Macbeth

The Role of Masculinity in William
Shakespeare’s Macbeth

The female gender usually does not have qualities traditionally associated with males. In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth is one character who’s masculine qualities are greater than her feminine qualities. Lady Macbeth’s self-masculinization inevitably leads to her death. In the play, Lady Macbeth’s masculinity leads to her selfish ambition, diminishes her female qualities that were traditionally seen in women in the Elizabethan Era, and leads to her domination of her husband by manipulation. Therefore, Lady Macbeth’s masculinity in Shakespeare’s Macbeth overwhelmingly and inevitably leads to her demise. Throughout the play, Shakespeare constructs Lady Macbeth to be more masculine than feminine. She is mentally stronger and more cunning than Macbeth, and is able to manipulate him in their marriage. Physically, she wants to be more masculine and does not want to display her female qualities. Therefore, Lady Macbeth is more masculine mentally and physically. Lady Macbeth’s ambition results in her inevitable death. The first way in which Lady Macbeth’s selfish ambition leads to horrific incidents is by her determination to kill the King. When Lady Macbeth receives the letter from Macbeth stating the witches called him “the future king”, she starts talking to herself. She says: “Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, And chastise with the valor of my tongue, All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem, To have thee crowned withal” (Shakespeare, I. V. 24-27). This quote demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s selfishness by wanting to kill King Duncan, not only for the good of Macbeth, but for herself to become Queen. This scenario indicates that her ambition to obtain power is so overwhelming that she is willing to kill King Duncan for it. If not for her selfish ambition, Macbeth would not have been motivated to kill King Duncan and thus, Macbeth would not be crowned King. Similarly, Lady Macbeth once again reveals her selfish ambition by saying that if she swore to killing her own baby for the throne, she would follow through with it. She states: Does unmake you. 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 sworn as you, Have done to this (I. VII. 55-60).
This scenario illustrates that Lady Macbeth’s selfish ambition would lead her to kill her own child for power. She claims that she has already had a child and knows “How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me.” Still, despite this love for a baby, she would sacrifice her child for the throne. In this way she convinces Macbeth to follow through with what he had sworn, to kill the King. Lastly, Lady Macbeth’s selfish ambition leads to her descent into madness and suicide. Lady Macbeth reaches her goal of becoming Queen but cannot handle it and kills herself. When Macbeth hears a cry, he calls out to Seyton saying, “Wherefore was that cry?” and Seyton responds with, “The queen, my lord, is dead” (V. V. 16-17). This scenario demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s selfish ambition and how it leads to her eventual death. Lady Macbeth’s decent into madness was too ironic as she wanted power so badly. She did whatever she could to become Queen and after she reached her goal, she could not handle it and committed suicide. To sum up, Lady Macbeth’s selfish ambition results in many catastrophic events which includes her death. Lady Macbeth’s self-masculinization leads to her unusual female qualities that were contradictory to the Elizabethan Era. The first way in which Lady Macbeth demonstrates her female attributes contradictory to the Elizabethan Era is when she tells King Duncan to enter into her fortress where he will die. She states: The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. 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. 30-33).
This quote illustrates Lady Macbeth wanting to be less of a woman and more like a man. When she asks, “Come, you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,” it is clear to the reader that she wants to be more like a man, and have the physical strength and power to kill. As well, Lady Macbeth has total equality with Macbeth, which was unusual at that time. Woman were supposed to take care of the house, prepare meals and give birth to children. Lady Macbeth is much more than that. When Macbeth and his wife are talking about their plans to murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth takes over. She states: “Only look up clear, To alter favor ever is to fear, Leave all the rest to me” (I. V. 74-76). This demonstrates Macbeth’s trust in his wife and their equality. Macbeth is hesitant with his murderous plans and lets Lady Macbeth deal with them by herself. This illustrates Lady Macbeth’s unusual masculine qualities that were not normal in the Elizabethan Era. Lastly, Lady Macbeth proves that she does not want her female qualities when she asks her evil spirits to assist her murderous thoughts. She claims: “Make thick my blood. Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature, Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between, The effect and it!” (I. V. 33-37). This scenario portrays Lady Macbeth as masculine and unnatural. The reader is reminded numerous times of Lady Macbeth’s unwanted female qualities. She wants her “passage to remorse” to be stopped up, meaning her passage to childbirth to be blocked. This is the second time we see that she does not want children. She also wants her blood to be made thick, meaning the blood in her veins and her menstrual blood. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth’s female qualities contradict the norm of women in the Elizabethan Era. Her qualities portray her as masculine and unnatural, which inevitably lead to her demise. As a result of Lady Macbeth being more masculine than feminine, she controls Macbeth by manipulation. Firstly, Lady Macbeth has always been stronger mentally than Macbeth, we see her control him and clean up the mess he left behind. When Macbeth comes back after murdering Duncan he forgets to leave the daggers on the guards. She states: “Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers” (II. II. 68-69). This quote displays Macbeth as a coward as he won’t go back to plant the daggers as he cannot stand to look at the dead bodies. Once again, this demonstrates how Lady Macbeth is stronger mentally as she goes back and plants the daggers. If it weren’t for her, Macbeth could be framed for the murder of Duncan. Similarly, Lady Macbeth proves to us once and for all that she is the “manly” figure in the relationship and controls Macbeth. When Macbeth is hosting dinner, he hallucinates and sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his chair. Lady Macbeth whispers to Macbeth, stating: “Are you a man?” (III. IV. 70). This quote demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s ability to manipulate Macbeth. She makes him look like a fool as he speaks his nonsense. She consistently tells him throughout the play that he does not have the guts to do something and she is always right. By manipulating him like this, she always gets the outcome she desires. Lastly, Lady Macbeth controls Macbeth when she questions his manhood, by challenging his weakness and fear to kill King Duncan. She states: “What beast was’t, then, That made you break this enterprise to me? 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. 53-58).This scenario illustrates how Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth by telling him he is not a man. She pumps Macbeth up my telling him that if he follows through with his intended actions that he would be that much more of a man. Due to her manipulation, Macbeth is strengthened and follows through with his actions. To conclude, Lady Macbeth illustrates her control over Macbeth by manipulation which leads to her decent into madness and inevitably her demise. Therefore, in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the role of masculinity in Lady Macbeth’s character controls her and inevitably leads to her demise.Lady Macbeth’s selfish ambition allows her to reach royalty but once she is crowned queen, she cannot handle it which leads to her death. Using her unusual masculine abilities that contradict the norm of women in the Elizabethan Era causes her to be more like a man. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth’s control over her husband by manipulating him inevitably leads to his demise. To sum up, Lady Macbeth’s masculine qualities lead to her downfall and decent into madness that eventually kill her.