Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have different definitions of masculinity. Macbeth sees masculinity as bravery, having control, doing the right thing and having good morals. At the beginning of the story Macbeth has all of these traits, leading him to believe that he is a good and masculine man. Lady Macbeth thinks otherwise. She sees masculinity as boldness, rage, power, and lack of remorse or guilt. Having a different point of view than Macbeth when it comes to typical gender roles, she knows that men (or rather, people with masculine traits) can get away with more things than women can. She sees men do cruel things while having little to no repercussions or guilt. She knows that both her and Macbeth want to rule Scotland, but she knows Macbeth is too kind. She uses this as a manipulative tool, …show more content…
But while she makes this point about masculinity and femininity, she doesn't necessarily prove that men are more powerful than women. Rather, she shows us that the women of this story are just as powerful as the men if they can be masculine. For example: The three witches are arguably the most powerful characters in the story. While, yes they are women, they are very masculine. When Macbeth meets them, he states that “You should be women / But your beards forbid me to interpret / That you are so.” These women are ugly and evil and have no hesitation to do horrible things. They fight the gender normal, yet they are still the most respected and powerful characters in the play. Lady Macbeth herself is also a great example of this idea. When we are first introduced to her, we can immediately see that she has wild ambition and is not afraid to act on it. She soon realizes that she cannot do so, because she is too outwardly feminine. Because of this, we get the famous “unsex me” soliloquy, where Lady Macbeth first tells the audience her thoughts on what femininity and masculinity are to