Women in literary works have important things to say, but they are all very different in personality, and how they relate to their audience. We have, here, three examples of very different, yet interesting and intriguing fictional women from our study program.
Miranda is naive and innocent as a rose. She has little to no experience with men other than with her father and his slave. She stands for herself and her father, however, and has a say in his decisions as a ruler. In fact, she always suggests to be forgiving, kind and compassionate, especially when it comes to the shipwrecked victims, even if indignant at her father's story of betrayal. Miranda may come off as weak, but she's just honest, curious and tender, and her story has an happy ending: she falls in love with Ferdinand, who loves her as well - we can even see her releasing her lover from his forced labours when Prospero isn't around. Shakespeare admires the girl's tenderness and emotional connection to others; based on these qualities, she positively affects the lives of the men around her.
Lady Macbeth is a powerful, fierce woman. She loves her husband, but despite her affection she is manipulative and cruel. In order to get Macbeth to commit regicide, so he can replace the king, she deprecates his manhood, showing to be ruthless and more brutal than him. She is the true villain of the play and Macbeth's true strenght, and in the end, ironically, she becomes the weaker one, breaks down, and commits suicide. Shakespeare allows her barbaric behaviour to be her death sentence.
The Wife of Bath is a more comical figure than the other two characters, but she is worth of mention: she is one of the pilgrims heading to Canterbury, and unlike the others, she is there to look for a new fiancée - the sixth one. She knows a great deal about men: how to please them and how they think. She tells a tale to encourage male pilgrims to look beyond her appearance and ask for her blessing.
The three women have different strengths. Each has wisdom to share and each one represents a very different kind of woman. Whereas the Wife of Bath is appreciated for her sensibility and her earthy humor and knowledge, Miranda is appreciated for her kindness and positivity, and Lady Macbeth for her fierceness, firmness and "warlike" qualities.