Macbeth: Examining Traditional Gender Perspectives & Roles - Essay Sample

Introduction

Shakespeare uses the play "Macbeth" to examine and criticize the traditional perspective and role of gender. The play explores the different aspects of femininity and masculinity. Shakespeare criticizes the power and too much attention attached to the male gender in the traditional context. According to the play, men are viewed as an idol leaving women with limited roles in society. Men shoulder the financial responsibility of the family while women are reduced to playing the role of mothers. The traditional community thus views men as superior to women. Their central purpose is to be good housewives and devoted to taking care of children as they grow. Additionally, women were expected to be submissive towards their male counterparts, mainly because of their emotional instability. On the contrary, the traditions viewed men as consistent, powerful and ruthless (Ellis 105). The paper focuses on the various ways through which Shakespeare manipulates characters and events in the play, Macbeth, to challenge traditional gender roles.

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Challenging Female Vulnerability and Embracing Ambition

Shakespeare uses characters that challenge the traditional construct of women's vulnerability. The women have a strong desire to break the conventional bondage and de-feminize themselves so that they can follow their life ambitions. However, there is constant rivalry in the balancing of the concepts of strength and ruthlessness portrayed in men and that of compassion, submissive, and kindness represented in the women. Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth as a call of change in the traditional view of the female gender. Lady Macbeth is presented later in the play calling for help from the evil spirits to take away the motherly love that makes her appear weak and vulnerable and replace it with the fierce, ruthless hearts of men. Macbeth desires to drop feminine qualities such as crying and blatantly articulating her emotions which portrays her to be weak and emotionally unstable.

Shakespeare refutes the strength and power bestowed upon male characters. He strives to show that men are weak and vulnerable, just like their female counterparts. Macduff and Macbeth to some extent, explains the traditional form of men's weakness and vulnerability. Macduff failures to let the hatred within him to unveil as it is most likely to happen from a man. He fails to stand up and take intense action regarding protecting his family despite several urges from Malcolm to do so (Cook 16). Therefore, Macduff is unable to take up the masculine traits and fight Macbeth. Nevertheless, Macbeth's male weaknesses are evident in the gentleness that burs him from killing Duncan. The characters are in constant struggles with their feminine and masculine makeup in their personalities.

Ambiguous Gender and the Changing Definition of Manhood

Lady Macbeth stands out to be the character that explicitly depicts gender roles in the play. Lady Macbeth is the critical factor in propelling her husband towards killing Duncan. Her reactions in the fifth scene of act one indicate her desire for masculine qualities. She calls upon the witches to unsex her so that she can have the ability to kill Duncan (Cook 22). She thus wants to take her husband's role and show that women are capable of playing the same functions that are for men in the traditional context. Shakespeare tries to show clearly that the historical perception of gender is slowly falling apart. The disorder in conventional gender roles is also evident in Lady Macbeth's ascendency in the marriage. Lady Macbeth is seen in several instances dictating her husband's actions.

The changes in the traditional setting and balance of gender perspective and roles are evident in the characters and the appearance of the weird sisters. Shakespeare uses these characters as a disruption of gender perspective by violating nature. He uses the sisters with ambiguous gender to show that nature can determine the definition of who a man is. Shakespeare uses Banquo to pose a gender role interpretation dilemma (Ellis, 109). This character states that although the sisters should be women by nature, their appearance makes it hard for Banquo to classify them as women. Therefore, Shakespeare is using the facial hair of these women as a symbol of influence and authority in a male-dominated society (Cook, 45). It means that feminine and masculine gender roles are slowly subliming and merging.

The Frustrations of Femininity and the Struggles of Women

Lady Macbeth seems to be frustrated about her feminine role. She states that she would pluck her nipples off a baby's mouth and get over the thoughts of being a woman. Her statement and strive to reject the feminine roles show the frustrations of gender roles in the traditional setting. Lady Macbeth believes that femininity has been the course of all her failures, and it has been holding her back. She firmly believes that masculinity would grant her an opportunity to commit any forms of atrocities and horrors that would earn her power (Ellis, 115). However, she fails to renounce her feminine nature entirely as she is held back by too much gentleness, care, compassionate and familial love. She relies upon Macbeth to commit the horrific acts. Therefore, Shakespeare uses these encounters to communicate the struggles that women go through in their quest to overcome gender discrimination. Shakespeare criticizes women for their inability to stand firm and take up challenging tasks that men do. Shakespeare's phrases and choice of words is an indication of the conflict between sexes that Lady Macbeth deems inevitable.

Noble Masculinity: Banquo and Macduff

Banquo and Macduff are outstanding characters in the play. Despite being males, they portray characters that show they are upright fathers. They are not struggling for power, and thus they show noble acts. Shakespeare uses these characters to show how a noble masculine should be. In the play, the killing of Banquo does not kill his splendid reputation. He remains a legend throughout the play. Macduff is a character that Shakespeare uses to show resilience, strength, compassion, and self-assuredness. Despite suffering the loss of a wife and a son, Macduff remains strong. When told to treat the news of the loss of the son like a man, he says that he shall do so. Although Macbeth sees this as a sign of weakness, the act portrays Macduff as a powerful man with sensitivity and feelings (Ellis, 103). One would think that Macduff is weaker than Macbeth through his actions of compassionate, but towards the end, it is evident that Macduff was acting out of a balance between morality and masculinity. These are the qualities that grant Macduff victory in the end. Therefore, Shakespeare uses Macduff as a symbol of a correct balance between masculinity and moral standing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Shakespeare criticizes and challenges the feminine and masculine gender perspective and roles in several ways in the play. He uses various characters to symbolize the pros and cons of traditional gender discrimination. For example, the conflict between Macduff and Macbeth serves as an essential character for communicating gender conflicts. Lady Macbeth is a character that Shakespeare uses to depict the inner conflicts between masculinity and feminine. Macduff symbolizes Shakespeare's idea of a man through the balancing of masculinity and moral values. Shakespeare uses the play as a call to action for both men and women. He advocates for the need of people to live up to what makes them happy and follow their hearts as they strive to fulfill their ambitions. Therefore, Shakespeare presents an ideal society where people realize themselves. His favorite character, Macduff, has discovered himself. He presents Macduff as a character that executes his duties and obligations. Banquo similarly remained loyal to his course despite the many challenges.

Work Cited

Cook, Norman D. Macbeth, and King Richard the Third: An Essay, in Answer to Remarks on Some of the Characters of Shakespeare. Routledge, 2016.

Ellis, Elysia Summer Mandolin. The Eternal Macbeth: A Tale of Wicked Transformation. University of California, Santa Cruz, 2016.