Masculinity In Lady Macbeth

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth focuses heavily on gender role reversals and ambition. Lady Macbeth shows both of these themes consistently with her character. She also frequently shows how this masculinity and ambition combination can cause her to break. More precisely, Lady Macbeth shows the inherent masculine cruelty her ambition brings, how violent and toxic this masculinity causes her to be, and how this brings her to the breaking point.

Throughout the majority of the play, it becomes increasingly apparent that Lady Macbeth is extremely ambitious. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth shows that her ambition is more brutal and cruel or to generalise, more masculine. Society has this idea that masculinity is very violent and that is advanced through

This is unquestionably an interesting subject to be discussed. Within society, man on woman abuse is frequently spoken about, but the reverse is generally swept under the rug. Chamberlain first discussed how selfish Lady Macbeth is by first of all saying, “She would readily kill Macbeths progeny to secure her husband’s succession, but in killing the progeny she likewise destroys his lineage, rendering his short-lived reign a barren one,” (82). Lady Macbeth intends on making sure Macbeth becomes king so that she will become queen but frankly doesn’t care if he has an heir which is generally extremely important to royal families. Lady Macbeth is also shown to be an extremely manipulative character, pressuring and belittling Macbeth to do as she wants. Langis wrote, “Herself engrossed in emulous rivalry, Lady Macbeth, as wife and helpmate, uses her incredible rhetorical power to aid Macbeth towards the crown,” (48). Lady Macbeth learns that she could also be in power and becomes obsessed with the idea of coming into this power. The problem is that the only way for the couple to come into power, they need to kill Duncan. Macbeth proves several times within Act 1 that he is far too scared to kill. Every single time Macbeth shows he is vulnerable she uses rhetoric to pressure and persuade him into committing the crime. She says, “Hie thee hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear / And chastise with the valour of my tongue / all that impedes thee from the golden round,” (I.v.24-27). This is another instance where Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth what to do regardless of his values and decisions. She very literally says that she will tell Macbeth what she must to convince him to go after the crown. Not only is she manipulative to her husband, but she also has the tendency to emasculate her husband. It is written that Lady Macbeth, “Deliberately presenting