Gender Roles in Macbeth

Gender Roles in Macbeth

by Kaitlyn Mayer and Tea Landsverk

Act One, Scene Seven, Page 17

Act One, Scene Five, Page 12-13

Act Three, Scene One, Page 35

Act One, Scene Three, Page 5

"Bring forth men-children only; for thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males."

Macbeth is telling Lady Macbeth that she is ruthless and maculine with ambition that it would only make sence that her children would be men.

This contributes to the theme of Lady Macbeth losing her womanish mindsets and becoming in tune with her brutality.

"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!"

"Come to my woman's breasts, and take my milk for gall."

Lady Macbeth is saying she wishes to be more manly so that she can have the fortitude of a man. She wants to go through with the act without regrets or hesitation.

This relates to the overall play as a whole because Macbeth and Lady Macbeth cast aside their true nature to achieve power.

"[U]pon my head they placed a fruitless crown and put a fruitless sceptre in my gripe, thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand, no son of mine succeeding."

Macbeth is stating that Banquo has castrated him and replaced his lineage with his own.

This relates to the play because of the witches prophecy that Macbeth will not have successors of his own blood and Banquo will, causing Macbeth to attempt to murder Banquo and Fleance to prevent the prophecy.

"[Y]ou should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so."

The beards the witches are wearing are deceptive and it makes them look more rugged and mysterious.

This corresponds with the motif that what is fair is foul and foul is fair since the witches look like men but are actually women.

Act One, Scene Seven, Page 17

Act Three, Scene One, Page 36

Act Four, Scene One, Page 54

"We are men, my leige."

"Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men."

In this scene Macbeth is demoting the murderers calling them dogs.

This goes along with the theme overall because it involves manipulating people and degrading one's masculinity.

"When you durst do it, then you were a man; and, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man."

Lady Macbeth is degrading Macbeth manipulating him to assure he will murder the king.

Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth is constantly putting Macbeth down for her own selfish desires.

"Be bloody, bold and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth."

The apparation tells Macbeth that no one born of woman can kill him, so he assumes that no one can kill him since one can not be born of man.

This relates to the theme of what is foul is fair and fair is foul.

Sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/ccb7a0542011bb38214196980e1d2acde658330e.gif

http://schoolworkhelper.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Lady-Macbeth-1.jpg

http://www.georgehartpence.com/siteimages/Macbeth_Act_3_sc_i_003.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OvonoKii_ds/TK13LIGuQWI/AAAAAAAAGYk/-UbLTwCjvKk/s400/fleetwood.jpg

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/088/7/a/upon_my_head_they_plac_d_a_fruitless_crown_by_therampantbookworm-d5zo70a.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x0T_1tLpi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e2y0T6Miq