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Chapter 1 - Visualizing Witchcraft

from Part I - Romanticism Bewitched

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2026

Orianne Smith
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Summary

This chapter continues the discussion of eighteenth-century representations of Lady Macbeth as a monstrous wife and mother, examining how this was depicted in a series of paintings that portray Lady Macbeth as dominating and exerting control over her timid spouse. After the French Revolution, British caricaturists cast Jacobin sympathizers as the witches in Macbeth, and visual artists such as Johan Zoffany, Henry Fuseli and William Blake invoked the figure of the witch to fuel fears regarding dangerous female sexuality and the horrific consequences of giving women social and political power. Mary Wollstonecraft, who embodied these fears for Fuseli and Blake, along with Germaine de Staël and Sarah Siddons, responded by emphasizing the psychological elements of Macbeth and representing Lady Macbeth as a sympathetic character.

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  • Visualizing Witchcraft
  • Orianne Smith, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  • Book: Romanticism Bewitched
  • Online publication: 26 April 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009650045.004
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  • Visualizing Witchcraft
  • Orianne Smith, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  • Book: Romanticism Bewitched
  • Online publication: 26 April 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009650045.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Visualizing Witchcraft
  • Orianne Smith, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  • Book: Romanticism Bewitched
  • Online publication: 26 April 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009650045.004
Available formats
×