Katie Lott

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*Return to Table of Contents for British Literature*

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*The following paper,/Intelligence of Women in Shakespeares Four MajorTragedies/*

*written by Katie Lott, a student in Advanced Placement English, *

*offers a comparative explication of /Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello,/*

*and /King Lear /from a feminist perspective.*

Its quality deserves recognition:Raymond Nighan. Ph.D.

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Shakespeares women in /Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth/, and /King Lear/embody a feminist ideal through displays of intelligence usuallyreserved for male characters. Though not always moral, they break awayfrom the patriarchal view of females as being always caring, motherly,

and dim-witted. Shakespeare creates feminist women who are perceptive,cunning, and sometimes cruel in order to demonstrate their intelligencewhile living in a male-dominated society.

Shakespeares tragic heroines are observant in determining thecharacters of the men around them. His first intelligent female intragedy, Ophelia, was the starting point for a line of progressivelysmarter women. In her first appearance in Hamlet, Ophelia initiallyseems to be dull-witted, as she does not say much when the two strongestmale influences in her familyher father and her brotherattack herrelationship with Hamlet. However, her responses indicate that she isaware of her brother and fathers personalities, and plays to themaccordingly. Both males, especially Polonius, instruct her to stay away

from Hamlet with no opportunity for refusal on her part. Her reply of/I shall obey, my lord/ (I, iv, 145) sounds meek so as to please herfather, though she disobeys him later in the play when she speaks toHamlet before The Murder of Gonzago.

Emilia in Othello is also able to accurately judge each character. Shequickly notices that jealousy is the cause of Othellos strange behaviortowards Desdemona. Charolette Lennox says, /Yet [Emilia] is the firstwho perceives Othello to be jealous/(387). While other characterbelieve matters of state to be what causes Othellos mood changes,Emilia understands immediately what has made him change so. Whenspeaking to Desdemona about jealousy, Emilia notes, /But jealous soulswill not be answered so. / They are not ever jealous for the cause, /

But jealous for theyre jealous. It is a monster / Begot upon itself,born on itself/ (III, iv, 180-183). Though Emilia is speaking ofOthello to Desdemona, she also notes Iagos raging jealousy. BothOthello and Iago are consumed by jealousy to the point of madnesswithout real evidence of a reason to be jealous. Her insight into thenature of jealousy is something that Iago, himself caught first in theclutches of unrelenting suspicion, describes in his second soliloquy.Unlike the other characters who never suspect Iago of being anything buthonest, Emilia notices his jealousy pertaining to both Cassios rank andher supposed infidelity with Othello. When confronted by Desdemona, she


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says, /I will be hanged if some eternal villain, / Some busy andinsinuating rogue, / Some cogging, cozening slave, to get some office, /Have not devised this slander. I will be hanged else/(IV, ii, 153-156)and /Some such squire he was / That turned your wit the seamy sidewithout / And made you to suspect me with the Moor/ (IV, ii, 172-174).Though Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and Desdemona have been deceived byIago, Emilia is able to see through his guise of honesty. She sees hisirrational jealousy at the suspicion that she is cheating on him withOthello, and his anger at Cassio being made Othellos lieutenant insteadof him. Also, she says these while Iago stands beside her so that he cansee that she knows whats happening and why. Emilia even judgesDesdemona during the conversation on women between Emilia, Desdemona,and Iago. Iago praises Desdemona as being fair and wise, and Emilia askssnidely instead,/How if fair and foolish?/ (II, i, 150). She seems tofondly consider her mistress foolish for marrying Othello, who is givento extreme jealousy because of his insecurities. She does not supportthe marriage of Othello and Desdemona because of the basis upon which itwas founded and out of her own jealousy of Othello. Her judgment of themarriage is accurate, as Othello becomes verbally and physically abusiveto his faithful wife, and finally kills her.

Lady Macbeth is even more perceptive than Emilia in judging the mindsets of the people around her. After reading the letter sent by Macbeth,she instantly understands what must be done to achieve the throne in the

quickest way possible. Though her husband is a renowned soldier and haskilled many men on the battlefield, Lady Macbeth correctly assesses hisindecision as soon as she finishes reading. She says, /Yet do I fearthy nature: / It is too full othmilk of human kindness, / To catch thenearest way. Thou wouldst be great; / Are not without ambition, butwithout / The illness should attend it./(I, v, 16-19) While there isno evidence that she has ever spoken of treason with Macbeth, she knowshim well enough to judge his reaction. She knows that like her, Macbethis ambitious, but in contrast to Lady Macbeth, he has the femininequality of being as weak as milk where treason is concerned. Though sheactually has milk in her breasts, she has no femininequalms atmurdering someone to gain a higher position. Adelaide Ristori praisesher: /I could not better succeed in depicting the nature of this man,

than Shakespeare so marvelously does in the lines of the first monologueof Lady Macbeth who, owing to her profound perspicacity, so wellunderstands her husband/(346). He further notes,/Themonologuedepict[s] in its most vivid colours the nature of Macbethscharacter/ (347). Lady Macbeth is able to use her knowledge ofMacbeths personality to gain the throne by playing his soldiersmasculine pride against her insults and insinuations of femininity. Shelater manipulates him into fulfilling a plan of murder and deceit whichhe would not have done by himself for fear of being caught and disgraced.

Though Cordelia is gone for most of King Lear, she demonstrates herintelligence in her asides before openly rebelling against Lear. Beforedividing up his lands, Lear publicly humiliates his daughters and forces

them to submit to him in a misogynistic show of patriarchal power. Learstates,

/Meantime we shall express our darker purpose Give me the map there. Know that we have divided In three our kingdom; and tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age, Conferring them on younger strengths, while we Unburdened crawl towards death. Tell me, my daughters


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Since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state Which of you shall we say doth love us most, That we our largest bounty may extend Where nature doth with merit challenge.Goneril Our eldest born, speak first. /(I, i, 35-40, 48-53)

Lears selfish demand encourages dishonesty and exaggeration for agreater gain in lands and riches. While he happily accepts thehypocritical replies which Regan and Goneril give him, Cordelia knowsthat they are false and refuses to lie as they do. After Gonerilsflowery speech, she whispers in an aside, /What shall Cordelia speak?Love, and be silent/(I, i, 62). Cordelias refusal to humiliateherself by submitting to Lears mad request and portraying herself asthe misogynistic ideal of a male-dependant, unintelligent female showsher personal strength despite living in a male-dominated society. Thesilentpart of her thought stands in stark opposition to the verbosegrandeur of her sistersspeeches, which are accepted by Lear. /Besilentshows her intent to defy her father, but by rebelling againsthis demand for a quantitative measure of her love, she actually showsher love more than either of her sisters do. When Regan speaks, she saysagain in an aside, Then poor Cordelia / And yet not so, since I am suremy loves / More ponderous than my tongue/ (I, i, 76-78). Instead ofcheapening her love by falsely attempting to put words to her feelings,

she perceives the value of it as an unquantifiable idea. While her replywill make her be materialistically poor, she is rich in love, unlike hertwo sisters. When it is Cordelias turn to profess her undying love, shesays simply, /Nothing, my lord/ (I, i, 87) despite being offeredricher lands than her sisters. Barbara Millard writes:

/The political expediency of Lears contestto ensure his youngest daughters power (and his own rest) by means of more opulent property and a carefully selected husbandapparently does not escape CordeliaRather than a helpless reply, Nothingis a deliberate choice, the alternative dictated by her own imperative: Love and be silent,as well as by Lears equation of words with reward. (147)./

Lear questions her response and asks her twice to change what she saysso she might still receive bountiful lands, but Cordelia is firm andtruthful in her responses. As a strong, intelligent female character,she will not accommodate an arrogant king by lying for his pleasure.

Both Emilia and Lady Macbeth use their intelligence to manipulate othersfor their own gain. Though her husband Iago is given credit for causingOthellos downfall, Emilia does at least as much as he, though moresubtly. Her supposed infidelity with Othello is half of what drives Iagoto break Othello and Desdemona apart. Iago overlooks her intelligence,calling her foolishat points, and therefore does not see that sheknowingly goes along with his plan, though for different reasons. Likethey do to Iago, many of the other characters go to her for help or

advice. Cassio begs Emilia to see Desdemona so she can speak to Othelloon his behalf. After Othello has become maddened by jealousy, the Moorquestions Emilia so he can know for sure that Desdemona was unfaithful.When Desdemona loses her handkerchief, she first speaks to Emilia aboutit and confesses her fears over Othello becoming jealous. Even Iagorequires assistance from Emilia; he needs her to steal the handkerchiefthat Othello gave to Desdemona. After Cassio is fired, Emilia falselyassures him, /But [Othello] protests he loves you / And needs no othersuitor but his likings / (To take the safest occasion by the front) / Tobring you in again/(III, ii, 52-55). However, there is no proof that


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Othello does want Cassio back; Othello actually puts off speaking withhim when confronted by Desdemona. Still, Cassio further asks for help,and says in the end, /I am much bound to you/ (III, ii, 64). LikeIago, she instructs him on what would best help him, but will eventuallylead to his downfall because of her manipulation. Iago describes,

/[Othello] holds me well. The better shall my purpose work on him. Cassios a proper man. Let me see now: To get his place and to plume up my will In double knaveryhow? How? Lets see. After some time to abuse Othellos ear That he is too familiar with his wife The Moor is of a free and open nature That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by thnose As asses are. (I, iii, 433-445)/

For Iagos plan to work, it is necessary that he be well-trusted bythose he tries to manipulate, especially Othello. Emilia, on the otherhand, needs Desdemona to trust her. She helps Iago to make Desdemonaseem unfaithful by taking the handkerchief that Desdemona drops. Whenshe picks it up, she says, /My wayward husband hath a hundred times /Wooed me to steal it/ (III, iii, 336-337) and adds sarcastically, /I

nothing but to please his fantasy/(III, iii, 343). However, theaudience knows her last statement to be untrue because she never actsloving towards him; instead, she is devoted to Desdemona. When she showsit to Iago and orders that she give it to him, she protests, /If it notbe for some purpose of import, / Give t me again. Poor lady, shell runmad / When she lack it/ (III, iii, 364-366). She says this to tauntIago into action and make him trust her, much like Iago does to Othellowhen he protests his honesty and then compares Cassio and Desdemona toanimals copulating. Her words make her seem to Iago to be innocent andhonest in her torn loyalties to her mistress and her husband. However,/Shell run mad/incites an image in Iagos mind of his plan working,which makes him more desirous to carry it out. She later does the sameto Othello when being furiously questioned about Desdemonas chastity.

Emilia says,/I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest, / Lay down mysoul at stake/(IV, ii, 13-14). She recalls in Othellos mind Iagosstatements of Cassios honesty. Both say one thing and incite the otherthought in Othellos mind. Like Iago, she is perceptive and intelligentenough to use Othellos insecurities and doubts against him whileseeming helpful. However, unlike Iago, she is not malicious in herdesire to destroy Desdemona and Othellos wedding; instead, she does soout of unrequited love for her mistress. After Othello calls Desdemona awhore, Emilia rages, /Hath she forsook so many noble matches, / Herfather and her country and her friends / To be called whore? Would itnot make one weep?/ (IV, ii, 146-148) Her anger at Othello ishonestshe repeatedly shows her devotion to Desdemona throughout theplaybut it also is meant to incite Desdemona against Othello. She

emphasizes all that Desdemona gave up for love, only to be treated likea prostitute. Emilia laments, /I would you had never seen [Othello]/(IV, iii, 19) because of how he seems to view her as a treasure heacquired and has lost rather than as a human being. Emilia representsfeminism in her disagreement with the misogynistic way husbands treattheir wives. She says, /Tis not a year or two shows us a man. / Theyare all but stomachs, and we all but food; / They eat us hungerly, andwhen they are full / They belch us/ (III, iv, 120-123). In women,honestyreferred to chastity, and any woman of the time who was sexualor forward was labeled a whore. However, men like Cassio used these


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women, such as Bianca, to sate their own desires. It was acceptable fora man to cheat on his wife, but women would be harshly punished fordoing so. Emilia protests,

/But I do think it is their husbandsfaults If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties, And pour our treasures into foreign laps; Or else break out in peevish jealousies, Throwing restraint upon us. Or say they strike us, Or scant our former having in despite. Why, we have galls, and though we have some grace, Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know Their wives have sense like them What is it that they do When they change us for others? Is it sport? I think it is. And doth affection breed it? I think it doth. Is t frailty that thus errs? It is so too. And have we not affections, Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have? Then let them use us well. Else let them know, The ills we do, their ills instruct us so. (IV, iii, 97-115)/

Emilias words equate women to men on a sexual level, which was unheardof at the time. Instead of blaming the natural propensity towards lust

and seduction that was part of the male attitude towards women,supported by Eve in Genesis, she criticizes men for neglecting theirwives and not treating them as equals. Based on what the audience seesof their relationship, it seems Iago slacks his duties, and he says/I lay with Cassio lately/ (III, iii, 470). Both Iago and Othellobreak out in peevish jealousies, and Othello hits Desdemona. Insteadof encouraging patience in herself and Desdemona, she justifiesrevengeon their part. She then speaks of infidelity and condones itunder the circumstances that they are in. She says that they have thesame desires as men, and should be able to act upon them like men do,especially when their husbands treat them unjustly. The implication ofEmilias words is that she and Desdemona should cheat with each other ontheir husbands as revenge and also for sport.Since neither of their

husbands have /used them well/, it would be fitting for them to beunfaithful to their husbands with each other. However, Desdemona allowsherself to be dominated by Othello, and in her final moments of life,she does not try to fight Othello, run past him, or cry for help; shepleads with him in a subservient, feminine way and is killed. Emilia isthe one who must risk death to cry murder. Gayle Greene writes,/Bursting in on the scene, demanding a word/ (V, ii, 90), it isEmilia who finds the voice of protests that makes itself heard(590).Emilia is heart-broken upon seeing that her love is dead, and bitterlycries when threatened by Othello, /Thou hast not half that power to dome harm / As I have to be hurt/ I care not for thy sword. Ill makethee known, / Though I lost twenty lives/ Murder, Murder!/ (V, ii,198-203) Her despair over Desdemona shows that she loved her mistress,

and that her sadness was furthered because she had a hand in causing herdeath. Also, her courage in the face of a murderer shows that she is astrong character. Greene describes Emilia as the /potential of what[Desdemona] might be/(591). Though she makes the error of manipulatingothers, her love for Desdemona is as strong as Desdemonas ever was forOthello. While Desdemona is content to be always faithful towards herabusive husband, Emilia treats Desdemona in a much kinder way and triesto encourage her happiness. Emilia is the fulfillment of what Desdemonacould be were she to rebel against the misogyny of her culture andbecome a strong, independent woman.


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Lady Macbeth also manipulates people, but she does so in a malicious,ambition-driven way. After reading his letter, she immediately sees thepossibilities for herself and her husband to advance in rank. UnlikeEmilia, who shows her feminism through a want of sexual and socialequality for women, Lady Macbeth expresses her feminism in amisogynistic culture by asking to become possessed. She says,

/Come you Spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood, Stop up thaccess and passage to remorse; That no compunctious visitings of Nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between Theffect and it! Come to my womans breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murthring ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on Natures mischief! Come, thick Night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of Hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor Heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry Hold, hold!(I, v, 40-54)/

This speech begins her role-reversal through the play, as she acts withmanlycourage, while Macbeth is womanlyin his hesitation. She asksfor cruelty, a trait reserved for men since women were supposed to bedemure and loving. She even pleads with the Spirits to take away aphysical feminine feature so as to allow her to leave behind her womanlyquality of forgiveness. With the Spirits possessing her, she is able toincite Macbeth to commit treason. She begins by suggesting, /I feel now/ the future in the instant/ (I, v, 57-58) and starts to take the mansrole by saying /And you shall put / This nights great business into mydispatch; / Which shall to all our nights and days come / Give solelysovereign sway and masterdom/ (I, v, 67-70). Her confidence in her planleaves little room for Macbeths protests, and her wanting to do itherself is an insult to his masculine pride. Though Macbeth says theyll

speak of it later, he cant get her idea out of his mind. He describes,/If it were done, when tis done, then twere well / It were donequickly; if thassassination / Could trammel up the consequence, andcatch / With his surcease success; that but this blow / Might be thebe-all and the end-all/ (I, vii, 1-5). Provoked by Lady Macbeth, hehas the ambition and pride to do it, but his fear of the consequencesholds him back. He knows the act is wrong, and therefore wants it to beover with and done /quickly/, but he cannot stop longing for theposition it would give him. Lady Macbeth further incites him: /Art thouafeared / To be the same in thine own act and valour, / As thou art indesire? Wouldst thou/ live a coward in thine own esteem?/ (I, vii,39-43). Her insult appeals to his soldiers pride and also his masculinepride. As a soldier, he should be willing to risk death to fight the

enemy and kill their armies. As a man, he should never show fear,especially not in the face of something that his wife is unafraid of.Also, it will ruin him if he does not go through with the act andevermore questions his bravery, since bravery was the trait that heshould have the most of. She continues to persuade him, describing,

/When you durst do it, then you were a man; And, to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man I have given suck, and know


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How tender tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluckd my nipple from his boneless gums And dashd his brains out, had I so sworn As you have done to this. (I, vii, 49-59/)

After being told that he will become even more the man if he commits themurder, and that his wife would in his place if he would not, Macbethfeels he has no choice but to go through with it. As a soldier, it isnecessary to him for others to feel that he is a great man, so he couldnot stand his wife feeling that he was womanly. Lady Macbeths show ofcommitment by saying she would dash his brains outmakes him feel acoward, because she would commit murder for no gain if she had sworn todo so, but he will go back on his word though murdering would help him.That she can harden her feminine heart when he cannot do the same isinsulting and prompts him towards murder. He protests feebly, onlyquestioning what will happen if they fail. To take away his doubts, LadyMacbeth says, /We fail? / But screw your courage to the sticking-place/ And well not fail/ What cannot you and I perform upon /Thunguarded Duncan? What not put upon / His spongy officers, who shallbear the guilt / Of our great quell?/ (I, vii, 60-62, 70-73). Her wordstake away his doubts and seem to leave him with no choice but to murderDuncan. His morals have failed because of her insults and his ownambition, and by blaming it on someone else, he knows that they can get

away with it. Her observations of what held him back let her take awayall the reasons he had for not killing Duncan, so by the end of theirconversation, he feels no reason not to murder Duncan, and every causeto go through with it. Ristori quotes G.J. Bell: /[Lady Macbeth] drawsMacbeth to gratify her purpose, she uses him as a single instrument,becoming herself his guide, his leader, insinuating to him all the plot/(346). Lady Macbeth uses his pride and ambition so she can advanceherself and become more powerful. However, she also desires to help himand sees him as being king, with her ruling by his side. She knows thathe is ambitious, but not enough to do what she will prompt his him to dothrough her guidance. Lady Macbeth shows her inherent morality by beingunable to murder Duncan herself. Despite being possessed by themurderous Spirits, the sleeping king reminds her of her father. This

shows that she is not simply amoral; rather, she lets other desires takeprecedence over her morality. When the deed is done, she knows thatMacbeth will have problems reconciling the act to himself, and knowsenough of the mind to encourage him not to think about it and to tellhim what to do so he will not be caught. However, her morality catchesup with her because she can no longer tolerate being in darkness, andsleep is tormenting. She sees a mark of the devil on her skin, andcannot wash the blood she sees off of her hands. Her mental state showsher knowledge of her guilt, and in the end it drives her to madness,since Lady Macbeth is not naturally an immoral person. Only the Spiritspossessing her allowed her to be able to kill. Hazlitt notes, /She isonly wicked to gain a great end; and is perhaps more distinguished byher commanding presence of mind and inexorable self-will/(185). Though

she commits horrible acts in inciting her husband to murder, she is astrong, intelligent female character who uses her will to gain what shewants: power.

Ophelia and Cordelia, on the other hand, are not manipulative in orderto gain their own ends. Ophelia, the earliest of Shakespeares strongtragic females, acts out of love for Hamlet. She perceives that he isacting mad for some end, and helps to promote this idea. When he atfirst acts courteously and then seems mad, presumably because he noticesClaudius, Gertrude, and Polonius listening to their conversation, she


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catches on and cries /O, help him, you sweet heavens!/ (III, i, 145)to show to them that he really is mad. After he exits, she perpetuatesthe idea of him having gone mad by saying, /O, what a noble mind ishere oerthrown! / And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, / Thatsucked the honey of his musicked vows, / Now see that noble and mostsovereign reason, / Like sweet bells jangled, out of time and harsh/(III, i, 164-171). Her words promote an image of Hamlet turning back onhis love out of insanity, and help him to have others think him madinstead of purposeful. When she sings, she seems to have gone insanebecause of Hamlets own madness. She later commits suicide and isreported as having drowned, her madness over being spurned by Hamlethaving led her to it. Though not as intelligent or courageous asShakespeares other tragic heroines, Ophelia is the starting point uponwhich Shakespeare bases his other females. Emilia, Lady Macbeth, andCordelia all inherit her perceptiveness, and Emilia and Cordelia gainher capacity to love, while Lady Macbeth and Emilia have her potentialfor manipulation.

Cordelia shows her strength in rebelling against her fathers ideas butstill loving him enough to go to war for him. Though she is rejected,she loves him enough to wish something better for him than her sisterscare. She says, /The jewels of our father, with washed eyes / Cordelialeaves you. I know what you are / Love well our father. / But yet,alas, stood I within his grace, / I would prefer him to a better place

/(I, i, 270-277). Her sadness at her fathers state shows her love morethan either of her sisters speeches displays theirs. She has strengthof heart that Ophelia and Emilia had, and which is most clearlyexpressed in Cordelia. She is even willing to die for this man who hasdisowned her and thrown her away like trash to any suitor who would takeher. Albany notes,/Humanity must perforce prey on itself, / Likemonsters of the deep/ (IV, ii, 50-51). However, unlike the monstersthat her sisters are, Cordelias actions result from love. In the Learuniverse, she is one of the few exceptions to this rule of bestialsavagery being acceptable social behavior. Her actions in rousing thearmies of France are well-intended, and stand in moral opposition toEdmunds behavior. Like Lady Macbeth, she takes on a masculine role bygoing with the armies of France to invade England. Foakes says,

/Cordeliawas a powerful Queen of France, not simply an embodiment oftenderness/(35). As Queen, she incites Frances armies to invadeEngland. However, she does so to save her father from her sistersclutches, and in doing so, sacrifices herself for Lear. Millard notes,

/In attempting to gauge Cordelias motive, certainly, one cannot discount the punitive tone regarding the two who are the Shame of Ladiesand the final cold anger of Shall we not see these daughters, these sisters?But this tone is only one of several, including her expression of filial sympathy.Cordelia accept and would restore the role Lear defined for himself in the first scene; she endeavors to atone for her sisterscrimes by returning kingly majesty to him through military exploit/ (153).

Her righteous anger at her sistersbehavior shows her morality, and herconversation with her father when they are reunited displays herunconditional love. Edmund, on the other hand, uses it to his ownadvantage when his father supports Frances army out of love and dutytowards Lear. Also, her two sisters work together to strip Lear of hispower and dignity, despite their words of complete and undying love forhim in the beginning of the play. When Cordelia sees Lear again, sheasks /How does my royal lord? How fares your majesty?/ (IV, vii, 44)Unlike Goneril and Regan, who try to take as much power for themselves


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as possible, Cordelia tries to restore his power and sanity. Hereventual self-sacrificing death is the final act of showing Lear thatlove could not be defined by empty, flattering words. Millard says,

/Having rejected the static role that Lear would have imposed on her in act one, Cordelia goes on to create her own future, to seek retribution and the creation of a new order beyond her sisters, and eventually to achieve her own transcendencethrough her reconciliation with Lear. She has in a manlyfashion forged her own destiny./ (158)

Cordelia chooses her own path by taking a stand against her fathersbeliefs and then shows her kindness by attempting to help her waywardfather. Her actions set her apart from the other females in the playbecause her intentions are pure, and she refuses to submit in any way tosomething she does not believe in. Foakes quotes Coleridge in hisintroduction to King Lear:/Courage, Intellect, and strength ofCharacter were the most impressive Forms of Power/(45). Cordeliasbravery in risking banishment and even death to speak her mind, herintelligence in knowing that love is not a quantifiable object, and herinner resolution to do what is right make her the strongest, mostpowerful character in Shakespeares tragedies.

Shakespeare creates tragic heroines who support feminism through their

intelligence and observation. He does not depict them as traditionalunintelligent, all-forgiving characters; instead, he gives them theirown desires and wants which were denied to them by men in Shakespearestime. Though writing for a misogynistic audience, he incorporates hisideas of female power into his plays to make strong women who arecourageous and intelligent enough to do what they want.

*Works Cited*

Greene, Gayle. /Shakespearean Criticism/, Vol. 4. Ed. Mark Scott.Detroit: Gale Research, Inc. 1987.

Hazlitt, William. /Shakespearean Criticism/, Vol. 3. Ed. Laurie Harris

and Mark Scott. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc. 1986.

Lennox, Charolette. /Shakespearean Criticism/, Vol. 4. Ed. Mark Scott.Detroit: Gale Research, Inc. 1987.

Millard, Barbara. /Virago with a Soft Voice: Cordelias TragicRebellion in King Lear/.Philological Quarterly, Vol. 68 No. 2 Spring,1989.

Ristori, Adelaide. /Staging Issues./ Shakespearean Criticism, Vol. 20.Ed Joseph Tardiff. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1993.

Shakespeare, William. /Hamlet/. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine.

New York:Washington Square Press, 1992.

Shakespeare, William. /King Lear/. Ed. R.A. Foakes. Croatia: The ArdenShakespeare,1997.

Shakespeare, William. /Macbeth./ Ed. Kenneth Muir. Croatia: The ArdenShakespeare,1962.


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Shakespeare, William. /Othello/. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine.New York:Washington Square Press, 1993.

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