Gender Roles In Macbeth

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Why is it that women are portrayed to be lesser than men? The story of Macbeth and the story of Adam and Eve are very comparable. While the three witches tempt Lady Macbeth, Eve is induced by the Devil in disguise as a serpent. Both these female characters convince their “superior” lovers to do something sinful. In the case of Macbeth, killing King Duncan, while in the case of Adam and Eve, eating from the tree of knowledge. Lady Macbeth and Eve are “inferior” characters. Inferior means they are of little or less importance (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). These characters emphasize the gender roles that women should cook, clean, take care of children, and be more emotional. Because it is a sin to go against these customs, the punishments of …show more content…

A gender role is the "behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms” (Oxford English Dictionary). In brief, a gender role is a behavior one learns that corresponds to their specific gender. According to Planned Parenthood, the two primary kinds of gender customs include personality traits and domestic behaviors. An example, of personality traits, is that women are expected to be more emotional and accommodating while men are supposed to be confident and aggressive. For example, men typically fight in battles while women care for the men as nurses. Additionally, patterns of domestic behavior include women taking care of children, cooking, and cleaning. On the other hand, men work and manage …show more content…

"Come, you spirits/That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,/And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/Of direst cruelty" (Shakespeare 1.5.30-33). To unsex oneself is “to deprive of the qualities typical of one's sex” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Lady Macbeth has become more confident and aggressive rather than emotional and caring. Her personality traits are more like a man's than a woman's. Another example of Lady Macbeth going against her gender roles is when she tells Macbeth she would take a joyful infant and demolish it if she swore to: “I have given suck, and know/How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me./I would, while it was smiling in my face,/Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this" (Shakespeare 1.7.55-60). This quote shows that Lady Macbeth is willing to go against her domestic behavior trait of caring for her children. Furthermore, the act of killing one's baby shows a lack of emotion and accommodation, which are two personality traits a woman should obtain. In result of this, Lady Macbeth descends into insanity, and takes her own

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