Theme Of Gender Inequality In Macbeth

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The theme of gender inequality is ever-present throughout Shakespeare’s MacBeth. Every character in the play has a thirst for power, but Lady MacBeth’s ultimate desire for power overrules the others. Given the circumstances she has to live with, Lady MacBeth learns how to manipulate the men in her life so she too can succeed. In Shakespeare’s MacBeth, Lady MacBeth subconsciously fights the traditional gender roles accepted by society through her actions and speeches. The main characters in Shakespeare’s MacBeth aid in ensuring that the men remain superior to the women. This is first introduced discretely to the audience when Duncan is killed. MacDuff says to Lady MacBeth, “O gentle lady, / 'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak: / The repetition, in a woman's ear, / Would murder as it fell.” (II. iii. 84-87). An average woman in modern times would normally take offense to this remark. However, Lady MacBeth plays along with MacDuff’s comment, thus making herself seem “to be daunted and fearful, powerless and unfulfilled” (Schiffer). At this point in the play, the audience is unable to suspect Lady Macbeth’s true ambition. However, this ambition is what ultimately drives her and her husband mad. Lady MacBeth does conform …show more content…

She no longer has to complete her actions through her husband when she fully disrupts the traditional gender roles accepted by society. She proclaims: “Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me, from the crown to toe, top-full / Of direst cruelty!” (I. v. 40-43). In this speech, Lady MacBeth admits that she would rather be a man so she had the ability to do the things a man can do, such as murder King Duncan. She also becomes more dominant and controlling in her marriage with MacBeth (Schiffer). After Lady MacBeth’s transformation, her husband becomes visibly inferior to her. By the end of the play, she has won the battle of gender

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