Q: Why does a C-section count as not being born of woman?
A: This question comes from reading Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. It does feel like a “cheat” to many, but if you think about the words of the witches’ prophecy, it’s technically true. To be “born of woman” can also be interpreted as to be delivered through the birth canal (the vagina) and to literally come out the opening designed for birth. To be born by a C-section (which means opening up the woman’s abdomen, cutting through the uterus and removing the baby) does not fit the “natural” definition of being “born of woman”. Yes, Macduff had a mother and she gave birth to him, but not in what would be considered by those pesky Elizabethans a “natural” way.