Macbeth Gender Roles

In the past times of Britain, women and men were thought of as “separate spheres”. They worked as complete individuals and did not associate with one another except for “at breakfast and again at dinner. The ideology of Separate Spheres rested on a definition of the ‘natural’ characteristics of women and men” (Hughes). People viewed women as “physically weaker yet morally superior” to the men (Hughes). These characteristics put women into the domestic sphere. It was seen as their job to try and balance out the public sphere that their husbands worked all day in. Not only did they have that job, they also had to work to prepare the next generation to carry on their ways of life (Hughes). It took years to change the views that many had on how

One way women were portrayed was as being evil. In Shakespearean literature, for example, they were seen to be evil and some even monstrous and dehumanized. One major character in Shakespearean literature that is portrayed this way is Lady Macbeth from Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is “frequently portrayed in film adaptations as the alluring villain who exploits her sexuality to negotiate and maintain power” (Rooks). Lady Macbeth is seen through the story Macbeth as Macbeth’s wife. At first she does not seem like the villain. However, throughout the story you see how she is the reason for the entire evil that is happening. She is characterized as a “dramatic role of a woman who has all the good lines”(Teague). Lady Macbeth sneakily persuades her husband into murder and other ghastly things. Although Macbeth is the one who actually committed all of these crimes, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as the evil one who is using her husband for her own personal

They thought that they were only needed at home, when in fact; women have made some of the biggest impacts on this world. Although there are a lot of amazing women in this world, one of the most impactful of these women was Susan B. Anthony. Susan B. Anthony was the woman who fought for our right to vote. Women would not have even a little voice in our society if it had not been for her bravery. Due to this event and many of the other things that women have succeeded in accomplishing, we are now working towards being seen as more than just a mother who should stay at home and take care of the housework and the children. We can see how some of the views on women have changed due to the way we are seen in our world. While in the past, women had very insignificant roles in most books; there are now some literary works where the main characters and even the whole plot are based on a strong, independent, and brave woman. Us, as women, have worked hard to get to where we are today. The idea that we are not capable of taking care of ourselves have changed. And while there are still more things that could be fixed, we have made it very far in history for us all to have a