The Portrayal Of Gender Roles In Shakespeare's Macbeth

The Portrayal of Gender Roles in Macbeth Shakespeare’s Macbeth follows the story of Macbeth and his wife as they take fate into their own hands, murder the king of Scotland, and put themselves one step closer to being royals. Lady Macbeth is a fascinating and complex character that undergoes many changes and development throughout the play. Lady Macbeth’s actions both challenge and reinforce the perception of traditional gender roles, but defying these roles is ultimately urged against. The stereotypical description of “Femininity” is typically nurturing, quiet, polite, passive, and innocent. Lady Macbeth defies all of these traits. After she receives the letter from her husband about his prophecy of becoming king, she responds to it by saying, “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty.” (1.5 39-42) Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to remove her tender and nurturing characteristics and replace them with the cruelty and malice it requires to murder, the typical traits associated with masculinity. This challenges traditional gender roles by having a prominent female playing a dominant, strong-willed character. Lady Macbeth holds power over

She is seen sleepwalking and is overheard saying, “Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfume of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” (5.1 45-46) Lady Macbeth has now turned into the person she defied. Weak, fragile, incapable of violence and malice. Her life starts to go downhill after regaining these feminine traits which leads to her killing herself. This only reinforces the idea of traditional gender roles. The way that Lady Macbeth's character is written is used as a message. It warns that when one tries to challenge gender roles they are faced with