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Masculinity And Femininity In Macbeth Seizing The Dagger

504 Words3 Pages

In the two interpretations of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth Seizing the Dagger (Fuseli) and Macbeth (Goold 2010), the thematic idea of masculinity and femininity is depicted. Throughout Macbeth, this theme has been evident. However, in the scene where Lady Macbeth returns the daggers this is particularly evident. She has already corrupted Macbeth after he told her about his prophecy, and she already successfully convinced him to murder the king he was loyal to. The painting specifically displays the theme in this scene through the size and placement of the characters, while the film uses language and movement. These elements build our understanding of Macbeth, and display the theme directly. Another element shared by both of the interpretations is darkness, as it is used to convey the eeriness of the situation. …show more content…

She towers over the seemingly small and frail Macbeth, whose face appears to display utter terror. Upon a closer look, we can see Macbeth is being ordered to silence himself, similar to when Lady Macbeth says “These deeds must not be thought/ After these ways; so, it will make us mad.”(Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 45-46). While the painting seems to use physical appearance to display the rather abusive relationship between the two characters, the film uses language to display distaste and disdain. A prominent example of this is when Lady Macbeth utters “Infirm of purpose” (Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2 Line 68). The way she speaks and moves toward Macbeth in this production shows her untraditional role as the masculine figure in their

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Lady Macbeth calls to the spirit to rid her of her feminity and fill her like a man, one with deadly cruelty. This shows how the female qualities Lady Macbeth possessed kept her back by her delicacy to commit such churlish crimes. After Lady Macbeth was stripped, she was later able control Macbeth's actions and take the lead in Act 2, Scene 2. "Why worthy thane, you unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things," She continues to call his actions weak so unlike

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Macbeth’s understandable distress is seen as an effeminate breakdown. His inability to move on from and accept death makes him a coward in the eyes of his wife, and like any man, hearing such an insult from his life partner struck him deeply. Hearing such an attack pushes Macbeth to do as his wife tells him, ignoring his own emotions, solely because he wants the comfort of being seen positively again. This desire is shown in a further interaction with Lady Macbeth. As said by the lady herself, “My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.”

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This is also backed up by “Unsex me here”, Lady Macbeth is willing to sacrifice her femininity so that Macbeth can become king. This all begs the question of whether Lady Macbeth is willing to disregard all the stereotypes of being a woman and lose her moral principles over ambition. “As bad as them; I see the dagger still, And on the blade is bitterness and blood, Which I didn’t have before.” This uses metaphoric language to depict to us that Macbeth is being corrupted by the idea of murder, he is being plagued with the idealistic rules that manhood is defined by raging ambition and willingness to do evil things for what the desire. However, Macbeth is questioning these things as he does not want to defy his morals.

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