“Double, double toil and trouble” (Shakespeare 4.1.20). One of the most iconic lines exclaimed by the witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, symbolizes a common theme found in English literature: the effect of the supernatural. The supernatural is constantly exploited by authors to develop their plot. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the supernatural is something “belonging to a realm or system that transcends nature, as that of divine, magical, or ghostly being.” As well as William Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys utilize the supernatural in their books Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, respectively, to affect the amount of power each character has the ability to attain. No matter the gain or loss of power, the supernatural …show more content…
First, in his play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the supernatural to effectively change who holds the most power through gender roles. Lady Macbeth, after reading the letter sent by her husband, Macbeth, fears that he is full of too much kindness. She also fears that he has no ambition and will not be able to become king. Yet, she realizes that she can influence him by pouring her own beliefs into him to aid him. Thus, she calls on the spirits to “unsex [her] here, / And fill [her] from the crown to the toe top-fill/ Of direst cruelty” (1.5.48-50). Acting upon the prophecy, Lady Macbeth calls upon to the supernatural to aid her in the defying standard gender roles. By allowing the supernatural to take away the milk from her breasts, she murders her femininity. Taking on inherently manly qualities, Lady Macbeth assimilates into a role of power. Additionally, she becomes the strength behind Macbeth to fulfill her own ambition and can perform acts of violence and cruelty. Similarly, Jean Rhys in Wide Sargasso Sea portrays the supernatural assisting the defiance of male dominated roles. From a young age, the main character, Antionette, has been cared for by Christophine. Rumors surround Christophine that she partakes in the practice of obeah. This is a type of voodoo native to the Caribbean, dealing with drugs, deception, and zombies. Desperate to regain her husband’s love, …show more content…
In Macbeth, the supernatural takes away power from Macbeth and gives power to Lady Macbeth. After Macbeth killed King Duncan, Lady Macbeth returns to the bedroom to place the knife in the hands of the guards. This proves to be detrimental to Lady Macbeth’s mental state as she returns with blood stained hands. The doctor observes Lady Macbeth repeatedly trying to clean her hands of this blood as she says “out, damned spot, out! / will these hands ne’er be clean?” (5.1.37,45). Ultimately, as her supernatural strength recedes from Lady Macbeth, her manly façade begins to fade away. Consequently, Lady Macbeth pays the price of her actions of her power due to the supernatural influence and eventually commits suicide to rid herself of her madness. Similarly, in Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette removed from her home, Jamaica, is locked in a room in dark England. Forced into isolation, the supernatural continues to affect her power to overcome Rochester’s oppression. She slips in and out of consciousness in her efforts to overcome her husband’s domination as she “can’t remember what happened” (Rhys 164). Antoinette in a critical need to escape her from her surroundings, escapes through a change in mental state. Eventually her madness becomes too much for her to handle and she switches to another method of escape and like Lady Macbeth, commits