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Femininity In Macbeth Essay

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1. The portrayals of masculinity and femininity in Shakespeare’s Macbeth challenge stereotypes of men and women because Lady Macbeth breaks many stereotypes about women. Lady Macbeth is the one who encourages Macbeth to murder Duncan so he will be the King and so that Banquo’s children won’t be on the throne. Lady Macbeth says, “What beast was’t, then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man” (I, vii, 55-58). In this quote, Lady Macbeth is telling her husband how to act while threatening his masculinity, claiming that if he does not go through with the murder, he is a coward. Lady Macbeth is the mastermind behind Duncan’s murder …show more content…

The portrayals of masculinity and femininity in Scotland PA challenge stereotypes of men and women because Pat is the one who convinces Joe to kill Duncan because of the drive thru idea. Pat is the crazy one as she is the one who doesn’t feel that guilty about the murder of Duncan and keeps covering up for Joe who seems more saddened and affected by his own actions. Just like in the novel, Pat is the mastermind behind it.
3. Notions of masculinity and femininity have improved since the writing of Macbeth in that with the movements about equality such as feminism, it’s inclusive of everyone. The conversation is being talked more about how men shouldn’t feel embarrassed to show emotion and how women have the same capabilities as men do and how double standards are bad and shouldn’t be enforced. Also, a lot of men have gotten better about notions of masculinity and femininity.
4. Notions of masculinity and femininity have remained constant when it comes to culture and tradition. In many cultures, there are very specific ideas about what is masculine and feminine. And in these cultures, when these standards are not met, individuals can be humiliated and excluded. For instance, in the Mexican culture there are certain expectations for women such as cooking well and cleaning and for men they have to be tough and the ones who

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