The Weird Sisters. Historical-Religious Genealogies

Abstract

The present paper offers a historical‐religious analysis of Shakespeare’s Weird Sisters and their multifaceted and equivocal nature. Their ancient origins are examined, starting from the Norns and the Anglo‐Saxon force of fate, wyrd, then proceeding into Greek and Roman mythology and beliefs, coming to the conclusion that the Weird Sisters are part of a destiny complex in which they play the role of agents in delivering Macbeth’s fate. In the second part of the paper, the figure of the witch is analyzed both off stage, in popular belief and the Protestant faith, and on stage, as the Weird Sisters are moulded from fair fairies into foul witches, so as to reflect the interests of the early modern English audience. It is argued that the Sisters reflect the historical and religious changes occuring in English society as paganism is repressed and Christian elite ideas demonize all forms of magical practice and supernatural entities.