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Macbeth Gender Roles Essay

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Shakespeare's Portrayal of Powerful Women in Macbeth Defies Elizabethan Gender Norms The Elizabeth era was known for an explosion in England's greatness. Theaters, conquests, and trade, the era could even be called a “golden age”. However, the flamboyant and remarkable aspects of the era does not reflect its harsh patriarchism and the collar it had on women's role and stereotypes. Ironically, in the play Macbeth, Shakespeare boldly depicts several powerful female characters who defy the conventional gender roles of women in Elizabethan England. Most notable are the three witches and Lady Macbeth, whose ambition, manipulation, and sly control over Macbeth stand in stark contrast to the ideals and stereotypes of womanhood during that era. He …show more content…

Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, raises eyebrows by brewing her husband's murderous deeds, exemplifying another woman who wields significant influence over male action. Along with challenging the prominent female roles, Shakespeare explores themes of gender, power dynamics, and the consequences of unbridled ambition. The implementation of these themes, along with the prominence of strong women, could only be described as a defiance towards Elizabethan gender and societal roles. Now to even begin talking about Elizabethan gender roles, there must be some way to define it. The Olivet Nazarene University notes that, “Roles of authority were reserved for men, and the general expectation of a middle to lower class woman was to submit”(Lewis, 2022). Through this it could be inferred that the Elizabethan societal role for women was weak and held little to no power. In fact, this was what Elizabethan girls were taught in schools. Skills of housewifery like singing, dancing, managing a household and estate were the only things women could learn as they would not be admitted into universities. Even from childhood, women were put into a role weaker than

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Unfortunately, society often perceives women as weak and inferior. They are frequently treated as ignorant and objectified. This issue is evident in William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. Despite being the most powerful female character in any of Shakespeare's plays and the Queen of Scotland, Lady Macbeth's power is vastly different from Macbeth's power. Macbeth's power is political as he is a king and holds authority over the churches.

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This is ironic, because the cultural and historical influence of the time strongly supported gender roles. Usually, women were expected to be polite, nurturing, and passive. Meanwhile, men were expected to be strong, aggressive and in charge. In the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, he is passive and she is the aggressive one. “Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, wherever in your sightless substances you wait on nature’s mischief”.

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This study will focus on the way in which Shakespeare crafts his play and uses dramatic devices in his portrayal of Lady Macbeth in order to confront the gender stereotypes of the time, femininity and the natural order of society. During the early 17th century there was a substantial fear that if women were liberated from their domestic, maternal roles, the historically patriarchal society would unravel. With prevailing challenges of gender such as “When you durst do it, then you were a man” Shakespeare uses the character of Lady Macbeth to transgress the natural limits concomitant with her sex. In order to be able to answer the research question, it is vital to concretely establish the contemporary gender roles and the context of the play.

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In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the subversion of gender roles to reinforce Elizabethan notions of female and male behavior through the characters of Lady Macbeth, the three witches, and Macbeth. The ideal woman in Shakespearean times was submissive and docile. She is expected to be a mother and hostess, and little else. However, Lady Macbeth is the exact opposite of this notion. She constantly challenges and manipulates her husband to feed her ever-growing ambition.

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Judith Butler once said, “Masculine and feminine roles are not biologically fixed, but socially constructed.” In the novel Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth do not conform to the gender roles society has created, but follow the roles that they have mentally. Lady Macbeth takes on the stereotypical male gender roles while her husband is taking on roles that could be seen as traditional female roles. Shakespeare reverses the stereotypical gender roles to challenge the traditional gender roles of power, masculinity, and leadership. First of all, Shakespeare changes the stereotypical gender role of power through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

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The women in Macbeth are presented by Shakespeare to be powerful and ambitious which was unlike the typical views during Jacobean times. The playwright portrays Lady Macbeth and the witches to be highly influential to male characters in the play, which again contrasts the contemporary views to that time. Their ambition and power are demonstrated through the perversion of nature. This highlights the evil and immoral side, they possess. Shakespeare, however, presented Lady Macbeth and the witches to be manipulative and cunning, rather than violent like Macbeth was during the play.

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