Gender Roles In Macbeth

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In Macbeth the theme of gender and power is presented very forcefully. Gender and power relate to the character Lady Macbeth the most in the play. Lady Macbeth wishes to get rid of her feminine qualities and replace them with masculine ones, the audience learns in the first act that she has high expectations for masculinity. Lady Macbeth states that if Macbeth were to commit high treason he would be more of a man, Lady Macbeth has a huge impact on Macbeth's actions. The gender roles in the play are not very traditional, the weird sisters do not have very feminine features. Shakespeare may have used the witches to show the dominant culture surrounding the men at the time . The relationship between Macbeth and his wife is not what would be described as a healthy relationship. Macbeth killed people in hopes that it would prove to his wife that he was a man capable of being in power.

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Lady Macbeth had power and control over her husband and his decisions. In the play Lady Macbeth consults Macbeth about what she believes should happen with Banquo and Duncan. In Throne of Blood Lady Macbeth takes it into her own hands because she feels as if she has the most power in her relationship. In both versions of the story Lady Macbeth does a wonderful job in manipulating her husband so that she can achieve higher power. The witches that also aid in manipulating Macbeth, fight the gender roles themselves. For the most part they look like normal women, besides the beards that they all have. The beards show that they have knowledge and power just like the men. Having the beards makes Macbeth and Banquo take them more seriously than if they had just been normal looking women. The actions of Macbeth were instigated by the witches initially, and continued on by Lady Macbeth. Everything that Macbeth did was because of what Lady Macbeth said to him, if she had not encouraged him he would not have done

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In the Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare gender roles and the opposition to them are central thematic topics that are heavily portrayed by the characters. The play takes place in sixteenth century Scotland, where King Duncan and his noblemen are the elite group of Scotland. Macbeth is apart of King Duncan’s court and his ambition along with Lady Macbeth’s to become King becomes vital to the play. However, the change of Lady Macbeth’s character through out the play emphasizes the theme that…

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