Gender Roles of Shakespeare’s Characters

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Society in the16th century was highly structured. Women of the upper class were expected to be trophies for their husbands. The men were required to hunt, lead, and go into battle. If one chose not to follow these dictates, the rest of society would question, look down on, or even punish the deviant. The prominent author, William Shakespeare, placed this subject into comedy and tragedy plays with dramatically different outcomes. In Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare makes fun of stereotypical gender roles by establishing Beatrice and Lady Macbeth as the dominant characters over Benedick and Macbeth through imagery, dialogue, and character personalities. Men held the dominant positions during this time; however, Beatrice, in Much Ado About Nothing, takes on these traditionally male characteristics by being both aggressive and dominant. For example, her uncle, Leanoto states that she will “never run mad” over a romance, and she even affirms this herself by saying she has “cold blood” (“Much Ado” 3-4) (Lewalski 242). Many comments such as these including her conversation with Claudio at the beginning of Act 4 lead critics to brand her as a “protofeminist” (Cook 190). Carol Cook reiterates this by writing, “Beatrice is aggressive and as guarded as the men in the play” (191). Lady Macbeth, in Macbeth, also demonstrates dominant traits. This is introduced at the beginning of the play as she starts to plan Duncan’s demise after reading Macbeth’s letter of the prophecy (Liston 235). She evokes this again in Act I Scene V by saying: Unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood, Stop up the access and passage to remorse… Come to my woman’s breas... ... middle of paper ... ...w.jstor.org/stable/462403>. Dennis, Carl. "Wit and Wisdom in Much Ado about Nothing." Studies in English Literature 13.2 (1973): 223-237. Web. 25 February 2010. . Lewalski, B. K. "Love, Appearance and Reality: Much Ado about Something." 8.2 (1968): 235- 251. Web. 25 February 2010. . Liston, William. "Male and Female Created He Them: Sex and Gender in "Macbeth"." College Literature 16.3 (1989): 232-239. Web. 18 February 2010. . Scheff, Thomas. "Gender Wars: Emotions in "Much Ado about Nothing"." 36.2 (1993): 149-166. Web. 18 February 2010. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1993. Print. Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.

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