What Are Gender Roles In Macbeth

In 16th century Scotland the expectations of both men and women were different from what they are today. When a woman of the 1600’s reached marriage they were considered her husband's property. Wives were required to be subservient to the men in their lives and do as they wished. In contrast, it was a man's job to provide for his family. Men typically were to act masculine and powerful, and defend the honor. Legally everything his wife had before and after marriage was owned by him. In William Shakespeare's tragedy “Macbeth“, Shakespeare contrasts the traditional ideas of gender roles with the reversal of the “female” and “male” norm. The gender roles he incorporates are used to define the characters in a way that differs from other classic

In act one, scene five, Lady Macbeth is given her husband's prophecy in the form of a letter. As she is given the news about his ambitions, she soon comes the realization that Macbeth is not adept for such a task. She ponders the idea of him killing someone like the King, but truly believes he is too kind hearted for such a sin. In this scene is where the reader is formally introduced to Lady Macbeth’s character, and where the idea of a woman being portrayed as a dangerous force who can manipulate men is also exemplified. Lady Macbeth plans to "chastise" Macbeth with the "valoor of [her] tongue," (1.5.28-33) another way of saying she's going to, in a sense, verbally manipulate her husband into taking action so he can be the next king. This speech establishes Lady Macbeth as the dominant partner in the relationship, which inverts typical 16th-century gender and social roles. As Lady Macbeth fills more with rage she demands “unsex me here” (1.5.33), where she is explicitly asking to “be removed of “feminine” character traits” (Thomas). This is another verbal way of her violating the dictates of gender, and evidence of the evil spirits creating unnatural behavior within herself. This leads to her not realizing her own being, rather letting greed and evil overpower her femininity and

After the death of Duncan, Lady Macbeth is seen sleepwalking and she sees imaginary blood on her hands, she screams “out damned spot” (5.1.25), which was her imagining blood on her hands from all the murders she has committed. However, in this scene, Lady Macbeth is more easily able to cope with her sins in comparison to her husband’s coping mechanisms. She has greatly pushed the walls of gender conformity and made a new name for herself as a female in the 1600’s. The sleepwalking scene shows her power and assertiveness through her words. She conveys fear, but covers it up with the fact that she has gained power from her actions. She was able manipulate her husband into following through with his prophecy for her own power