Lady Macduff Gender Quotes

The final character that goes through gender fluidity is Macduff. Macduff is feminine when he proclaims “O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart/

Cannot conceive nor name thee”.(2.3,69-69)

This is Macduff's reaction to the King's death. This reaction is considered very feminine , because masculine people react to death by portraying stoicism and are less emotive. In masculinity, a man is not supposed to be emotive and cry, instead a man tends to be strong, stoic, sometimes angry and men usually do whatever they can to avenge death . Instead Macduff's is very emotive and is in such shock where he is almost to the point of fainting which is very feminine which is characterized by Lady Macbeth. Macduff does not grief like a man until he hears the news of his family’s death . At first Macduff’s reaction to his family's death is feminine when he says

“All my pretty ones?/

Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?/

What, all my pretty chickens and their dam/

At one fell swoop?”.(4.3,253-257)

Malcolm interjects by saying “Dispute it like a man.”.(4.3,258)

Macduff responds to Malcolm by saying “I shall do so,

But I must also feel it as a man./

I cannot but remember such things were/

That were most precious to me”.(4.3,259-264)

Malcolm interjects

Gender fluidity can be especially seen with the characters Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macduff. Shakespeare proves that the point that gender is a fluid social construct within society. It can be seen with in current time today, people go in and out of gender roles by portraying the opposite or their traditional gender roles when they want or people dress in another gender which is opposite what was assigned to them at birth. Shakespeare destroys the preconceived notions about concrete ideas about gender by making the characters of the play, Macbeth, go in and out of them so easily. Shakespeare proves that gender is a fluid social