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Exploring Gender Roles In Shakespeare's 'Lady Macbeth'

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First, Lady Macbeth is presented as a strong and powerful woman while Macbeth depicts moments of cowardice when they are attempting to overcome conflicts. Lady Macbeth has power over Macbeth. This shows that she has the ability to manipulate people, especially her husband into doing what she wants them to do. Lady Macbeth strategically plans out the murder of Duncan and has complete control over it Lady Macbeth is shown as a very courageous woman while Macbeth is presented as an inadequate person who can’t do anything without Lady Macbeth . Traditionally, women aren't shown as dynamic and powerful figures but Lady Macbeth is portrayed antithetical and different. Lady Macbeth reveals that she has to take on masculine personality traits in …show more content…

Macbeth often expresses his emotions when dealing with issues, whereas Lady Macbeth exhibits rationality. To illustrate, Lady Macbeth is presented as a rational person because she doesn’t make decisions based on emotions, rather she considers the facts. At first, Lady Macbeth is not hesitant about murdering Duncan because all she wanted was the crown for her husband. This is recognized through the scene where she grips Macbeth when he forgets about the daggers at the scene of the murder. “Infirm of purpose!/Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/Are but as pictures; 'tis the eye of childhood/That fears a painted devil.” (II.II.69-72) As you can see Lady Macbeth doesn’t feel any conscience of what she made her husband do .However, Macbeth is consumed with guilt to the extent that he will not enter the room in which he murdered Duncan. Macbeth says “I'll go no more./I am afraid to think what I have done;/Look on't again I dare not.”(II.II 65-66) Macbeth is filled with emotions on one side while Lady Macbeth doesn't have any emotions on her but her ambition to make Macbeth the King of

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Lady Macbeth is more responsible for the murder of King Duncan than her husband, Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is also an eviller more cunning character than Macbeth. She was the one who thought to murder the King, and even convinced Macbeth to do it for her. She was also unphased immediately after the murder, going as far as to attempt to calm Macbeth down. At first mention of the witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth immediately assumed that they must murder Duncan, whereas Macbeth was simply confused on how it could be possible for him to be King.

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In the beginning a reader can see that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are somewhat fairly equal in control in their relationship. Almost instantly though Lady Macbeth slowly starts to reign in her power over Macbeth. When Duncan is coming to visit the home Lady Macbeth speaks to Macbeth, “... He that’s coming / Must be provided for; and you shall put / This night’s great business into my dispatch (her management), / Which shall to all our nights and days come / Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom (bring absolute royal power),” (1.5) Some may argue that she was guided by her ambition throughout the play versus her actions being a direct result of her gender. She was very

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At the start of the play, she is very ambitious and plans on killing king Duncan and taking over as queen with her husband as king. We can see her lust for power and how that she has a more stronger personality at the start than her husband Macbeth does. She seems very okay with the idea of murdering the king. She really wants to go through with it and wants Macbeth to kill the king to go through with her plans as being queen. she immediately see’s how that her husband Macbeth isn 't as ambitious and strong minded as she is

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In the Tragedy of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth exhibits a greater capacity for evil than Macbeth. For example when Lady Macbeth is speaking to Macbeth after he starts to reconsider the plan, she says, “Art thou afeard/ To be the same thine own act and valor/As thou art in desire” (I,vii,39-41). In this scene Lady Macbeth tries to manipulate her husband to kill Duncan by calling him a coward. As a man, Macbeth takes her comments very harshly and gets manipulated to continue the assasination plot.

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She is unafraid to challenge Macbeth's masculinity and push him to commit murder. In her soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits to "unsex" her and make her more masculine so that she can carry out the murder herself. This shows that Lady Macbeth is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals, even if it means going against traditional gender roles. Her manipulation of Macbeth shows her cunning and her ability to control her husband. Sure!

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One example of the difference is in the ethics of the two characters. In the first act Macbeth shows a better moral character than his wife. He does this when he has second thoughts about killing Duncan; he even says,” We will proceed no further in this business.” This shows he knows killing Duncan is morally wrong and is very hesitant to go through with it (even though he succumbs to murder in the end). On the contrary, Lady Macbeth has absolutely no hesitation or second thoughts; she even goes as far as to call on the dark, supernatural help in order to get herself through the plan.

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Lady Macbeth was a creature in her own right, selfish in nature, she advised Macbeth to continue with his ambitious desires for her desire for power trumped her desire for Macbeth’s wellbeing. Duncan’s murder was, surprisingly, almost completely her doing as she set the stage for the entire event. Originally, Macbeth’s conscience advises him that he is already high in society and that he should feel no need to climb higher, for Duncan is a fair and just king. Lady Macbeth, however, taunts her husband, taking jabs at his manliness and “making quick work of his virtuous resolution” (Kelly 288). She persuades that if there was ever a time to become king and complete the prophecy, it is now.

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As a woman, she is seen as weak and dependent. However, Lady Macbeth is actually the stronger willed character. She, while not the dominating motivation for Macbeth’s wrongdoings, corrupts him and convinces him that he is capable of doing these evil things. Lady Macbeth’s influence on Macbeth comes from her own selfishness. She wants to be queen above all else, which drives her to commit murder.

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Macbeth has just said that they shouldn't kill Duncan because he feels bad that he is Duncans host, angry at Macbeth's weakness, Lady Macbeth says, “I have been suckered. had I so sworn as you have done to this” (1.7 62-67). Lady Macbeth throughout the whole play is clearly very dominant over Macbeth and is constantly lecturing him about his indecisiveness and his unwillingness to be as ruthless. She is using gender roles to have Macbeth kill Duncan by calling him not man enough, and guilt tripping him, by saying that she would kill something so precious as her child, but he can't kill a stranger showing that he is not ruthless in Lady Macbeth's eyes. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are hosting a dinner party when Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo and gets frightened.

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Unlike Macbeth who has conflicting thoughts about murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth is relentless until the act is done, and therefore, is more responsible for the murder. In addition, Lady Macbeth’s strength of will prevail over Macbeth’s perplexed state of mind. Her unyielding

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Both characters portrayed ambition, strength and insanity at one time or another in the play. But as the play progresses, Macbeth gets more powerful and ambitious while Lady Macbeth gets weaker and less ambitious. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth appeared to have switched “attitudes” throughout the play. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth was very ambitious and greedy, while Macbeth was consciously moral and lighthearted. As the play progresses, Macbeth starts to turn into a greedy, ambitious king who does anything he can to preserve his title, while Lady Macbeth loses all her ambition and turns crazy.

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Her ambition is not only for herself but also for Macbeth. Nevertheless, with all her fervor, she wants him to be as strong as her. “Make thick my blood./Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/That no compunctious visitings of nature/ Shake my fell purpose/Come to my woman’s breasts,/And take my milk for gall” (1.5.44-49). Lady Macbeth never wavers in her goal.

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Lady Macbeth is not able to commit murders to some more extent because she suffers from immense guilt, which she cannot handle. She also does not defy the consequences of plotting a murder, which her husband does until the end. She also has more human traits than Macbeth, who abandons it completely. Lady Macbeth is responsible for death of King Duncan alongside Macbeth.

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