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Lady Macbeth Gender Roles Quotes

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In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare blurs the line between the typical masculine and feminine roles of the time period in which it was written. Early on in the play, Macbeth shows resistance to Lady Macbeth’s murderous intentions. He demonstrates characteristics that were more true to women of the time period, appearing guilty and weak in comparison to Lady Macbeth. She shows dominance and power, which is what the reader would typically associate with a man of the time period. As the story goes on these characters essentially swap places. Macbeth shows the dominance that he lacked previously, and Lady Macbeth shows weakness and guilt, as she slowly perishes. Early in the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do not conform to their typical gender roles, …show more content…

As soon as she gets word of the witches prophecy, she shifts her focus to making Macbeth king and herself queen. She is a very power hungry character. It is clear that she dominates Macbeth with her words as she convinces him to murder Duncan. She questions his manhood and does absolutely anything that she can to manipulate him. “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” (Shakespeare 1.7). This quote exemplifies the lengths that Lady Macbeth is willing to go to get exactly what she wants. She goes further by saying “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty” (Shakespeare 1.5). This quote shows the reader that Lady Macbeth wants any qualities associated with being female to be stripped away from her. She believes that these qualities are what make her weak and unworthy of holding any power. Rosenblum adds, “She so dominates the scenes in which she appears that her role at times seems equal to, perhaps even larger than, Macbeth's” (Rosenblum). This proves that Lady Macbeth is a force that is largely separate from any other female character in the play. Long adds, "In the eyes of such a literature, women have no role to play … the women who, left behind in ‘la douz France’, are stereotypically reduced to a certain marginality with regard to the values which epic embodies” (Long). This proves that unlike many other female characters, she does not let the associations of being female hold her back on her quest for power. Even after Macbeth murders King Duncan, Lady Macbeth still feels no remorse for what she has just set in motion. Macbeth feels so guilty, that she must finish her plan. 'Wash your hands,' said she. 'Why did you not leave the daggers by the grooms? Take them back, and smear the grooms with blood.' 'I

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