Friday, February 18, 2011
Prompt #3
An interesting idea presented in Macbeth is the gender of evil. Shakespeare examines the traits that characterize both masculinity and femininity. What are these traits, and how do various characters embody them? Additionally, how do some of the characters in the play subvert our perceptions of gender roles?
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ReplyDeleteTo fully understand Shakespeare’s use of gender in Macbeth there must be an understanding of the time period in which it was written. During the Elizabethan era, in which Shakespeare lived, there was a great polarization between male and female gender roles. This was the time in which women had limited rights and were subservient to male figures, and where men were the head of the familial hierarchy. Therefore in most creative works of the time it was expected that the female characters would demonstrate traits stereotypically associated with being a woman, such as timidity, modesty, and gentleness, while men were to be brave and confident. As well, strong female characters were often considered humorous, such as in The Taming of the Shrew, a comedy also written by Shakespeare. In Macbeth Shakespeare worked to test the boundaries of these gender roles, primarily with the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
ReplyDeleteAt the start of the play Macbeth is portrayed by the soldier as brave, strong and loyal to his country. These characteristics are later questioned, first by Lady Macbeth and then by Macbeths actions. Lady Macbeth says that Macbeth “is too full o’ the mile of human kindness” (I,V,16) to commit Duncan’s murder, challenging the claim that he is a brave and strong man. As well Macbeth plots to Murder King Duncan, counteracting his alleged loyalty to his country.
Lady Macbeth is perhaps the prime demonstration of Shakespeare testing the boundaries of gender roles. When Lady Macbeth is first introduced she soon obliterates any assumptions that she fits the characteristics for a woman of the time. She plans how she will convince her husband to commit the necessary evil in order for him to get the crown, saying she wishes she could “pour my spirits in thine ear, and chastise with the valour of my tongue/ all that impedes thee from the golden round”. Just the fact that she would instruct her husband in such matters pushes her character outside the classic boundaries of the gender role, yet Shakespeare takes the character even further. In her soliloquy in scene 5 Lady Macbeth says that she wishes she was not a woman, “unsex me here”(I,V,44) so that she could kill Duncan herself. By doing this Shakespeare entirely reverses the traits associated with each gender.
Through Macbeth Shakespeare tested the boundaries of gender while at the same time testing the boundaries of gender beliefs in his own society.
I don’t quite understand what you mean Elizabeth when you said, “Through Macbeth Shakespeare tested the boundaries of gender while at the same time testing the boundaries of gender beliefs in his own society.”
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do agree with you about how women and men were portrayed differently in the Elizabethan times than how we see them today. Back then, women were considered kind, timid and not very strong, either in will or in physical strength. Men on the other hand were physically strong and, in higher classes smart. They were the ones in the family who made all the decisions and women were expected to follow without questions. When women were strong willed they often were used as comic relief in Shakespeare’s plays as Elizabeth said. In Romeo and Juliet, the nurses is an example of strong women, where Lady Montague is an example of the more commonly thought of woman at the time.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare tested the boundaries of the accepted gender roles with the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. When Macbeth is first introduced in the play we hear of his bravery and loyalty, as well as how strong he is while fighting in the war. We are told by an unnamed soldier, “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name –” (I, ii, 18), indicating that Macbeth is a brave soldier. Later on however, Shakespeare tests the gender boundaries by having Lady Macbeth tell the audience, “yet I do fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great: / Art not without ambition...” (I, v, 15-18). Shakespeare is now telling the audience that Macbeth is not as brave as we once thought and that he lacks the ambition to act upon fulfilling the prophecies. Lady Macbeth’s character is changed from the very first time the audience meets her. We get the sense from other characters that she, as a woman, is supposed to be kind and loving. We get this sense from Macbeth when he greets her saying, “My dearest love...” (I, v, 63), and from Duncan when he calls her, “our honour’d hostess!” (I, vi, 12). This indicates a woman’s character as seen from the common point of view at the time. This stereotype is tested when Lady Macbeth’s character changes. She says, “Come, you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” (I, v, 43-44), indicating that she is shedding her womanly qualities in order to become an evil, hateful character, which is almost an opposite from the women characters that the people of the Elizabethan times accept. Shakespeare enhances this destabilizing character even further when he gets Lady Macbeth to say, “I have given suck, and know/ How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, / And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn/ As you have done to this.” (I, vii, 59-64). This appalling statement is even considered awful in our time period and wouldn’t, by any means, give the impression of a lady like character.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Shakespeare successfully challenges and exceeds our perceptions of gender roles.
I agree with Elizabeth and Mary about the fact that the roles of men and women have greatly changed from the Elizabethan era to today’s modern day. Back in the Elizabethan era, women were classified as polite, dependant, unintelligent, and children caring people. They were not allowed to go to school, leave the house without permission and were to prioritize housework and children. Men in the Elizabethan era were classified as strong-willed, independent and intelligent beings that made all the housing and financial decisions. They were also the dominant partner in the relationship and controlled things like the number of children, the situation of the house and other general family decisions. Because most of Shakespeare’s plays were written and preformed in the Elizabethan era, any time a woman character would go against the stereotypical standardized role of a woman, it often provided comic relief, as both Elizabeth and Mary stated. For example, in Shakespeare’s play, Othello, when Othello trusts Iago and makes an appointment to meet with him, this shows how she tried to be smart and do something independently but later “pays the price” for not sticking to her standard role. Another example is in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, when Hamlet makes cruel comments to Ophelia about how woman change their appearances to attract men. This would make the men laugh as a male character would be disgracing a female character.
ReplyDeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare tested and played with the standardized roles of the men and women- more specifically; Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At first glance, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both have their stereotypical male and female roles. Macbeth as the noble and strong soldier “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name –” (I, ii, 18). As well as Lady Macbeth, who "Look like the innocent flower” (Act I, Scene V). Presuming society thought of Macbeth as the man of the relationship, making all crucial decisions and Lady Macbeth as the woman of the relationship, having little contribution. Through the progression of the play, the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth turn out to be almost inverted compared to the Elizabethan era stereotypical citizen. For example, when the murder of King Duncan is being disputed, it is Lady Macbeth who makes all the calls and final decisions. Though her husband is the one who does the murder, all of the procedure was thought out by Lady Macbeth and the rude outspoken comments were said by Lady Macbeth- which was another offence for a woman to do. She quotes “Yet I do fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great: / Art not without ambition...” (I, v, 15-18). This is Shakespeare’s way of showing to the audience that Lady Macbeth is playing the more dominant role in the relationship when society would have expected Macbeth, a male character to do so. This also shows Shakespeare’s test on his audiences’ acceptance in order to allow Shakespeare to see his limits for his future written plays. More specifically, it shows the boundaries of gender roles while seeking the limits of gender beliefs.
All the previous posts are very good examples of how women were portrayed and depended on during the Elizabethian Era which is why there were never any women playing the women roles, because they were just too busy to be bothered with acting and plays. Men had all the power and left no credit to the women because they were to stay with the home and take care of it while the men went out and worked. In Macbeth Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth holding alot of power which was used as comedy back then, because that would never happen unless the women was of royal belonging. But Shakespeare portrays the women in the play with being the first evil factor in the play, because she brings up the plan to 'murder' Duncan. But after the play progresses the evil is turned around and taken out of the womens power and put into Macbeths hands. It is almost like the amount of evil that was within Lady Macbeth was the reason she is now sick with regret and shameful of what she has done. But as soon as Macbeth takes control of the evil within him he loses control of himself and begins murdering for no reason other than for the joy of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elizabeth, Mary and Courtney about how men and women where portrayed during the Elizabethan time. Men in this era where often seen as strong, independent and more capable of doing things than women. Women were seen as less capable of things, they were also less educated than the men were in this time. Women’s jobs were to have children, take care of them and the house while the men went out and did things. This is how the gender roles were seen in the Elizabethan era. However Shakespeare challenged these perceptions greatly throughout the play Macbeth.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the play Macbeth one sees how other views Macbeth. One sees this when the king and an unnamed soldier are introduced. The unnamed soldier says “ For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name- disdaining fortune, with brandish’d steel,/ which smoked with bloody execution.” (I,ii, 18-20) This shows how he and the king view Macbeth as a brave and loyal soldier who will fight to defend his country. However this outlook on Macbeth is changed when we are introduced to Lady Macbeth who says “ Look like the innocent flower,/ but be the serpent under it. He that’s coming must be provided for: and you shall put/ this nights great business into my dispatch.” (I, v, 73-75). Here one sees a different side to how people view Macbeth, one now sees that Macbeth might not be as loyal as one might have thought. One also begins to see the difference in gender roles from this quote, instead of Macbeth making the plans we see that it is lady Macbeth who is making the plans. Gender roles are also challenged through the character lady Macbeth. When we are first introduced to her, one gets the impression that she is like every other woman in the Elizabethan era. Ones gets this impression from Macbeth when he greats Lady Macbeth with “ My dearest love” (I, v, 63). But like Macbeth, ones perception on Lady Macbeth is quickly changing. Lady Macbeth’s innocents is quickly demolished when she says “ I have given suck. And know/ How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:/ I would, while it was smiling in my face,/ have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums,/ and dashed the brains out” ( I, vii, 59-62). One original perception of Lady Macbeth was that she was kind and caring, however after seeing this line one no longer thinks as much anymore. Here one sees just how much the gender roles are challenged throughout the play Macbeth. Shakespeare challenged the gender roles greatly in the play Macbeth.
In Macbeth, femininity is seen as something that is weak and unworthy. Masculinity, however, is seen as something that is requires courage and determination. We can see this from characters like Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macduff.
ReplyDeleteIn Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth says “Come you spirits that tend me on mortal thought, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe-top full of direst cruelty!”(I,v,43-46) She is implying that because she is a woman she won’t have the strength and cruelty to actually commit murder. It shows that the role of a man was seen as brave and cruel, and the role of a woman was seen as weak and unfit to do such a harsh thing.
In Act 1, Scene 7, Macbeth says “I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none.”(I, VII, 50-51) Macbeth is saying here that if he dares do more (actually commit Duncan’s murder) then it would be dishonourable and he would no longer be a man. The role of the man seen here is one that is honourable and loyal. Lady Macbeth replies with “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.”(I, VII, 54-56) Lady Macbeth is saying here that when Macbeth was going to follow through with his plans, then he was a man because he was determined and had courage. She also says that in reaching for his ultimate goal of being king then he would be so much more the man because he would have shown excessive bravery. Once again, the role of man is seen as someone who is determined and brave.
In Act 4, Scene 3, Malcolm says “Fight it like a man”(IV, III, 257) after Ross informs Malcolm and Macduff of his wife and children’s death. He is saying that in the fight that is coming up, he should fight Macbeth like a man (be strong, brave and courageous). Macduff replies with “I shall do so, but I must also feel it as a man”(IV, III, 258-259). He is saying not only must be fight Macbeth like a man, but he must feel it like a man (once again be strong, brave and courageous) so he will be able to cope with the grief.
I think the gender roles are flipped with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is perceived at first as someone with a strong determination, much more so than Macbeth who can’t make up his mind on whether or not to kill Duncan. Macbeth also doesn’t show “masculine” traits after he murders Duncan and it is Lady Macbeth who has to tell him to forget about it, and is essentially the strong one.
I think what Elizabeth was saying about "testing the boundaries of gender" was that it was courageous for Shakespeare to flip the roles of woman and man with the characteristics of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Woman were probably not seen as someone determined and powerful in the Elizabethan era, and Lady Macbeth definelty has those characteristics.It might have been shocking and eye-opening to the audience that a woman could behave like that.
The idea of the gender of evil can be observed throughout Shakespeare's Macbeth. The audience can observe many references to gender as they read, watch, or listen to the piece. Shakespeare mainly utilizes the characters of the Lady Macbeth, the witches, and Macbeth to help illustrate the gender of evil.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare introduces the gender of evil through Lady Macbeth's soliloquies. After she reads Macbeth's letter, Lady Macbeth states that she is worried that Macbeth is too kind to do what is necessary of him to become king: “yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o' the milk of human kindness” [I.v.15-16]. My interpretation of this line is that the word “milk” represents femininity, and that she is therefore saying that Macbeth has too much of the feminine trait of kindness. This begins to explain that the female gender is not the gender of evil, since it represents innocence and kindness. Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth's character again to further reiterate this fact when she says: “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!” [I.v.43-46]. Lady Macbeth's demanding of the spirits to “unsex” her, and fill her full of cruelty perfectly explains how femininity is not considered the gender of evil, since Lady Macbeth needs to ask the spirits to rid her of her feminine qualities in order to be filled with evil.
Shakespeare briefly uses Banquo's description of the witches to show that masculinity or, more accurately, non-femininity, is the gender of evil. When Banquo and Macbeth encounter the witches for the first time, Banquo describes that the witches have beards, a masculine quality: “you should be women,/ And yet your beards forbid me to interpret/ That you are so.” [I.iii.46-48]. The inclusion of the description of the witches having beards shows that Shakespeare wanted the audience to notice that femininity is not the gender of evil.
Finally, Shakespeare uses Macbeth's actions to show that the male gender is evil, or simply that the female gender is not. The fact that Macbeth is the one who commits the murder of Duncan, rather than Lady Macbeth shows that innocence is represented by the female gender. Furthermore, since Lady Macbeth is not involved in the murders of Macduff's family and Banquo demonstrates again that the female gender represents innocence, and thus is not evil.
As seen in many of the posts above, gender roles and customs were much different in the Elizabethan era. Men were seen as brave, ambitious, and dominant, while women were treated with far less respect, being expected to tend to the house and to be dependant on their husbands. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, some characters, namely Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, can be seen straying from their expected gender roles.
Lady Macbeth is observed being independent of Macbeth when planning the murder of Duncan. She says: “Leave all the rest to me.” [I.v.81]. This shows her lack of confidence in Macbeth's abilities to plan Duncan's murder, since he is loyal to him. Macbeth's acceptance of Lady Macbeth's criticisms exemplifies his subversion of the Elizabethan male gender role, as the men in the Elizabethan era were expected to be dominant in their marriages. The inversion of gender roles seen in the characters of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth shatters the audience's expectation of gender roles in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Typically, the idea of evil is represented through the masculinity of men. I agree with Elizabeth, Mary, and Courtney in which during the Elizabethan era, women were seen as polite, trustworthy, unintelligent as they were not allowed to attend school, and they were additionally less powerful in decision making. Men were viewed as strong, powerful, and a more reigning gender in regards to decision making. Shakespeare addresses this concept in Macbeth, but in the opposing direction. Lady Macbeth enacts a character that resembles a more masculine figure, whereas Macbeth is a foil to her.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth portrays a character that is confident, manipulative and takes control of a situation. Within the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, she can be seen as the more dominant character who strives for what she wants. For example, when Lady Macbeth is informed about Macbeth’s prophecies, she constructs a plan which will advance him to becoming king. To show that Lady Macbeth is a controlling character, typically a more masculine characteristic, she tells Macbeth to “Leave all the rest to me” (I, v, 81), referring to the planning of Duncan’s assassination. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth about her plan on how to kill Duncan as he is feasting at their castle that night, but Macbeth is not fully convinced that her plan will work. He questions her about failure, and at this point in the play, Lady Macbeth responds saying, “And we’ll not fail.” (I, vii, 68). She responds with confidence as she is certain her plan will succeed if everything is done correctly. Another trait that proves Lady Macbeth is a more masculine character is her ability to easily manipulate Macbeth. She questions his masculinity several times in the play. “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.” (I, vii, 54-56) This quote is one of the many times that Lady Macbeth uses her ability to manipulate Macbeth into proceeding with the plan. She tells him that if he does not commit the murder, he will not be a man, and if he does, he will be more of a man. This caused Macbeth to feel less masculine, resulting in him feeling pressured to kill Duncan.
Macbeth portrays a character that begins gullible, easily influenced, and polite, but with the encouragement and manipulative techniques used by Lady Macbeth, it aids in Macbeth’s transition to become tyrant. Prior to Macbeth letting his prophecy of becoming king influence his decisions, he appeared to be more feminine than Lady Macbeth. Stereotypically, women were less powerful therefore they were easily influenced as they did not have much of a say. In this play, Macbeth is less controlling unlike his wife, and agrees to kill Duncan after she constantly made negative comments towards his masculinity. Macbeth quotes “False face must hide what the false heart doth know” (I, vii, 92). A part of Lady Macbeth’s plan was for Macbeth to act as if nothing suspicious will occur that night, and seeing that he is restating that shows that he is agreeing to do the deed. Macbeth’s polite characteristic could be represented through the terms of endearments that he uses while referring to his spouse. He calls her his “dearest love” (I, v, 63) and his “dearest / partner of greatness” (I, v, 10-11). It becomes evident that he is no longer polite as he speaks to his army of soldiers telling them to “prick thy face, and over-red thy fear” (V, iii, 16) towards the end of the play.
ReplyDeleteBoth Macbeth and Lady Macbeth subvert our present day perceptions of gender roles. Through their gender roles opposition, it shows that women can be just as strong, powerful, and overruling as men, and men can be just as easily influenced, gullible, and polite as women. In modern day, it is obvious that men and women have equal rights in many countries. It is rare to see the stereotypical women who stays at home and cooks, takes care of the children and clean all day, where now, you can see women capable of pursuing something that men would also do. As Lady Macbeth stated in the play, “unsex me here” (I, v, 44).
Previous posts are all well said.
ReplyDeleteFemininity and masculinity in the Elizabethan era what some would consider today's stereo types but taken very literally in that time period.
Women were considered weak and only purpose was to do whatever her husband or other men her life instructed her to do so exactly how they wanted. Women had very little respect and could do very little about it.
Lady Macbeth does not follow what the typical life a less wealthy women probably would have. She is strong willed determined and has power over her husband, she is also controlling, threatening and demanding.
Act 1 scene 5
Lady Macbeth states that she would have rather been born a man to be stronger and have more rights to take care of matters how she sees fit.
Masculinity is seen as strong independent and whatever the man of the house said went no questions asked and if certain situations went wrong he could take of them how he wanted to.
Macbeth is not a typical man with regards to masculinity in this era he lets his wife control him and he does what she tells him and is not strong willed enough to say no.
The main characters of this play somewhat reverse the typical roles to possibly add dramatic effects.
In response to Mary’s question of what I meant when I said “Through Macbeth Shakespeare tested the boundaries of gender while at the same time testing the boundaries of gender beliefs in his own society”. What I was trying to present was the idea that as Shakespeare was ‘testing the limits’ of gender roles in Macbeth, that at the same time he was testing the limits of his own community and their beliefs of how a particular gender should behave. I think that Courtney expressed this very well by saying that “Shakespeare tested and played with the standardized roles of the men and women”.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elizabeth and anyone else who states that the roles of men and women have greatly changed from the Elizabethan era to today's modern day. Females are giving and treated with much more respect then during the Elizabethan era. As Elizabeth stated, females were subservient to males. Shakespeare demonstrates many typical gender traits in all his plays. He however shows many opposite stereotypical gender behaviours in the play Macbeth. During this era, Women did not have as many privileges as men did. Many rights such as being able to vote, becoming a doctor or lawyer and not be heir to their fathers titles were taken away. Women were simply portrayed to be weaker then men. Women were characterized as kind, obedient, gentle and relied on a male figure. They did not have much say in family decisions. While men were demonstrated as brave, powerful, dominating, intelligent and independent. Many of these stereotypical gender traits were represented well in the play Macbeth.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth and Lady Macbeth embody and also disembody the stereotypical gender traits during the Elizabethan era. Various times in the beginning of the play, Macbeth was perceived as a brave man “For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name-”. (1, 2, 18) As the play continues, we see Macbeth demonstrate the stereotypical trait of independence amongst a male. He makes big decisions on his own rather then consult with his wife. An example of this is when he orders the death of Banquo and his son Fleance. After the preparations, Macbeth informs his wife he has planned “A deed of dreadful note”. (3, 2, 48) Macbeth displays his independence very well with his decision making. Shakespeare focuses on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to display “abnormal” gender traits.
Once Lady Macbeth heard of the three prophecies, she announces that Macbeth is, “yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o' the milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way:” (1, 5, 16-17). Lady Macbeth opposes the fact that Macbeth is brave as she states that he is too kind to kill the king and fulfil his own ambitions. During the planning of Duncan's murder, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth into killing the king by calling Macbeth unmanly and that he broke his promise. This contrast the traits of independence and decision making among a male figure. Lady Macbeth demonstrates her dominance over Macbeth well. Which opposes the normal ruling gender figures of a household.
Lady Macbeth demonstrates many stereotypical masculine and feminine characteristics throughout the play. Upon Duncans visit to their castle lady Macbeth acts in a very kind and innocent manner “look like the innocent flower”. (1, 5, 72) She however is not the same person as she portrays when she meets Duncan. After Lady Macbeth learns of the first three prophecies she states, “unsex me here” (1, 5, 44) Lady Macbeth wants all her female emotions taken away and replenished with the cruelness of a man in order to kill the king. Therefore demonstrating that females were perceived as kind and did not commit improper actions. The men were bitter and did the “dirty work”. Lady Macbeth changed the perception that a women was kind and gentle “I have given suck, and know/ How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:/ I would, while it was smiling in my face,/ Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,/ And dash'd the brains out”. (1, 7, 59-63) Lady Macbeth states she would bash a babies brains out in order to convinced Macbeth to go through with the murder of Duncan. Lady Macbeth seems to be very violent which contrast the stereotypical kindness of a women. At this moment in the play, Macbeth seems to be “weaker” then Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is very controversial and opposes many stereotypical female traits.
I concur with Mary and Elizabeth that Shakespearian times are dominated by masculinity. However, I do not believe that this is represented by the interactions of the characters in the play as Shakespeare used evil to portray this instead. Macbeth does not focus on the power of men compared to the lack of power of women of that time period. In fact, the marital relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is very equal due to its loving nature. Their equality in the relationship is necessary towards plot development for if Lady Macbeth had no control over Macbeth, King Duncan may not have been murdered. The power that Lady Macbeth has over her husband was not standard for the time. However to represent the status quo, Shakespeare used evil to communicate the message that masculinity reigns over femininity.
ReplyDeleteAs previously mentioned, men were considered the providers, physically and mentally strong, smart and were well respected. In contrast, women were dependant, physically and mentally weak, uneducated, and abused. Also, women of the Elizabethan era were expected to please and obey their man.
The masculinity of evil is shown when Lady Macbeth says “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” (I, v, 43-46). This proclamation shows that Lady Macbeth believes that in order for her to be capable of murder, her feminine qualities must be removed. Without her feminine qualities, Lady Macbeth thinks that she will have the masculine strength to kill a person. This demonstrates that Shakespeare chose to show evil to be masculine to exemplify the dominance that males have over females. Lady Macbeth further proves this as she says “make thick my blood,/Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/That no compunctious visitings of nature/Shake my fell purpose” (I, v, 46-49). This confirms that Lady Macbeth believes that females are incompetent for they are too emotional to proceed with a murder. From the soliloquy by Lady Macbeth in Act I, scene 5, the audience thereby understands that masculinity is defined as physically and mentally strong, smart and is well respected. However, females are considered dependant, physically and mentally weak, uneducated, and abused. The evil of Macbeth has a masculine nature because of how strong and powerful it is.
Although the interactions between the characters do not show any difference of the two sexes, the character traits exemplify the dissimilarity. The character traits that are masculine are deceiving, determined and conniving, committed, and smart. The character traits that are considered feminine are kind, loyal, unsure, and mentally weak.
The male character traits are found in the character of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth shows that she is deceitful when she tells Macbeth to “look like the innocent flower,/But be the serpent under it.” (I, v, 72-73) This shows that Lady Macbeth wishes that Macbeth will pretend to be a kind only to deceive King Duncan for their personal gain. The next masculine characteristics that Lady Macbeth reveals are determined and conniving. Lady Macbeth says “Leave all the rest to me.” (I, v, 81), when referring to the plan to kill King Duncan. This demonstrates that she is determined to kill Duncan yet she is conniving enough to formulate a plan herself. Also, Lady Macbeth reveals that she is committed when she says “I have given suck, and know/How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:/I would, while it was smiling in my face,/Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums,/And dash’d the brains out,had I so sworn/As you have done this.” (I, vii, 59-64) Here, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that had she promised to kill their baby she would have followed through. This shows the audience that Lady Macbeth is committed and this is a characteristic that is considered masculine. Lady Macbeth is also considered smart for she creates a plan to murder King Duncan in I, vii, 68-78. Also, her plan includes framing the guards for the murder. Her plan demonstrates the masculine quality of intelligent for her plan protects the innocence of Macbeth as well.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth s the character in whom we find more feminine traits. Lady Macbeth describes Macbeth as “full o’ the milk of human kindness” (I, v, 16). This kindness is considered feminine for Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth’s kindness will overpower his ambition to become king. Macbeth is also loyal and he demonstrates his loyalty to King Duncan when he says “We will proceed no further in this business” (I, vii, 33), when referring to the murder of King Duncan. His loyalty here is considered feminine because he is demonstrating the same unconditional loyalty to the king as the average woman would to her husband in Elizabethan times. Macbeth further proves his feminine qualities as he is unsure of killing Duncan. Macbeth says, “If we should fail?” (I, vii, 65). This lack of confidence in his abilities is viewed as weak and feminine. The final and the most prominent feminine quality of Macbeth is his mental weakness. In Act II, scene i, Macbeth hallucinates a vision of a dagger showing his mental weakness. This thereby accentuates Macbeth as a feminine man.
The characters of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth subvert our perception of what is considered feminine and masculine in both Shakespearian and modern day times. The Elizabethan era was much more harsh and condescending towards women yet some of those generalizations about women remain today. Some of those generalizations are that women are less intelligent, weaker and more emotional than men. Shakespeare challenges these generalizations by giving masculine characteristics to Lady Macbeth and feminine characteristics to Macbeth.
For clarification purposes, I was wondering was Katie meant when she stated, "The character traits that are considered feminine are kind, loyal, unsure, and mentally weak." How is being loyal a feminine quality? It is someones devotion to a group or person. Loyalty was an aspect of the majority of people under the hierarchy in this era. I am just slightly confused with your interpretation of loyalty.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have noticed with everyone’s comments is that all stress on the idea of woman being portrayed as the ‘gentler’ sex. This obviously isn’t a bad thing because back in the Elizabethan era woman weren’t seen as anything other than property or an elevated housekeeper. Us all noticing this aspect of Shakespeare’s life is a really good thing in my mind.
ReplyDeleteBack in the world that Shakespeare knew woman were portrayed as gentle, quiet, unintelligent, and dependent on men. They didn’t go to school or work jobs, their role in society was to stay at home and have children. Males were seen as strong, intelligent and were the ones that made all the important decisions. They were also supposedly superior to woman in everyway; back then people would have prayed to have male children instead of females. The character of Macbeth portrays these traits well at the beginning of the play. “For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name-”(I.ii.18). Macbeth is given the title of brave from his fellow soldier and is called Duncan’s “valiant cousin” (I.ii.26)by the king himself. The woman in the play who does portray those specific qualities would be Lady Macduff. While she wasn’t in the play long she was the more feminine of the female characters because she does take care of children to take care of so in that one point she is the complete opposite of what Lady Macbeths character is.
The chance of the Macbeths being the ‘perfect’ couple is quickly shattered when we meet Lady Macbeth. When in company Lady Macbeth plays her part as the “honour’d hostess”(I.vi.12) well being gracious and welcoming while she is behind the plot actually murder her guest. That almost backstabbing quality definitely doesn’t follow the image that goes with woman of that period. To add further to the new image created she wishes for spirits to “unsex me here”(I.v.44) and for them to “Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall,”(I.v.50-51). By her literally asking to no longer be what makes people female it erases all possible images of her being a quiet and gentle woman. The image of the perfect couple is shattered further when we learn of how easy Macbeth is to manipulate. Even after he has decided to back out of the plan to kill Duncan he becomes convinced to follow through on it again from a quick discussion with his wife. This destroys the thought of the Macbeth being the dominant partner in the relationship, a trait that is expected for men of that time. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both change drastically the perceptions that people have in gender roles, even today people still almost expect the male roles to be stronger and smarter even though woman are equal nowadays,the roles of the Macbeths completely reverses what people expect from shakespeare.
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ReplyDeleteIn response to Matt, I was referring to what i had previously said,"Also, women of the Elizabethan era were expected to please and obey their man.". Women were expected to follow their man regardless of his doings. And this can be seen as loyalty.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare's Macbeth somewhat defies the stereotypical gender of evil.In general most people think of evil as a male concept but Shakespeare depicts Lady Macbeth as being evil because she convinces Macbeth to go through with the murder of Duncan.Back in Shakespeares time women were seen as weak and dependent on men for survival so the idea of a woman contemplating murder and persuading her husband to commmit it was unheard of.
ReplyDeleteEvil is a moral behaviour that exists amongst us all regardless of gender, however Shakespeare unveils an unusual contrary to the classic Elizabethan era gender roles throughout the play. Both genders illustrate masculine and feminine mannerisms, which was highly abnormal during the 1500-1600’s. Elizabeth’s explanation of how women and men typically acted in the Shakespearean era summarizes perfectly the fundamental variations between the two.
ReplyDeleteThe audiences first glimpse of evil occurs directly after the witches have arrived at the battlefield where Banquo speculates that these creatures, “look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth” (I.iii.41). Banquo then suggests, “You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret / That you are so.” (I.iii.46-48), implying he feels that their beards (male trait) are keeping him from believing they are actually women. The witches, whom are female, are the initial example of masculinity being associated with evil. They are the seed to Macbeth’s unconstrained ambition and guide his descent to depravity.
Lady Macbeth is the predominant and foremost representation of how a female character subverts our perceptions of gender roles. In Act 1, Scene 5, she neglects most to all of her female qualities and expresses her heinous thoughts towards Macbeth and the third prophecy. She acts as the root of Macbeth’s tyrant reign by challenging his manhood and providing the strategy for his first murder. The most blatant example of her desire for masculinity is apparent when she states, “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” (I.vi. 43-46). Lady Macbeth demonstrates the identical ambition Macbeth portrays later in the play, however her (and the witches as well) goals are accomplished through her influence and persuasive methods instead of brute force. A similar moment in the play where she declares her deranged thoughts occurs the night of the banquet when she explains, “ I have given suck, and know / How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you / Have done to this” (I.vii.59-64). Once again, she is questioning Macbeth’s manhood by arguing how if she were given the third prophecy, she would murder Duncan with no hesitation regardless of her loyalty and ethical boundaries.
As stated in Courtney’s response, Macbeth corresponds to the common qualities of a male soldier, being respected as a noble and valiant warrior whom, “Like valor’s minion carved out his (Macdonwald) passage / Till he faced the slave” (I.ii.19-20). Macbeth’s actions in the first battle scenes establish his masculinity as a general of the Scottish army. As the play progresses he easily falls to the pressures of his wife, Lady Macbeth whose deceptive manner remains as the primary source for Duncan’s murder. Macbeth displays more feminine like qualities in his relationship with Lady Macbeth; he is quieter, less aggressive, and less assertive. Macbeth’s feminine manners outside the battlefield is established when Lady Macbeth is attempting to persuade Macbeth into murdering Duncan; she says, “Yet do I fear thy nature; / It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great, / art not without ambition, but without / the illness should attend it” (I,v,15-24). This demonstrates that Macbeth lacks the regular amount of masculinity a man should possess in a relationship with his wife. Similarly, Macbeth does not possess the stringent behavior necessary to contest his wife in the first half of the play. Nonetheless, this is altered when Macbeth’s fears and insecurity rise, and he transforms into a degrading and evil tyrant depleting whoever stands before him.
Lastly, I feel Madcuff’s response to his family’s murder sheds light to how true masculinity does not have to be portrayed as barbaric and hostile as those have explained before me. After Ross delivers the news of Macduff’s family, Malcolm responds, “ Be comforted. / Let’s make us med'cines of our great revenge, / To cure this deadly grief” (IV.iii.219-221). Malcom suggests that they should take immediate action and seek revenge for the malevolent deeds put forth by Macbeth. Malcolm then proclaims toward Macduff, “Dispute it like a man” (IV.iii.226), implying he should hold back his tears like a ‘man’. However, Macduff sensibly answers, “I shall do so, / But I must also feel it as a man. / I cannot but remember such things were / That were most precious to me” (IV.iii.259-261). I believe Shakespeare had Macduff deliver this as a testament to the understanding of pure masculinity. His statement adds contrast to heartless Macbeth who performed the malicious act upon his family and that masculinity does not always have to take the role of evil like Macbeth has demonstrated.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, I believe Shakespeare used these alternative gender roles to question the typical reader’s perception of masculinity and femininity in this era.
As many have mentioned, in order to compare and contrast gender roles and traits in Macbeth, one must understand the period this play was written in. Macbeth was written during the Elizabethan era where the roles and traits of males and females were clearly defined. During this era, men were considered brave, strong-willed characters that made the decisions in their household, while women were considered to be sincere characters that usually did not make the decisions.
ReplyDeleteIn Macbeth, it is evident that the characters embody these gender traits. Macbeth is described as a strong, heroic man when he is commended for killing Macdonwald in the civil war. “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name” (I,ii,18). Here a soldier describes how Macbeth is brave for his actions during the war. When Macbeth describes Lady Macbeth as “My dearest love” (I,v,63), the reader gets a sense that Lady Macbeth is a sincere character.
However, these characters subvert our perceptions of gender roles as the play progresses. After receiving the letter from Macbeth about his plan to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth says “What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (I,v,15-16). Here, Lady Macbeth believes Macbeth is not able to kill Duncan, which subverts our perception of the role of a man in the Elizabethan era who is considered brave. As well, the idea of Macbeth betraying Duncan by killing him also subverts our perception of a man since the idea of backstabbing loyalty is not prevalent in masculinity. Lady Macbeth also shows subversions of our perceptions of gender roles. A clear indication would be in Act 1 Scene 5 when she says “Come, you spirits/That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” (I,v,43-44). Here she asks the spirits to make her less of a woman, which suggests that she wants to become a man. As well, during the play, she directs Macbeth on how to behave when Duncan arrives at their home when she says “look like the innocent flower,/But be the serpent under it”(I,v,72-75). Here she tells Macbeth to appear innocent but actually have evil thoughts. This shows subversions on both ends of the spectrum since as mentioned before, a man is usually the decision-maker in the household and usually a man does not appear two-faced as opposed to a woman.
These subversions of our perceptions of gender roles in the Elizabethan era show that Shakespeare is bridging the gap between the traits of masculinity and femininity. By having characters act outside our perceptions of gender roles at that time period, Shakespeare is testing the boundaries of his society. This supports the idea that Shakespeare was writing “ahead of his time”, since these subversions are not seen as subversions in modern times. One can argue that Shakespeare was a pioneer for gender equality.
Shakespeare uses the concept of gender evil throughout the play; this becomes apparent when analyzing Lady Macbeth's character. She expresses many times throughout the play that she desires to shed her femininity and take on masculine qualities “unsex me here” (I, V, 44). It is also shown how she addresses nursing a baby “I have given suck, and know/ How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, / And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn/ As you have done to this.” (I, vii, 59-64) Shakespeare included the idea that Lady Macbeth detests her feminine qualities to prove the point that if she had those feminine qualities, she wouldn’t be able to commit the murders.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare then expresses the idea that women are sensitive and weak. This concept was hinted throughout the play however it didn't become evident to me until I compared how Lady Macbeth and Macbeth died. In the end Siward questions Ross on his son’s death, where they reveal their distaste for someone who dies cowardly. In this scene we reflect back to how Lady Macbeth died at her own hand, because she couldn’t face the guilt she felt, while Macbeth’s death was considered noble and brave.
I agree with practically all of the previous posts written here. Generally in Shakespeare’s plays, women were portrayed as innocent, weak, timid, and essentially less intelligent than men, which in some cases was true because women received less education in the Elizabethan Era. But in this play, the woman (Lady Macbeth) is portrayed as strong, ambitious, wilful, and also quite intelligent, which you can tell because she is seemingly well spoken. Men in Shakespeare are usually strong, brave, intelligent, ambitions, and willing to do basically anything to get what they desire, whether it’s wealth, love, or anything in between.
ReplyDeleteThe plot of most of Shakespeare’s plays revolve around the idea that in the end, order must be restored, which I think is found in the comparisons of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth at the beginning and end of the play. In the very beginning of the play, it is evident that Macbeth was praised for being so brave which gives the audience the sense that Macbeth is the manliest of men. Later on though, it is clear that Macbeth does not want to kill King Duncan, not because he is physically weak, but mentally, which was also a common trait for women back then. Lady Macbeth on the other hand is practically begging Macbeth to kill the King, and saying that she would do it herself had he not resembled her father when he slept. In the Elizabethan Era, this would definitely be considered a male trait because she appears so strong willed and independent, though she does still possess womanly traits. In the end, however, the tables are turned and Macbeth is the strong one, threatening to kill anybody for no reason in particular, and Lady Macbeth is the weak one for killing herself, and essentially taking the cowardly way out. By giving Macbeth manly traits in the end and Lady Macbeth womanly traits, order was restored.
Shakespeare was born and raised during the Elizabethan Era as Elizabeth had first mentioned. During this time, many poets released their work and began exploring different writing techniques. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a great example of those techniques being used.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 1550’s, the roles and rights of women and men were far different from today’s standards. Shakespeare tried different techniques to provide the difference upon the two genders. He mainly focused on Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s character of masculinity and femininity.
We hear of Macbeth being noble before we are introduced to him for the first time in Act 1, Scene 3. “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won” (I, II, L.76-77). Many look up to Macbeth and respect him of his loyalty. As for Lady Macbeth, who possesses power over him during the planning of killing King Duncan, she believes Macbeth to be to kind to do so. She says to Macbeth “Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it” (I, V, L18-19). Lady Macbeth believes that Macbeth is not evil enough to neither kill Duncan nor have it in him.
Macbeth, however, over comes his weakness of killing King Duncan from Lady Macbeth’s encouragement. He proceeds to kill Banquo on his own which shows the adaption of his character. He slowly becomes crazy when he believes to see Banquo’s ghost. This provides the reader with the knowledge of Macbeth’s insanity that is similar to Lady Macbeth’s. Although Lady Macbeth did not show her inner insanity nearly as much as Macbeth, we see that Lady Macbeth has more of a sensitive side when she mentions she could not kill Duncan for he resembled her father in so many ways. “Had he not resemble my father as he slept, I had done’t” (II, II, L.16-17).
Although we see Lady Macbeth’s character to be feminine in the way she is loving to her husband, we see her ambition sometimes over take her. She convinces Macbeth to follow through with the murder by calling him less of a man, placing failure on Macbeth as she says, ”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” (I, VII, L. 54-56).
Lady Macbeth appears to be evil but she is not so as she has called upon evil spirits to take her as relentless. “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! Make thick my blood” (I, V, L. 43-46). She wishes to become less feminism as she calls upon the evil spirits for help to get this deed done with for she believes Macbeth needs help.
We hear less of Lady Macbeth and her strength. She grows worried and sick of the things she talked Macbeth into doing. Eventually Lady Macbeth dies from her own insanity that which penetrates the strength Macbeth carries of which Lady Macbeth could not. Macbeth mentions earlier that he is more afraid of the consequences on earth then in heaven. “Might be the be-all and the end-all here” (I, VII, L. 5).
Shakespeare takes us into the Elizabethan Era in a full understanding of men and women differences. We see that men were superior to that of women. Macbeth’s character is tested by making him seem less noble and more afraid which is unlikely for a nobleman in that day. Lady Macbeth’s character does the same, as she appears to be controlling.
Shakespeare used the gender roles as another way of showing things were out of the natural order. He demonstrates this through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in many different scenarios throughout the play but eventually returns the roles to their proper order.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning it would appear that Macbeth and Lady Macbeths roles had been switched. Macbeth was portrayed as indecisive and afraid “that but this blow, Might be the be-all and the end-all here, But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases we still have judgment here” (I, vii, 4-8). This quote shows that he is considering the murder, but at the same time he is not sure whether or not he will commit it because he is afraid of the consequences. Lady Macbeth on the other hand is portrayed as strong, confident and violent “How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this” (I, vii, 60-64). This shows how she is taking on the role of a man, ridiculing Macbeth and stating how strong she is compared to him and that he is a coward and weak.
By the end of the play however Shakespeare reverses their roles back to the proper order of the time. Lady Macbeth breaks down and becomes weak and fearful of what they have done “Here’s the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” (V, I, 46-47). This quote shows how she is being driven mad by the murder and can’t handle what she has done. Like Lady Macbeth. Macbeth himself reverts to the stereotypical male of the time being strong and willing to kill to protect himself and his wife “Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line” (IV, i, 165-167). He has gone from being afraid to kill and indecisive, to being able to kill in the blink of an eye and carry out actions he sees fit to protect him and his wife.
I agree with Katie that Shakespeare shows Lady Macbeth as more masculine to demonstrate the differences in the genders at the time. I had not thought of this but after looking back on the play it stands out as a reoccurring theme to me. I also think your list of traits that each gender received back then was very true and there are many quotes and references throughout the play that supported those views.