What does being a man inhibit? In William Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, we can see how a man acts through the lens of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth believes she knows how men should act through her statement of “unsex me here” (Shakespeare 1.5.48) which shows her longing to no longer be a woman. Therefore, with this statement of no longer wishing to be a woman Lady Macbeth begins to exhibit knowledge of how a man should act, because men is the only other alternative to being a woman. Lady Macbeth desires to not be a woman anymore because she would be able to do the dirty work herself, since women usually do not commit such crimes. By acting in a certain manner, Lady Macbeth points out the flaws in Macbeth’s actions and explains to him how a man should operate. Throughout the play Lady …show more content…
Through the many murders Macbeth commits due to the influence of Lady Macbeth, she feels responsible and “What’s done cannot be undone.” (5.1.71) Through Lady Macbeth’s teachings to Macbeth on how to be a man, she provokes him to commit vicious actions toward others. Moreover, Lady Macbeth knows that her influence on Macbeth causes him to do these acts, and now that he accomplishes them they cannot reverse what has happened. All this misery furthermore causes Lady Macbeth to kill herself, as a punishment for her influence on Macbeth’s bad decision making. After Lady Macbeth dies, Macbeth continues to act upon his evil desires, which is a result of Lady Macbeth’s past guidance on becoming a man. Macbeth continues to use Lady Macbeth’s teachings of being a man, even after she passes away, to continue his evil reign as King. Undoubtedly, Macbeth’s defeat is a result of his confidence and pompous attitude which Lady Macbeth had previously taught