The subversion of gender roles in Macbeth is what sets the play apart from other plays of its time. One of the main themes is that nothing is what it looks like on the outside, and the topic of gender is at the forefront. In an age when men were supposed to be strong, aggressive, and decisive, and women passive and subordinate, Shakespeare makes a submissive man and his dominant wife the two main anti-protagonists. Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth find themselves constantly oscillating between society’s expectations for their genders and an unwillingness to accommodate them. Eventually, the pressure to conform to traditional gender roles becomes motivation for both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to murder Duncan.
Macbeth murders Duncan …show more content…
Almost all the men who appear in Macbeth are leaders or warriors who display bravery and ruthlessness, and the women are confined to domestic jobs. In earlier scenes, Macbeth displays the bravery and courage that Lady Macbeth believes is necessary for a man to have. The captain's story in Act 1 Scene 2, of how Macbeth ruthlessly defeated the rebel Macdonald by “unseam[ing] him from the nave to th’ chaps” and restored glory for Scotland paints Macbeth as the epitome of manliness, for which Duncan and the other thanes praise him. Being accused of losing the bravery that his previous job depended on damages Macbeth’s pride and makes him feel inferior, forcing him to commit the murder to stay within the gender construct of …show more content…
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have no children between them; although she says "I have given suck, and know/How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me" (1.7.54-55), Macduff reveals later that "[Macbeth] hath no children” (4.3.218). Either the children she had with Macbeth all died, or the children were from a previous marriage. For a woman in eleventh century England, having no children is in itself an oddity, and one which Macbeth bemoans about many times. In his monologue before he tells the murderers to kill Banquo, he complains about having a “fruitless crown” (3.1.62) and “barren sceptre” (3.1.63), voicing his jealousy towards Banquo who the witches promised a long line of heirs who will become kings. He tells his wife to “bring forth men-children only” (1.7.73), disregarding her possible infertility. Her line "Naught’s had, all’s spent,/Where our desire is got without content," (3.2.4) may refer to their unfruitful efforts to conceive. Lady Macbeth is quite upset about the fact that she cannot conceive heirs for Macbeth like a normal woman should be able to do. The violent imagery in her line "I would, while it was smiling in my face,/Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/And dashed the brains out" (1.7.56-58) that she uses to emphasize her lust for power demonstrates how dysfunctional she is as a
Macbeth murders Duncan …show more content…
Almost all the men who appear in Macbeth are leaders or warriors who display bravery and ruthlessness, and the women are confined to domestic jobs. In earlier scenes, Macbeth displays the bravery and courage that Lady Macbeth believes is necessary for a man to have. The captain's story in Act 1 Scene 2, of how Macbeth ruthlessly defeated the rebel Macdonald by “unseam[ing] him from the nave to th’ chaps” and restored glory for Scotland paints Macbeth as the epitome of manliness, for which Duncan and the other thanes praise him. Being accused of losing the bravery that his previous job depended on damages Macbeth’s pride and makes him feel inferior, forcing him to commit the murder to stay within the gender construct of …show more content…
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have no children between them; although she says "I have given suck, and know/How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me" (1.7.54-55), Macduff reveals later that "[Macbeth] hath no children” (4.3.218). Either the children she had with Macbeth all died, or the children were from a previous marriage. For a woman in eleventh century England, having no children is in itself an oddity, and one which Macbeth bemoans about many times. In his monologue before he tells the murderers to kill Banquo, he complains about having a “fruitless crown” (3.1.62) and “barren sceptre” (3.1.63), voicing his jealousy towards Banquo who the witches promised a long line of heirs who will become kings. He tells his wife to “bring forth men-children only” (1.7.73), disregarding her possible infertility. Her line "Naught’s had, all’s spent,/Where our desire is got without content," (3.2.4) may refer to their unfruitful efforts to conceive. Lady Macbeth is quite upset about the fact that she cannot conceive heirs for Macbeth like a normal woman should be able to do. The violent imagery in her line "I would, while it was smiling in my face,/Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/And dashed the brains out" (1.7.56-58) that she uses to emphasize her lust for power demonstrates how dysfunctional she is as a