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Gender Roles In Macbeth

445 Words2 Pages

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the reversal of masculinity and femininity, the natural world, and the good and bad actions of the characters are due to the evil forces that rule over goodness in the world of Macbeth. The play follows the breakage of the Great Chain of Being, which twists Macbeth’s beliefs and actions that led to his reign as king as well as his downfall. Firstly, the typical masculine and feminine roles in society are reversed to emphasize that the natural world is out of order. As Macbeth and Banquo run into the three witches, Banquo asks them, “You should be women, /And yet your beards forbid me to interpret/ That you are so” (1.3.45). The confusion of the gender of witches shows that there is something sinister about them that …show more content…

She wants to rid herself of these and align with unnatural forces to become fully evil. Secondly, the natural world is changing, and now it's no longer participating in its normal routine. In the aftermath of Duncan's death, Ross talks to the Old Man about the weird things that have been following him. “And yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp” (4.8). It is supposed to be daytime, but because of the natural semblance caused by Duncan's death, it is reversed, and it’s dark out. The reversal of the natural world also appears at the beginning of the play when Macbeth is commenting on the present day right before meeting the witches, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (1.3.38). Fair is supposed to be a representation of good, but as stated prior by the witches, the role of fair has been reversed with foul. Lastly, Macbeth’s world has become so dark and evil that the innocent are seen as threats to the world. Before the murders hired by Macbeth to kill the Macduff family, Lady Macduff comments about the state of their world. “I am in this earthly world, where to do harm/ Is often laudable, to do good sometimes/ Accounted dangerous folly”

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