Gender Roles In Lady Macbeth By William Shakespeare

What do men work toward in life? Is it the most lucrative career, the nicest house, the most beautiful wife? All those possibilities represent achievement and aptitude. In other words, you're not a man until you have a particular status or possession that proves it. Furthermore, that motivation persists as a powerful character aspect in fiction. Besides, with any story, you invest in someone based on their goals. And seeing the action progress as a character works toward them is what engages you. But we can't deny that a male-perspective dominates our understanding of this progression. And it's the reason we see more men as protagonists in fiction than women. The broad set of capabilities and values that add dimension to a character make sense …show more content…
So having a male protagonist makes those set of capabilities believable. It's where art bridges the gap between real and fake by integrating aspects of culture. And if there's one man who could capture a culture like nobody's business, it was Shakespeare. Now, he wasn't one to exclude having a strong female character. In fact, Lady Macbeth represents a reversal of gender roles to an extent. But the rest of the characters who personify Shakespeare's brilliance are male. Let's not forget that only men could have careers in the theater industry during his time. Thus, it makes sense that his work, in particular, would stay within the realm of masculinity. Nonetheless, he also used conventional masculinity as the catalyst of a character's downfall. And the two notable ones I'm looking at are from Othello and Measure for Measure. These works show the dangers of male-dominance as it pertains to both women and other men. And as feminism keeps growing, Shakespeare's outlook on gender is relevant …show more content…
As a man, throwing a punch or two shows that you can defend yourself. But so far, the male element of physical confrontation has weakened Cassio. In most cases, defeating some overzealous chump in a fight would be admirable. But the central conflict is deeper than aggression alone. Instead, it's about pride and the weakening thereof. And men don’t often consider the consequences of their actions. Most of the time, men have a sense of immediacy. So they'll act first and think later. But with Cassio, Shakespeare shows the effect that mentality has on his reputation. Hence, he's shifting away from fighting as a means to an end. And he also shows that violence is a sign of weakness. It means your pride and ego is getting in the way of reason. So since Iago exploits that vulnerability in Cassio, it gives him an edge as the villain. The next part of his plan involves Desdemona's handkerchief. And this item is sentimental because it was Othello's first gift to her. But when Desdemona misplaces it, Iago gets his hands on it. Now, he knows how much Othello values the item. So Iago plants it in a spot where Cassio will find it. Then, in a dialogue with Cassio, Iago steers the topic toward Cassio's mistress, Bianca. And knowing that Othello will soon overhear them talking, Iago is baiting him. This tactic works due to Othello misinterpreting the context. So when Cassio refers to his mistress, Othello assumes he's talking