Fair Is Foul, and Foul Is Fair: A Cultural Materialist Reading of Dissent in the Characterization of William Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth

Razavi, Mahsa Sadat; Ramin, Zohreh; Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari, Behrooz

doi:10.22034/ijpie.2026.562612.1174

Fair Is Foul, and Foul Is Fair: A Cultural Materialist Reading of Dissent in the Characterization of William Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mahsa Sadat Razavi ¹

Zohreh Ramin ²

Behrooz Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari ³

¹ Department of English, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

² English Department, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

³ Department of Performing Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/ijpie.2026.562612.1174

Abstract

In patriarchal cultures, women are systematically oppressed as the inferior sex, which has been reflected in the literature of the times, as even many of the canonical masterpieces cast them into identifiable stereotypes. One of the dominant stereotypes that women have been traditionally molded into is the femme fatale: an alluring woman who with her mysterious magnetism lures men into danger. Macbeth is a great Shakespearean tragedy that puts forth the enigmatic character of Lady Macbeth. Traditionally, she has been harshly cast as the quintessential femme fatale and Eve that lures Macbeth to his demise. In order to delve into the intricacies of this character type and why Lady Macbeth has been molded into it, this study intends to adopt a cultural materialist perspective, embedding the discussion of Macbeth in the social, cultural, and political fabric of the time of its production. Through an adoption of Alan Sinfield’s notion of dissent, the writers aim to show how Shakespeare creates a multi-faceted character in Lady Macbeth, presenting a subversive woman and having her punished as a way of subduing backlash. Despite the eventual damnation she receives in Shakespeare’s text, her dissenting voice makes itself heard, a woman in search of equality.

Keywords

Cultural Materialism

Dissent

Femme Fatale

Lady Macbeth

Shakespeare

Subjects

Literature and Education

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