Shakespearian Gender Roles
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the setting occurs during a time in which gender roles were not only rigidly defined, but also extremely demeaning towards women. A woman was thought to be soft, emotional, and only helpful as a mother figure; however Lady Macbeth’s character challenges this set role by attempting to “unsex” herself, or shedding the feminine characteristics that were thought to have made women weak. Lady Macbeth is in fact a sexist character because she desired to become “unsexed” in order to accomplish a task that a feminine character wouldn’t have been able to accomplish because of their weak characteristics, and it does make a difference in understanding the tragedy of her husband because her actions play …show more content…
Macbeth does as any husband would do when told good news, and writes a letter to his wife to inform her. Lady Macbeth, upon hearing of the prophecy that had been told to her husband, came to the same conclusion he did in terms of how the throne were to become his; Duncan (The king) would have to die. As soon as she reads the letter, she begins to worry if her husband has what it takes to seize the crown, for “That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,/ And yet wouldst wrongly win” (Macbeth, Shakespeare, I, 5, 20-21). Macbeth desires what he has been prophesized, but he lacks the willingness to be aggressive in order to take …show more content…
If so, then do her actions represent a feminine act, or the act of someone who has no sex, but definablely masculine character traits? This position of her success is represented by her interactions with Macbeth when she talks about the babe she so easily would have pulled from her breast and murdered, and when Macbeth comments on her masculinity. However there is evidence that she failed to unsex herself, such as when she proclaims: “Had he not resembled/ My father as he slept, I had done ’t” (II, 2, 12-13). She says this when she hears a noise while waiting for her husband to return from killing Duncan. She displays a characteristic that most would consider “feminine”, especially during the time of Shakespeare. Lady Macbeth shows emotion, something an “unsexed” individual wouldn’t have done; after Macbeth plots the murder of Banquo, and before informs his wife of the deed that is to be done, Lady Macbeth shows remorse, exclaiming “’Tis safer to be that which we destroy/ Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” (III, 2, 6-7). She would rather be like Duncan: cold, dead, and in the ground, than live a life where she’ll always be scared of what could happen to
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the setting occurs during a time in which gender roles were not only rigidly defined, but also extremely demeaning towards women. A woman was thought to be soft, emotional, and only helpful as a mother figure; however Lady Macbeth’s character challenges this set role by attempting to “unsex” herself, or shedding the feminine characteristics that were thought to have made women weak. Lady Macbeth is in fact a sexist character because she desired to become “unsexed” in order to accomplish a task that a feminine character wouldn’t have been able to accomplish because of their weak characteristics, and it does make a difference in understanding the tragedy of her husband because her actions play …show more content…
Macbeth does as any husband would do when told good news, and writes a letter to his wife to inform her. Lady Macbeth, upon hearing of the prophecy that had been told to her husband, came to the same conclusion he did in terms of how the throne were to become his; Duncan (The king) would have to die. As soon as she reads the letter, she begins to worry if her husband has what it takes to seize the crown, for “That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,/ And yet wouldst wrongly win” (Macbeth, Shakespeare, I, 5, 20-21). Macbeth desires what he has been prophesized, but he lacks the willingness to be aggressive in order to take …show more content…
If so, then do her actions represent a feminine act, or the act of someone who has no sex, but definablely masculine character traits? This position of her success is represented by her interactions with Macbeth when she talks about the babe she so easily would have pulled from her breast and murdered, and when Macbeth comments on her masculinity. However there is evidence that she failed to unsex herself, such as when she proclaims: “Had he not resembled/ My father as he slept, I had done ’t” (II, 2, 12-13). She says this when she hears a noise while waiting for her husband to return from killing Duncan. She displays a characteristic that most would consider “feminine”, especially during the time of Shakespeare. Lady Macbeth shows emotion, something an “unsexed” individual wouldn’t have done; after Macbeth plots the murder of Banquo, and before informs his wife of the deed that is to be done, Lady Macbeth shows remorse, exclaiming “’Tis safer to be that which we destroy/ Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” (III, 2, 6-7). She would rather be like Duncan: cold, dead, and in the ground, than live a life where she’ll always be scared of what could happen to