Lady Macbeth Femininity Analysis

“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. A woman must do what he can’t.” (Hansome). One of the most memorable and powerful characters responsible for the reigning and defeat of Macbeth is Lady Macbeth. According to Mcpherson, “Lady Macbeth’s aggressiveness and murderous ambition makes her one of Shakespeare’s most powerful female characters, these unnatural attributes clashed with dominant constructs of femininity making her difficult to accept” (302). In a male dominated society, Lady Macbeth must rise to the occasion of a successful rise to power. As Macbeth “was humanized and rendered more gentlemanly and less fearsome” by his conscious, “Lady Macbeth came to play an increasingly dominant role as a dramatic protagonist” (Mcpherson). In The …show more content…
Macbeth makes it necessary for Lady Macbeth to take on masculine traits. In our culture, masculinity is often identified with males and femininity is often identified with females; “Feminine traits are ways of behaving that our culture usually associates with being a girl or woman. Masculine traits are ways of behaving that our culture usually associates with being a boy or man” (parenthood). In culture, masculinity may be referred to men as independent, aggressive, strong, and nonemotional. Femininity may be linked to traits such as weak, emotional, nurturing, and sensitive. Because Lady Macbeth lacks conscious, sympathy, and “chose to win male prerogatives, such as the power to rule the land or make decisions; to fight the constraints of gender roles and behaviour patterns; to exhibit either ambition or desire for vengeance, which jeopardizes male authority” (Sentov), she has become the independent, aggressive, strong, and nonemotional “man”. During Shakespeare 's time,“women were considered weak and sinful, lesser than man” (Sentov). “Women were expected to be submissive to their husband, and if these women were “left unchecked, they were sure to stray”