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What Is Lady Macbeth's Perception Of Gender

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Through the text, Shakespeare portrays a theme of how women attempt to fight the boundaries of being compassionate, submissive and incapable of “immoral” actions or thoughts. Lady Macbeth is the main vessel in which women’s immoral, murderous ideas are depicted. As a first attempt to destroy the gender barriers, Lady Macbeth appears to try psychologically change her personal perception of gender by “unsexing herself”. As an unsexed person, she would be able to coordinate the murder of King Duncan, coincidentally giving her dominance over her husband. “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. Make thick my blood. / Stop up the access and passage to remorse,” (1.5.30-34) In addition to being emotionally ready to murder, Lady Macbeth also asks to “Stop up the access and passage to remorse,” which correlates to wanting to avoid the emotions expected with being a woman. …show more content…

“Bring forth men-children only, / For thy undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males.” (1.7.83-85) As a woman, Lady Macbeth also has compassion thrust upon her. “O gentle lady, / ’Tis not for you to hear what I can speak. / The repetition in a woman's ear / Would murder as it fell.” (2.3.96-99) Here, Macduff is implying that as a woman, she would face emotional retort in response to a murder. Asides from Lady Macbeth, the only female characters with a constant presence are the three witches. Once again straying from the female archetype, the witches depict an authority over the formation of the plot. Their prophesies the future gives them power to manipulate the actions of other characters, especially Macbeth

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