Dana+and+Lauren+-+Hecate


 * __Hecate as Mark Felt__**

The theme of good versus evil is a recurring one throughout Shakespeare's //Macbeth//. Many of the characters evince evil and deceit through lies and murder. In Shakespeare's //Macbeth//, the ultimate evil is delineated through the witch, [|Hecate]. Hecate is the goddess of magic and witchcraft and is the ruler of the three witches. She is the one who leads the witches in deceiving Macbeth. She first appears in //Macbeth// during Act III, scene 5 when she scolds the witches for excluding her from their meetings with Macbeth, King of Scotland:

Have I not reason, beldams as you are?

Saucy and overbold, how did you dare

To trade and traffic with Macbeth

In riddles and affairs of death,

And I, the mistress of your charms,

The close contriver all of harms,

Was never called to bear my part

Or show the glory of our art? (3.5.111)

She is angry with the witches for divulging information to Macbeth about his future. In Act III, scene Five, Hecate says, " And which is worse, all you have done / Hath been but for a wayward son / Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do / Loves for his own ends, not for you" (111). Here, she expresses her true feelings for Macbeth. It is clear that she does not think highly of him; she calls him selfish and devious. As a way to punish Macbeth for his actions, Hecate instructs the three witches to create three apparitions designed to fool Macbeth. These apparitions will give him a sense of security and make him feel indestructible. The first apparition appears in the form of an armed head. This apparition warns Macbeth to eschew Macduff. The second spirit emerges as a bloody child, who informs Macbeth that no man born from a woman will ever harm him. This apparition is the first to deceive Macbeth. The third and final vision comes into sight as a child with a crown on his head and a tree in his hand. This apparition assures Macbeth that he will not fall until Birnam Wood marches to fight him at Dunsinane Hill. In other words, the apparition misleads him and makes him think he will never be defeated. Hecate uses her magic to trick and demolish this tyrant's reign.

Hecate resembles [|Mark Felt], also known as "Deep Throat". Mr. Felt was an agent of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation during the early period of Watergate. He started providing information and guidance to [|Washington Post]journalist Bob Woodward in 1972. Felt was one of the FBI agents who established that the Watergate break-on stemmed from a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage conducted on behalf of the Nixon reelection effort. While remaining anonymous, Felt continued to uncover incriminating information on Nixon and his campaign leaders. Felt's discoveries and tips to The Post made it evident that Nixon had authorized the cover-up. As a result of Felt's unshakeable persistence and courage, as well as irrefutable detective work, Nixon resigned as Congress moved to impeach him.

Throughout the entire investigation and years following, Mark Felt's identity remained a mystery. In a way, he deceived his coworkers, family and friends, and the American people to bring down a crook. He is comparable to Hecate, from //Macbeth//, because both worked "undercover" to expose and eliminate wrong doings. Hecate's identity was never discovered by Macbeth before his death. On the other hand, Mark Felt's identity was not exposed to the public until 2005, more than 30 years after the scandal. Even though the character, Hecate, and Mark Felt were not entirely innocent (they were lying), they decided to work discretely as a way to restore order in their countries.

Mark Felt died in December 2008, at age 95