Equality In Macbeth
The Fight Against Gender
Females in the medieval times were perceived as frail and powerless, marking a precedent for what females are or should be. This precedent of delicateness was applied to the majority of females and they would be institutionalized as such, creating a ceiling of power that was to never crack. Within the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth strives to go against this paradigm as she seeks for control and power as if she herself was a male. Macbeth challenges socially accepted gender roles through control of her male accomplices and her ferocious ambition.
Control was sparse to women in the medieval ages and was not able to be pursued under the current laws and tribulations. Lady Macbeth is able to derive her power from control of those around her and by doing so, gains power. As Alixe Bovery states in her article about women in …show more content…
Having the unmitigated grit to ask the spirits to get rid of the boundaries that surround Lady Macbeth’s gender is something that no women in this time period would ever attempt. It is this fierceness that is so prominent in Lady Macbeth’s fight against what she is supposed to be in society's eyes. The aggressiveness Lady Macbeth has can also be seen when Duncan comes over as she says “That hath made them drunk hath made me bold. What hath quenched them hath given me fire.”(Act 2 Scene 2 Line 1-2). Lady Macbeth, while others would be intoxicated, is empowered and is filled with fire. Lady Macbeth opts not to be like the rest, but to be better than the rest. She seeks ruin and anger out of things to motivate her while the majority would be pedantic and stay put. Lady Macbeth is not just going against her gender, rather, she is going against everyone who will get in her way through anger or vigilance. While society attempts to bound groups of people into their limitations and expectations, Lady Macbeth tries to go against society as a
Females in the medieval times were perceived as frail and powerless, marking a precedent for what females are or should be. This precedent of delicateness was applied to the majority of females and they would be institutionalized as such, creating a ceiling of power that was to never crack. Within the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth strives to go against this paradigm as she seeks for control and power as if she herself was a male. Macbeth challenges socially accepted gender roles through control of her male accomplices and her ferocious ambition.
Control was sparse to women in the medieval ages and was not able to be pursued under the current laws and tribulations. Lady Macbeth is able to derive her power from control of those around her and by doing so, gains power. As Alixe Bovery states in her article about women in …show more content…
Having the unmitigated grit to ask the spirits to get rid of the boundaries that surround Lady Macbeth’s gender is something that no women in this time period would ever attempt. It is this fierceness that is so prominent in Lady Macbeth’s fight against what she is supposed to be in society's eyes. The aggressiveness Lady Macbeth has can also be seen when Duncan comes over as she says “That hath made them drunk hath made me bold. What hath quenched them hath given me fire.”(Act 2 Scene 2 Line 1-2). Lady Macbeth, while others would be intoxicated, is empowered and is filled with fire. Lady Macbeth opts not to be like the rest, but to be better than the rest. She seeks ruin and anger out of things to motivate her while the majority would be pedantic and stay put. Lady Macbeth is not just going against her gender, rather, she is going against everyone who will get in her way through anger or vigilance. While society attempts to bound groups of people into their limitations and expectations, Lady Macbeth tries to go against society as a