Critical Analysis of Gender Role and Power in Shakespeare’s Selected Tragedies

Abstract

This research paper analyzes the intersection of gender and power in three of Shakespeare’s tragedies such as Macbeth, Othello and King Lear. The research seeks to understand how Shakespeare either upholds or contests the modern gender and power paradigm of his time through the scrutiny of gender role. The paper applies feminist literary theory The Second Sex (1949) by Simon De Beauvoir to analyze the construction of femininity, the negotiation of power, and the tragic imposition of gender norms within the selected Shakespeare’s tragedies. The findings reveal that women’s defiance in Shakespeare’s works is often depicted through his female characters. Though, they do mindlessly submit to patriarchal norms but when they attempt to challenge the patriarchy such act results in an increases in their oppression.