Masculinity In Macbeth

William Shakespeare conveys the detrimental effects of ambition on those who seek power. In Macbeth, the main characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth display this dangerous ambition through their journey of murder, blood, and corruption. The plot of Macbeth relies on masculinity to indicate strength along with cruelty, while femininity indicates instability and fragility. The obvious omission of women in the play, combined with the focus on the menś struggle for power further perpetuates the idea of feminine weakness. The main female character, Lady Macbeth, does not possess a real name, and neither does any of the other women. Her value in society makes her referred to as her husband’s name, illustrating the lack of respect for women in the play. Men have full control of their wives´ behavior . Furthermore, Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to cast a spell on her and “unsex me here,/And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full,/Of direst cruelty” (Shakespeare 1.5.31-33) so that she could commit an awful deed without feeling guilty. Consequently, her desperation to make herself equal to men and the imbalance of gender

Lady Macbeth, overwhelmed with her guilt, decides to kill herself in a desperate attempt to alleviate that grief. In the eleventh century, people viewed suicide as a felony. Additionally, Lady Macduff possesses only a small role in this play. Seemingly unaware of her husband’s disappearance, and feeling distraught along with discontent, she refuses to listen to the messenger that cautions her and her son of their gloomy fate. She responds by asking “Do I put up that womanly defense,/To say I have done no harm?” (Shakespeare 4.2.73-74). Her response demonstrates her belief that inaction befits womanly response rather than heeding the messengerś warnings. Conversely, societal norms dictate that the manly response demands