Gender Roles In Macbeth

In Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows man’s ruthless and cruel desire for power. Shakespeare displays this through two characters, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. The gender roles connected with human nature are displayed in this play. Men are supposed to be cruel and ruthless where women are delicate and kind. These stereotypical gender roles between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are reversed during the beginning of this play, but then slowly become balanced through the development of the play. Before Duncan’s murder, Macbeth possesses the womanly nurturing side of human nature where Lady Macbeth possesses the violent manly side. This is apparent during the first murder when Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into killing his first victim, Duncan. Macbeth sends a letter to Lady Macbeth telling the three weird witch’s tale. When Lady Macbeth reads that Macbeth is destined towards …show more content…
Macbeth becomes an individual capable of killing anyone; not a man who relies on his wife to help him with the deed. While Macbeth only worries about losing his crown, Lady Macbeth feels incredible guilt for killing Duncan. She starts going mad, and begins to talk in her sleep about Duncan “Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him” (5.1.28-30). On the other hand, Macbeth’s guilt and fear becomes numbed “I have supped full with horrors” (Act 5 sc. 5 15). .He is able to kill Macduff’s whole family without consulting with Lady Macbeth. This is where the couple starts to take on their stereotypical role. Lady Macbeth’s death also shows how she is no longer the evil behind Macbeth’s actions. She commits suicide off stage, and dies a quiet death. Macbeth seems unaffected by this walks over his dead wife. This shows how she is no longer the driving evil behind Macbeth, and is irrelevant to his actions. This shows how Macbeth becomes the dominant partner and Lady Macbeth is left