Brutality and Masculinity in Macbeth
So far in Act I, I have
found a recurring connection between masculinity and brutality. Both Macbeth
and Lady Macbeth seem to believe that men are supposed to be relatively more
hardhearted than women. Lady Macbeth says “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” (Act 1 Scene 5). The word “unsex” here indicates that Lady
Macbeth believes that despite her being a woman, she is as ambitious as a man
and is capable of doing cruel things in order to achieve her goal. What’s more,
Macbeth clearly agrees with the necessary connection between masculinity and
brutality when he says that Lady Macbeth should “Bring forth men-children only”
(Act 1 Scene 7) because her spirits are what a man is supposed to have.
However, that leads me
to an interesting question. If masculinity is agreeably the source of violence
in Macbeth, then why does it seem
that women are frequently the reasons of cruelty? Besides Lady Macbeth who is
the one always urging Macbeth to take the throne, the three witches who told
Macbeth the prophecies actually ignited his ambition in the very first place. Therefore,
is Shakespeare embracing the idea that cruelty should be strictly associated
with masculinity, or is he trying to provide a plot supporting the opposite?
I'm think Macbeth got himself into this mess with regards to the prophecy and the witches (like a "bit off more than he could chew", Greek tragedy kind of deal). Although I find it very interesting that Lady Macbeth eggs him on a great deal. Compared to Ophelia from Hamlet, she is a very different character in terms of her proactivity and sheer aggressiveness. I think Shakespeare is saying less about the connection between action, cruelty, and masculinity and rather saying more about what is expected of women in this time period and their limited options in terms of action. Lady Macbeth cries "unsex me here" requesting that her gender does not stop her from fulfilling her ambitions (she cannot take the throne herself).
ReplyDeleteI actually hadn't considered gender roles in the relationship between Macbeth, the three witches, and Lady Macbeth, but after reading your post I have noticed that it is the women in Macbeth's life that guide his actions and compel him to commit murder. While women remain behind the action, the men reap the benefits (in that Macbeth became king). In addition, Lady Macbeth suffers the consequences of Macbeth's actions in that she goes crazy with guilt over her involvement in the king's murder.
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