witchcraft. Hanks argues that "Women were widely recognized as having less physical, economic, or political power than men so that they were more likely to need magical assistance to gain what they wanted," which is why Lady Macbeth calls to spirits to unsex her (Hanks 259). Lady Macbeth recognizes the need for magical assistance to gain the masculinity needed to murder the king. In Macbeth, masculinity is associated with power and authority, so unsexing herself from portions of her femininity is what needs to be done for Lady Macbeth to achieve her underlying goal: to become queen. When Lady Macbeth asks to be unsexed, she is not willing away all of her femininity; she merely wants to be less emotional like a woman and more like a man who has 41 the drive and power to commit murder. She asks the spirits to cause amenorrhea, "mak[ing] thick [her] blood," so she can be more masculine, associated with action and less emotion than women. In "'A Strange Infirmity': Lady Macbeth's Amenorrhea," Jenijoy La Belle asserts, "To free herself of the basic psychological characteristics of femininity, she is asking the spirits to eliminate the basic biological characteristics of femininity" (Belle 381). She needs to be "unsex[ed]" so that she can be more masculine psychologically, to hold the stamina and ability to do what must be done; what she also thinks cannot be done by her husband whom she deems not manly enough. By asking to be unsexed, Lady Macbeth becomes non-binary, being able to move between both sexes, as we can see after the regicide has been committed. After the death of the king, Lady Macbeth becomes mad with remorse from her actions, demonstrating that her feminine emotions were not fully willed away since she also committed suicide. Lady Macbeth is also psychologically manipulative towards her husband, demonstrating her power over him. She holds authority over him especially when she questions his masculinity, urging him to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth asks her husband to "look like th' innocent flower,/ But be the serpent under't." Similarly, she states, "Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,/ And live a coward in thin own esteem,/ Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'/ Like the poor cat I' th' adage?" (II, 1,41-44). She also expresses her drive and dedication when she tells her husband she would kill a child: I have given suck, and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this. (I, vii, 54-59) In this instance, Lady Macbeth illustrates the fear of the anti-mother in early modern Europe.22 She is willing to commit infanticide, "dashfing] the brains out," to further her own agenda. Lady Macbeth, although a married woman and a seemingly domestic housewife, illustrates the fears of men over mothers who have control over the fate of a child. A female's voice was considered dangerous in Jacobean England because that was the way a woman controlled a man. According to men, a woman had the ability to manipulate and deceive through her voice, so men were instructed to be careful. Kramer and Sprenger, in the Malleus Maleficarum, stated, "Let us consider another property of hers, the voice. For as she is a liar by nature, so in her speech she stings while she delights us. Wherefore her voice is like the song of the Sirens, who with their sweet melody entice the passers-by and kills them" (187). Women's voices were manipulative and tempting to men, which is why there was such a fear reflected in treatises and plays about women. Men were unable to resist a woman's voice, for it seduced men into acting as pawns for women's motivations, making women dangerous, especially if they defied societal expectations. In The Tragedy of Sophonisba, The Duchess of Malfi, and Macbeth, the voice and feminine tongue are reflected as negative aspects of females, used to deceive and influence men. Throughout The Tragedy of Sophonisba, Marston includes aspects of a woman that reflected male anxieties of the time. One such aspect of a woman, was her voice. In the play, 22 See Malevolent Nurture by Deborah Willis for more discussion on the witch as Anti-mother. 43 Sophonisba mocks societal expectations of women, often being satirical in her language. She says: I entreat That you'll collect from our loose-formed speech This firm resolve: that no low appetite Of my sex' weakness can or shall o'ercome Due grateful service unto you or virtue Witness, ye gods, I never until now Repined at my creation. Now I wish I were no woman, that my arms might speak My heart to Carthage. But in vain: my tongue Swears I am woman still. I talk too long. (I, ii, 173-112) Here, Sophonisba mirrors the fears that were popular during the 16th and 17th centuries: a woman's ability to manipulate men through her voice. Marston also uses Sophonisba as the voice of the anxieties that men held about women. She acknowledges her "sex' weakness" and she wishes she "were no woman" so that "her arms might speak for Carthage." If she were masculine, she could fight for her country, but she is "woman still," again reflecting male concerns about females. She also proclaims, "I talk too long." By stating that she talks too long, Marston is referring to the fact that women's tongues and voice are deceiving and manipulative. She also illustrates men's anxieties of the female voice by recognizing that men have the fear and then mocking it. Santana furthers this argument by positing that, "Sophonisba denounces the social constraints that prevent women from expressing their sexual identity; she alludes to the ridiculous conventions that obliged them to pretend to have sexual anxieties in order to endow men with the main role in intimate relationships, which meant a control over the whole system of procreation" (Santano 284). What is interesting, however, is that every man in the play dotes on her as the perfect woman—the Petrarchan Lady. Asdrubal, Sophonsisba's father, also pronounces, "The curse of women's words go with you," also demonstrative of the fears of a woman's voice. Similarly, the same anxiety about the female voice is illustrated when Syphax enters Belos' forrest after Zanthia. He says to Sophonisba, "Thing of false lip," because she tricked him into having sex, giving her time to escape (67). In The Duchess ofMalfl The Duchess also demonstrates the anxiety regarding the female voice, similar to Sophonisba. An example of her manipulation with her voice is when she tricks Antonio into marrying her: "Fie, fie, what's all this?/ One of your eyes is blood-shot, use my ring to't/ They say 'tis very sovereign: 'twas my wedding ring,/ And I did vow never to part with it/ But to my second husband" (I, i, 393-397). The Duchess expresses that, because of her status, men are afraid to woo her, so she must woo them herself, which is why she tricks Antonio, who claimed he would never be so bold as to ask for the Duchess' hand. The Duchess, as stated earlier, also uses her feminine voice, rather cunningly, to come up with quick deceptive responses to her brothers and Bosola to protect Antonio and her children. Her ability to lie quickly reflects the fears that men had over women's tongues; they manipulate, seduce, and deceive. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth also demonstrates the anxieties that men had over a woman's voice. When she hears of the prophecy, she states, "Yet do I fear thy nature/ It is too full o' th' 45 milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way" (I, v, 15-17). Lady Macbeth believes her husband is too weak to follow his ambitions, so she says, "Hie thee hither,/ That I may pour my spirits in thine ear/ And chastise with the valor of my tongue" (I, v, 24-26). She wants Macbeth to hurry home so that she can persuade him into killing the king so that they may rise above their current statuses. Lady Macbeth holds both the ambition and the drive necessary to commit regicide. Her agency is dangerous; she manipulates and persuades her husband to do evil and feels remorse long after Macbeth does. Her remorse, though, drives her mad, causing her to commit suicide, leaving Macbeth with the consequences of their actions. Lady Macbeth, the Duchess of Malfi, and Sophonisba are all married female characters who represent the anxieties learned men had about women during the seventeenth century. Although they are not outwardly portrayed as witches, Lady Macbeth and the Duchess are perceived as such because of their actions, ambitions, and disruption of the natural order of early modern society. Lady Macbeth's ambition in wanting to commit regicide led to her and her husband's demise—a fate that was predetermined because she disturbed the Great Chain of Being. Similarly, the Duchess of Malfi's eagerness to remarry despite the reluctance of her brothers set her own fate. Both of these women went against societal expectation; therefore, their punishment is death. In The Tragedy of Sophonisba, men in the play were only privy to her pious personality, deeming her the epitome of what it means to be woman. Her Petrarchan Lady disposition still leads to her downfall because of Syphax's lust for her and her refusal to be betrothed. Although the play illustrates other problematic traits of Sophonisba—her awareness of the patriarchal expectations—the men see her only as the ideal woman, which demonstrates that the Petrarchan ideal is a double edged sword, and either way a woman is dangerous. Each 46 metaphorical witch and each literal witch in the three plays reflect concerns that society had about women's sexuality, power/authority, and the female voice. 47 Conclusion Elizabeth was the first woman to reign for a long length of time, accomplishing feats that others before her, even men, could not. Because of this, critics argue that there were men who felt threatened by her power as a female. These feelings were also amplified because of her refusal to marry. Deborah Willis argues, "Many have written about the ambivalent feelings that female rule may have generated in aristocratic males" (Willis 121). James I may have been one of these men, which is evident in his want for the depiction of more witch characters who hold power over men in plays. Critics agree that there is little dispute over James' cowardice, which is why he potentially resorted to asking playwrights to illustrate his own anxieties about women and witchcraft, rather than taking a more direct approach to his beliefs (Tyson 2). Willis states, "After 1590, witch-hunting in Scotland moved closer to the model of continental 'panics' as large-scale trials involving hundreds of people at a time became common" (Willis 123). Although James was a king, Elizabeth outranked him in England as a monarch, which may have made him feel emasculated because a woman was of higher rank with him and he also wanted the English throne (Willis 124). James' anxieties and personal encounters with women of power and witches— specifically his involvement with the North Berwick witch-hunts—created a moral panic in England when he ascended the throne. In Malevolent Nurture Willis argues that James' relationship with his mother who left him at the age on one and a half, his association with the witch-hunts in Scotland, and his conflict with Elizabeth over the English throne all could have led to James' anxieties about female power and, by extension, his anxieties about witches.23 23 Willis states, "It is of course highly problematic to reconstruct James's early childhood experiences from the limited evidence available; yet it does seem likely that James's childhood conflicts with women—recapitulated in 48 James' ascension to the throne of England led to a distinct change in playwriting. Playwrights began spending more time writing about female witches who were hypersexual and used manipulation and deception to exert power over men. James' own personal experiences during his childhood and his knowledge of England's female rulers previous to his own ascension may have influenced his own anxieties. His experience with witchcraft only added to his anxieties about women in power, which is evident in the correlation between female witch characters within plays. Jacobean England literature reflected the anxieties and concerns that men held about women, often stereotyping those lewd women that disobeyed expectations as witches. Witchcraft accusations continued in early modern Europe until well after the seventeenth century. Women were not the only victims of accusations, but they were frequently tried because of stereotypes and misconceptions about their gender. The concept of "othering" in terms of societal norms did not stop after the witch craze, though. Women were still subordinate to men and victimized because of their weaknesses and visible sexuality, especially during the Victorian era. In the twentieth century, women such as Simon de Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf, and Betty Friedan continued to examine different aspects of the marginalization of women.24 Even today women remain subordinate to men in different vocations, such as employment opportunities, often being judged differently because of their sex. Although witchcraft accusations do not occur in America today, the concept of "the other" and marginalizing those that do not follow the norms of society is still alive and is not later years—may have predisposed him to take these allegations of witchcraft more seriously than otherwise, especially given their timing" (144). 24 For more information, see Simon de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, Virginia Woolf s A Room of One's Own, and Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. 49 directed solely against women. Members of society who do not fall under religious or social norms, such as those that fall under the LGBTQ community are often victimized because of fear and societal anxieties. Individuals of different religions and races are also victimized because of stereotypes and expectations of societal norms. While this thesis focused specifically on the Jacobean era in England, the anxieties in representation of the period are still relevant in today's society. With further research and time, I will continue my analysis of Jacobean literature so that I may find more examples of male anxieties over their female counterparts and detail the similarities among the three Jacobean plays, The Duchess ofMalfi, Macbeth, and the Tragedy of Sophonisba. Works Cited Breuer, Heidi. Crafting the Witch: Gendering Magic in Medieval and Early Modern England. New York: Routledge, 2009. Print. Belle, Jenijoy La. "'A Strange Infirmity': Lady Macbeth's Amenorrhea." Shakespeare Quarterly 31.3 (1980): 381-386. 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