Introduction
In the play, 'Macbeth,' William Shakespeare disrupts the notions of femininity and masculinity as defined by traditional gender roles in societies. Women are involved in decision-making processes in the play, which defies traditional; gender roles where women were only involved in nurturing for families, and decision-making was reserved for the male. Importantly, this paper provides some descriptions of disruption in gender roles evident from the play by Shakespeare while contrasting it to traditional gender roles.
The play revolves around Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, who have delusions of power after having heard the prophecy by the witches that Macbeth would become king. Upon hearing the prophecy, Macbeth was confused and did not know what to do while his wife encouraged him to pursue power. The influence of the women is evident when Lady Macbeth claims that she would handle and take care of King Duncan's visit to their home since it would change their lives completely. The greed for power leads Lady Macbeth to convince her husband to kill the reigning king, Duncan. After the murder, Macbeth is devastated and is engulfed by extreme guilt. In contrast, his wife shows no remorse and regularly rebukes her husband by hurling insults at him. Towards the end of the play, Lady Macbeth feels guilty for making her husband a murderer. At the same time, Macbeth murders without remorse, showing that Macbeth understands his role as a man as defined by traditional societies. Lastly, the other scenario of reversed gender roles, as described in this paper, is when the witches have unkempt hair on their faces. As such, Banquo rebukes them telling that the hair on the face should be reserved for the males.
Macbeth
'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare is about a war conquerer who was enthralled by prophecies and fantasies of power. The war hero seeks for both stability and control in a sea full of blood. Importantly, the play has a role to play in challenging gender norms surrounding both masculinity and femininity. The play has two anti-protagonists, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth that influence power and gender in a bid to shape their relationships. The emotions surrounding the yearning for power and guilt influence Macbeth's affiliation hence fueling the battle where both parties have to prove their dominance. Notably, the play is male-dominated with characters such as Macbeth, Macduff, Banquo, Malcolm, and King Duncan male. However, Lady Macbeth, who is female, proves to be a significant force of influence. Mainly, this paper contrasts gender roles defined in the play by Shakespeare and those practices in society. The article will focus on how Lady Macbeth influences her husband's decisions and how Macbeth demonstrates weakness upon committing acts such as murder. At the same time, his wife remains bold without any feelings of remorse. Also, it will provide a snapshot of how the weird sisters are depicted as men by Banquo regardless of the feminine status. Therefore, this paper focuses on gender roles in the play, 'Macbeth.'
Shakespeare's play challenges the traditional roles since the women in the play to appear to be more masculine while the male characters exhibit feminine traits. In society, one of the emblematic gender norms is that men work and provide for their families and form part of the families' strengths. In contrast, women have the role of nurturing and caring for their families and are frequently labeled as inferior and extremely emotional beings. In the play, Shakespeare shows that men can be weak and women healthy, which shows reversed gender roles. The first scenes and acts of the play commence when Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife, is introduced. The introduction accorded to her by the scriptwriter shows her power and dominance over her husband. One of the examples is when Macbeth is not sure how he will handle King Duncan's visit to the house. Lady Macbeth appears to be in control by indicating, "Let me handle the preparations tonight because this night will change every night and the rest of our lives" (Shakespeare 1.5. 57-60). Lady Macbeth undertakes the dominant position in their household and can make decisions, which was not the case traditionally.
Consequently, reversed gender roles are also imminent in the extent and amount of ambition shown by both Macbeth and his wife. Macbeth craves power, but Lady Macbeth is the force that motivates her husband to pursue authority and power. The primary reason why Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to pursue powerful positions in society is the fact that she would get the immediate power position. One example that shows Lady Macbeth's domineering power over her husband and in decision-making capabilities in matters concerning control is when she plans murder after hearing the forecast made by the witches. The witches predict that Macbeth would be king. Upon hearing the prophecies, Lady Macbeth told her husband, "You should project a peaceful mood because if you look troubled, you will arouse suspicions. Leave the rest to me" (Shakespeare 1.5. 63-65). In contrast, Macbeth did not know what to do after hearing the prophecies made by the witches. He states, "Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings/ My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical/ Shakes so my single state of man that function Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is But what is not." (Shakespeare 1.3. 130-142). In the two quotes provided in this paragraph, one can see that Lady Macbeth makes courageous decisions that do not scare her, while Macbeth is afraid of the bold actions proposed by his wife.
Macbeth and his wife exchange their gender roles in ways they express their guilt. After hearing that his husband would become king, Lady Macbeth compels her husband to kill King Duncan so that the power position prophecy can be fulfilled sooner. When encouraging Macbeth, Lady Macbeth insists that she should have masculine traits. In Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth indicates, "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" (Shakespeare 1.5. 38-41). The quote means that Lady Macbeth has the desire to lose her feminine qualities and develop masculine ones because of her delusions of power and authority. The desire to gain masculinity emanates from a situation where witches prophesy of Macbeth's power and King Duncan's visit to their home. By developing masculine traits, Lady Macbeth desires to try her best to ensure that the visit changes their lives forever. The thought of murder does not affect Lady Macbeth in any significant way when compared to the effect it exerts on Macbeth. Even after the killing of the king, she remains impervious evident from the way she handles Macbeth after he forgets to hide the dagger at the murder scene. Lady Macbeth asserts, "coward! Give me the daggers. Dead and sleeping people cannot hurt you any more than pictures can. Only children are afraid of scary pictures" (Shakespeare 2.2. 52-55). Macbeth is emotionally and physically wrecked after the murder of the king, such that he is afraid to enter the room where the crime occurred. Macbeth claims, "I can't go back. I'm afraid even to think about my actions. I can't stand to look at it again" (Shakespeare 2.2. 50-51). Primarily, one can see differences in the gender roles by Macbeth and his wife in this scene. Lady Macbeth is brave and ready to continue with her life amidst the murder while Macbeth is emotionally drained and afraid of his actions.
As time passes, Macbeth regains his dominant power as prescribed in the traditional gender roles since Lady Macbeth does not have to influence him to make decisions related to the murder. Macbeth freely murders on his own, particularly when he notices that someone is about to stand on his way hence overtaking his kingship position. He plans for murders that occur in his community. When arranging the murder of Banquo, Macbeth indicates, "They can be killed, it's true. So be cheerful. Before the bat flies through the castle, and before the dung beetle makes his little humming noise to us, it's nighttime, a dreadful deed will be done" (Shakespeare 3.2. 41-44). Lady Macbeth is manipulative and challenges Macbeth's masculinity by asserting, "When you dared to do it, that's when you were a man. And if you go a step further by doing what you dared to do before, you'll be moiré the man" (Shakespeare 1.7. 48-59). By this, Lady Macbeth means that men's roles are those that involve bold actions and behavior. She implies that men should not be hesitant to indulge in any activities so long as it is directed at protecting their interests. When men hesitate and have second thoughts, they become less of the men, and in instances where women engage in such daring actions, they become more masculine. Thus, the role of men as defined in this paragraph is that men should be brave, and they should execute bold decisions readily. By launching insults at her husband, Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to commit murder and uses the same strategies to eliminate his enemies.
As the play draws towards a conclusion, Lady Macbeth undertakes the feminine position proscribed by society. Lady Macbeth tries to convince her husband to slow down from his frequent murders against those who oppose him. Lady Macbeth indicates, "Come on, relax, dear. Put on a happy face and look cheerful and agreeable for your guests tonight" (Shakespeare 3.2. 29-31). Importantly, this quote could also be assumed to mean that women's role, as defined by Shakespeare, is caring about the appearance of their spouses. Lady Macbeth tells her husband how he should be like when the guests arrive, which shows that she cares for the outward appearance of her husband just as wives in the traditional societies did. She further states, "You have to stop talking like this" (Shakespeare 3.2. 38). The two quotes show that Lady Macbeth is no longer comfortable with the Macbeth's inclination to murdering anyone who opposes him. More so, she develops guilt on her husband's behalf when he kills Macduff's entire family and when he engages in other murders in his community. Mainly, this also depicts another reversal of roles where men make tough decisions, although their wives may not agree with them.
Lastly, disruption of gender roles is not only evident between Macbeth and his wife but also among the witches or the weird sisters. The sisters have a violating tendency. Regardless of their designation as sisters, the gender of the characters is quite ambiguous. Banquo encountered the sisters and told them, "You should be women,/ And yet your beards forbid me to interpret/ that you are so" (Shakespeare 1.2. 45-47). Banquo's statement means that women should not have beards and that they have been reserved for the male population. Primarily, this signifies that women's role includes maintaining the neatness and taking care of themselves by ensuring that they retain their feminine qualities. For the weird sisters, it was hard to tell whether they were men based on their appearances. The presence of hair on their faces showed their subvert influence on the male-dominated society.
Conclusion
To conclude, gender roles are imminent in the play, 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare. Lady Macbeth and her husband crave for power. In the desire for greatness, Lady Macbeth influences her husband to commit murder. The murder of the king shatters the emotional status of Macbeth until he becomes used to murder. Traditionally, emotions were reserved for women, while men would make decisions without remorse. However, gender roles have been disrupted when Lady Macbeth speaks about murder confidently while her husband remains resistant. As the play continues, roles change once again, and Macbeth becomes...
