Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century. Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband is not as patriarchal as is seen in traditional representations of husband and wife dynamics during this time period. For example, she says, “To alter favor ever is to fear/ Leave all the rest to me” to Macbeth (I.v.72-73). She tells him what to do and how to do it rather than the more accustomed reverse. She is also taking a position of authority by doing things for herself. Lady Macbeth criticizes her husband, saying, “Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life/ And live a coward in thine own esteem?” (I.vii.41-43). She calls him a coward, easily insulting him without repercussions and with the knowledge that he won’t do anything because of it. After Macbeth kills Duncan and is in shock of the crime he has just committed, Lady Macbeth says, “Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil” (II.ii.53-55). In this scene, she is taking charge of the situation by ignoring her husband’s inability to fully comprehend what he has just don... ... middle of paper ... ...rs life without power worse than death and would even prefer the latter. It was an atypical character trait at the time for a woman to desire power as greedily as Lady Macbeth does. The story of Lady Macbeth throughout Macbeth is one unlike those of its time in its unusually forward-thinking portrayal of a woman with thoughts and actions which would have been considered indecent. This is seen through the representation of her relationship with Macbeth and how they interact. It is also illustrated through Lady Macbeth’s morals and their effect on how she acts and reacts in situations which would weigh heavily on most peoples’ conscious. Her power-hungry attitude is one often reserved for men, especially in this era of literature. All of these factors create a character in Lady Macbeth which is dissimilar to the classic portrayal of women in the seventeenth century.
As Macbeth becomes less dependent on his wife, she loses more control. She loses control of her husband, but mostly, of herself, proving her vacillating truth. Lady Macbeth’s character gradually disintegrates through a false portrayal of unyielding strength, an unsteady control of her husband and shifting involvement with supernatural powers.Throughout the duration of play Lady Macbeth’s truly decrepit and vulnerable nature is revealed. Lady Macbeth has been the iron fist and authority icon for Macbeth, yet deep down, she never carried such traits to begin with. This duality in Lady Macbeth’s character plays a huge role in planting the seed for Macbeth’s downfall and eventual demise.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is often seen as a demonic figure whose evil manipulation causes the murder of Duncan. Indeed, gender is a prominent theme in the play. In this essay, I will argue that Macbeth reflects strict gender expectations and that the protagonists are in turn governed and constrained by these stereotypes. Macbeth also reflects a deep mistrust of women in Shakespeare’s society.
William Shakespeare’s, Macbeth, displays what a man is willing to do to obtain the highest level of power. When Macbeth is first introduced, he is viewed as a man with great gallantry and heroism because he is able to prove his loyalties to the King of Scotland, Duncan. However, Macbeth’s masculinity begins to come into question, when he lets the three witches’ prophecies guide his decisions on his journey to become king. Usually, women are thought to be the “weaker sex”, while men are the powerful and dominant. However, Shakespeare approaches manhood and womanhood ambiguously. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the center of attraction when it comes to gender roles. The Macbeth’s have traits that are not the normal way females and males, are ‘supposed’
For the time that this play was written, Macbeth is very respectful and treats his wife as an equal and also takes her opinion highly over others. This type of relationship seems very unnatural for the time because in this time it was more customary for a woman to be submissive to the husband. There is many points in the play where Lady Macbeth shows her equality in the relationship. An example of this is in (play; act 1 scenes 5-7) when she finds out about Macbeth’s revelation that was given to him. When Lady Macbeth and her spouse converse about the revelation she begins to state her opinion and takes over and begins to plan the first murder without the consent of her husband Macbeth.
Initially, when her character is introduced, she displays her masculine traits with complete disregard for any form of femininity. She commands the heavens in these lines, ”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.”(1.5.30-33). In this, Lady Macbeth sheds any attachment she has to her natural embodiment as a woman, and asks the supernatural to help her in her quest to power. It is clearly shown that Lady Macbeth yearns to achieve ambitions that weren’t considered womanly in the time period that this play is set in. As a consequence, she pushes her husband to fulfill her horrendous dreams, because she knows that she will not be affected if Macbeth fails to execute his plans. If Macbeth gets caught, then she remains blameless, and if he doesn’t, she becomes a queen. Either way she doesn’t get hurt. Nonetheless, Lady Macbeth hides another aspiration, one which is evidenced from her humane actions. As a loyal companion to Macbeth, Lady Macbeth wants to ensure that her husband achieves his dream, to be king, at any cost, even if that means sacrificing her femininity and humanity. Generally speaking, this unique perspective on Lady Macbeth shows that her demeaning of Macbeth’s masculinity is actually a display of her true feminine traits; to always support her husband regardless of the price. Lady
Shakespeare’s play Macbethare products of gender roles and expectations of an antiquated, long gone era. What is unclear is whether these characters adhere to the confines of these expectations or if they manage to subvert them. Lady Macbeth is a dynamic, interesting female character, but this does not change the play’s overall disdain for women and feminine people. The characters in Macbeth reaffirm the traditional gender stereotype of masculinity being intrinsically linked with power and worth by way of Lady Macbeth’s disdain for femininity and Macbeth’s hunger for masculinity.
Lady Macbeth is a very loving wife to Macbeth and she wants to do anything she can for him to achieve his goals. She just takes it a little too far, and she puts too much pressure on Macbeth to commit crimes that he is not sure he wants to do. After Macbeth sends her a letter about the witches’ premonitions, Lady Macbeth is no longer the sweet innocent lady we expect her to be. She turns into a person who is just as ambitious as her husband and she wants to do whatever it takes to help him get Duncan out of the way. She even goes to the point of calling Macbeth a coward, and mocking his bravery when he fails to complete the job. She is even willing to do it herself (plant the bloody knife with the guard). Lady Macbeth is constantly putting the pressure on Macbeth to do things that he is not sure about. She almost turns into a bully who dares Macbeth to go out and do evil things. She even says in a soliloquy that she wants to be released of all her morals and values so that she can help him commit these crimes.
Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband by questioning his manhood. She insists: “When you durst do it, then you were a man”. Macbeth is a proud soldier, in a culture where men are defined by their courage and masculinity. By challenging his manhood, Lady Macbeth is in effect questioning his professional and social status. Furthermore, the slur becomes all the more effective, coming as it does from the one person who should surely be a source of admiration and tenderness rather than humiliation. It is clear that Lady Macbeth’s affections are conditional and, unless he meets her expectations, she will continue to deny his role as a protector and husband. Seeing a king being humiliated by a female would have made the Elizabethan audience particularly uncomfortable, especially given the strong patriarchal society of the time. To recap, Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth’s masculinity to manipulate him into doing what she wants.
The untraditional marriage between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Lady Macbeth shows how a woman takes charge of her marriage, showing she is the woman of the house. She is manly and all powerful over her husband. Lady Macbeth proves to be the untraditional woman of Scotland, she differs from the role of a traditional woman because she is not feminine as a woman should be, in fact she wishes she was a man. She tells the spirits to, “ unsex me here”. ( Enotes… unsex me here). This pertains to the theme of gender roles because it demonstrates how Lady Macbeth wishes it was a man. She’s manlier than her husband, that show the untraditional woman. Lady Macbeth feels her husband is to nice, friendly, and full of milk “ worrying her is to full of the milk of human kindness to take Duncan’s throne” ( Gale. Par 3). She worries that Macbeth has cold feet. He’s afraid of the consequence that will follow the murder; She planed the murder herself, because she didn’t believe he could do with out her help. She worries he is to manly to snatch the crown. So Lady Macbeth is manly enough to plan the murder, but wants Macbeth to commit the murder. ...
At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is shown as a loving wife. As she reads her husbands letters she says stuff like “worth Cawdor “. She waits for her husbands anticipated arrival. From the minute Macbeth returned, she starts perusing her husband. At this point she shows her evil side. She conspires with her husband to murder King Duncan. At this preposition Macbeth disagrees, but his Lady Macbeth has other plans. She decides to use manipulation and pitty. She begins by saying “Has the hope slept? And has woken, to look green and pale.” Lady Macbeth tries to make her husband feel bad by using manipulation. This shows one of her multi-faceted sides. Lady Macbeth realises that Macbeth still isn’t interested in committing the murder, so she attacks his courage as a male. She says “What made you change your mind? If you were to do it then you would be a man.” Lady Macbeth then states that she has more courage than him. She says
The concept and perception of gender has changed radically from Shakespeare’s time to now, yet the perceptions of women and the limitations placed on them remain shockingly similar. William Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, Macbeth, addresses gender concerns and the role of women in power positions. The play was written for King James VI of Scotland and I of England as he took the throne during a transitional period in the country’s history. The succession of King James marked the long-desired transition from a matriarchy to a patriarchy. Considering the historical context and Shakespeare’s affinity for King James, some Shakespearean critics hold Lady Macbeth responsible for the political, moral, and personal destruction in the play, as well
In the first few acts, Lady Macbeth is represented as a ruthless woman, prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure that her husband – Macbeth – becomes king. Her drive and ambition are clear when she tells Macbeth that the witches’ prophecies will certainly come true. She appears stronger than Macbeth and doubts her husband’s ability to do what is necessary: “I fear thy nature; it is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness”- (Lady Macbeth A1 S5 L4). She recognizes that she must be in control and regrets being a woman: “Come you spirits, that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from crown to the toe-top fill of direst cruelty” (Lady Macbeth A1 S5 L30). Shakespeare portrays that women’s emotions are naturally soft, kind, and loving, so much so that Lady Macbeth wants to lose all such emotion and replace it with the opposite. The audience is left shocked by this dramatic cry.
Traditionally, men have been the superior partner in a relationship. Throughout time men have always been the one who is outspoken and dominant in marriages. Shakespeare tends to move away from these traditional gender roles and write woman who are strong and independent. In his play, Macbeth, Shakespeare has Lady Macbeth take on a more dominant, cruel and “manly” role in the marriage while Macbeth submits to his wife’s demands thus giving him a more “womanly” role. Both of these characters go through many role reversals between the two of them and subsequently their greed for power leads them to their downfall.
In Shakespeare’s historical play Macbeth the main leads wife, Lady Macbeth, displays major character development throughout the play. Lady Macbeth is seen transforming from a bold, fearless and cunning women, to a very scared, guilt ridden and psychotic women. At first, Lady Macbeth describes her husband’s nature as, "too full o the milk of human-kindness" for him to take any action that would result in him getting the power of King. Furthermore she questions Macbeths manhood by asking, “Are you a man” acknowledging the fact that a man’s masculinity is the biggest honor he can hold. In the beginning of the play she is seen as a ruthless figure who is willing to go to any extent in order to achieve her goals. As the play goes on one can clearly see Lady Macbeths character change as the change in her mental stabilities wavers. The first very strong and dominant Lady Macbeth turns fragile and verges on insanity. The Lady first is sleepless, then she begins to sleepwalk and is frantic in her actions as she talks to the thin air about her past actions. As Lady Macbeths guilt catches up with her she begins hallucinating she sees and smells the blood on her hands when none is actually there. Lady Macbeth’s character spirals into a downfall of mental instability as all the murders catch up with her. Lady Macbeth is an ambitious character who first appears strong but then spirals in to a downfall of insanity and ends up killing herself due to the guilt of her actions finally catching up with her.
In the Play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth is the wife of Macbeth and is one of the play’s most celebrated characters. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as stronger, more cruel, and more ambitious person than Macbeth, especially when she questions his manhood. When she questions his manhood, Macbeth feels that he needed to prove he is a man and that his masculinity should not be questioned. In a way this is her way of killing Duncan because she feels that she can manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan and she does not want to be seen as killing him because women are not portrayed as a killing type. Lady Macbeth’s role in the play is to be the character that portrays some of the themes and social images of that time about how a woman should or shouldn’t be. By creating a character like Lady Macbeth, the reader’s views of masculinity and femininity are challenged.