Gender Roles In Macbeth

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the concept of gender roles are questioned and explored all throughout the play. In today's society, the gender roles are typically viewed as men being the ones who do manual labor and provide for their families, and women are usually more soft caretakers who shouldn't have to work as hard as men. In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows that gender roles often swap back and forth, mainly between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare shows that even though men act tough and masculine, they can crumple under fear and failure, while women are the ones acting strong to keep the men in their place. Due to these ideas of transitioning gender roles that are portrayed in Macbeth, it is clear that these ideas can definitely be questioned and explored.

During the first encounter with Lady Macbeth, she says “Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valoor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crowned withal.” This reveals to the audience that she has some dominance over Macbeth by saying that she will be able to have him kill King Duncan. By Lady Macbeth having control over him, we can see that her gender role is already flipped with the role of a man's since she is easily able to influence her husband with ease. She is even able to take control of the preparation of the murder from Macbeth when she says, “ Let me handle tonight's preparations, because tonight will change every night and day for the rest of our lives.” These are both prime examples of how women can sometimes be portrayed in a masculine way, showing how the roles may be