What Is Masculinity In Macbeth

In Shakespeare’s renowned play Macbeth, the social construct of masculinity and gender-related stereotypes have a prominent impact on central characters. The societal norms for men are established early in the play, upon Malcolm and the Captain’s return from battle. When the latter apprises King Duncan of Macbeth’s gruesome murder of Macdonwald, the leader of the rebel forces combatting Scotland, the king responds with lavish praise for Macbeth for exemplifying brutality and courage, exuberantly calling him a “worthy man” (I.ii.24). Through such words, Duncan conveys traditional attributes of the male role, emphasizing how one’s power, status, courage, and emotional stoicism affect their masculinity. While Macbeth conforms to fit society’s

While many men conform being stereotypically apathetic, Macduff openly expresses his emotions. He does not believe that expressing emotion is equivalent to weakness and conveys his sensitivity after the profound deaths of his wife and children. After Ross delivers the heartbreaking news of the death of Macduff’s family, Malcolm tells Macduff, “Dispute it like a man” (IV.iii.222), to which Macduff responds, “I shall do so; / But I must also feel it as a man” (IV.iii.223-224). Rather than hiding his grief and sorrows behind a facade of confidence, Macduff chooses to embrace his pain. In doing so, he exuberates greater strength than characters perceived as masculine by society’s standards, as traditional gender roles render emotionalism a greater challenge than stolidity. Macduff’s response to a tragic loss of his loved ones contrasts dramatically with virile Macbeth’s response to the death of his wife. When Lady Macbeth commits suicide, Macbeth reacts by nonchalantly saying, “She should have died hereafter; / There would have been a time for such a word” (V.v.16-17). Macbeth does not display any emotion over his wife’s demise, claiming that death is inevitable and thus, she would have died sooner or later regardless. Macbeth’s phlegmatical response further conveys the difficulty of emotional expressionism and the rarity of sensitive males like Macduff. Nevertheless, Macduff proceeds to utilize his grief as motivation for vengeance on Macbeth, exclaiming to Malcolm: “Front to front / Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; / Within my sword’s length set him” (IV.iii.235-237). In the penultimate scene of the play, Macduff achieves the aforementioned retribution when he slays Macbeth, saving Scotland from tyranny. Hence, Macduff prevails in comparison to Macbeth, despite Macbeth fitting society’s definition of masculinity