In American history, women have not always had the same rights and opportunities as men. However, throughout history, there have been exceptions where women have set aside the general role of simple mother or housewife. Two fictional examples are found in the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin and in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. In The Awakening, Edna, the protagonist of the story, realizes that her 19th century lifestyle is not the way she wants to live. She rebels against being treated like a piece of property and tries to free herself from the laws of society. Macbeth tells the story of a man named Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth who wishes to become queen. Lady Macbeth is the one who told him to kill the current King Duncan to become king himself. Both Edna and Lady Macbeth portray examples of women with autonomy, but the one who best displays the characteristics of autonomy is Edna. Edna is more autonomous than Lady Macbeth, who merely influences rather than shows her independence, because she takes a stand against society, which is the supreme act of independence. Lady Macbeth is unquestionably a very strong, powerful woman with a lot of control, especially at the beginning of the play. This quote explains the extent of her control over her husband: "Lady Macbeth seems to be in some way in league with evil and Macbeth her victim, a fly in the spider's web who struggles mightily but cannot escape" (Johnson) . She manipulates her husband into doing what she wants. When he discovers that his destiny is to become king, he can't just leave it sitting and waiting for that to happen; he knows he must act. He tells Macbeth that he must kill King Duncan and ignores his objections. Lady Macbeth tries to pawn the mu......middle of paper......to live, she has more autonomy than Lady Macbeth could only persuade. Both of these women are extremely strong and independent, which makes it very difficult to decide between them. In the end, however, Edna is all the more autonomous because she maintained her beliefs until the end. Lady Macbeth let her ideas take over and felt guilty about these ideas. So, in conclusion, between the two Edna is the more autonomous woman. Both women were strong and courageous for being different in a time when being different was not acceptable. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The awakening. New York: Dover Publications, 1993. Print.Dominic, Catherine C. ed. Shakespeare's characters for students. Detroit: 1997. Print.Johnson, Vernon Elso. and. Social issues in literature. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009.Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Logan, IA: Perfection Learning, 2004. Print.