Gender Representations in Macbeth - William Shakespeare
The play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, explores an abundant of encounters to the rigid gender representation demonstrated in the play. The play revolves around the questioning of femininity and masculinity, allowing us to explore how certain characters equivocate the definition of gender to please their favour and how each gender identities are created for persuasion of the natural order that corresponds to the traditional order - Lady Macbeth and Macbeth exploit and redefine gender ideology, an unbalance is created when Lady Macbeth is displayed as the dominant character of the relationship, during the Jacobean era it is believed that it is proper to remain in your respected gender role and not to over rule your husband otherwise there would be consequences.
In the course of 1567-1625 it was the period of the Jacobean Era, it is named after the king of the time, James I. The audience of this time would of witnessed Shakespeare’s individual interpretation of gender representation, initially the society would frown upon the actions taken by Lady Macbeth and the choice of speech of Lady Macduff, as both of these outspoken women travel down the path of punishment through death, Shakespeare portrays their behaviour as a warning to the common society of the Jacobean Era, the message that is point at issue is not to act out of your respected gender role especially for women. In the period of the Jacobean Era, females remained in the domestic sphere whilst the males were superior and worked. Women were seen as closer than men to animals in the Great Chain of Being, barely rational and dominated by passion and appetite.’ (Roberts 1991:25), this suggest a vast imbalance of inequality during this period, Shakespeare challenges the thought of redefining the common ideology of gender, disregarding the conception of an undisturbed universe, aiming to identify with a particular gender, in the case of Macbeth the male gender, discarding the other is unusually at odds
In the course of 1567-1625 it was the period of the Jacobean Era, it is named after the king of the time, James I. The audience of this time would of witnessed Shakespeare’s individual interpretation of gender representation, initially the society would frown upon the actions taken by Lady Macbeth and the choice of speech of Lady Macduff, as both of these outspoken women travel down the path of punishment through death, Shakespeare portrays their behaviour as a warning to the common society of the Jacobean Era, the message that is point at issue is not to act out of your respected gender role especially for women. In the period of the Jacobean Era, females remained in the domestic sphere whilst the males were superior and worked. Women were seen as closer than men to animals in the Great Chain of Being, barely rational and dominated by passion and appetite.’ (Roberts 1991:25), this suggest a vast imbalance of inequality during this period, Shakespeare challenges the thought of redefining the common ideology of gender, disregarding the conception of an undisturbed universe, aiming to identify with a particular gender, in the case of Macbeth the male gender, discarding the other is unusually at odds