The Thin Gender Line in Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

The Thin Gender Line in Macbeth Some nation would do anything to get what they want. The characters of Macbeth are no exception. Shakespeare creates people who either assay for, or abuse authority. The men and women in Macbeth have varying degrees of guilt, power, and integrity. In order to compare the genders in Macbeth, one must chthonianstand how women were enured in Shakespeares time. The great Queen Elizabeth I died three years precedent to the writing of Macbeth, and yet her reign made little difference on the matter of womens rights. At the time of Queen Elizabeths death, almost everyone of both sexes concur that the female intelligence was less than that of the male (Fraser 4). Women were considered to be the weaker vessel (Fraser 4). A woman was forced to marry a man of her fathers choosing and then was under the complete control of her husband (Fraser 5). When Macbeth was written, women were supposed to be virtuous, submissive, maternal, and nonviolent. However, men excessively saw women as temptresses and felt that they were more susceptible to the devils influence (Fraser 5). close women of that time had little control over their own lives. gentlewoman Macbeth is the antithesis of what a woman was supposed to be. She is ruthless, bloodthirsty, and non-maternal. She would have dashed the brains out of her own kid to suit her ambitions (1.7.64). Lady Macbeth is not content with a bit damp in the drama she wants center stage. She seems almost ashamed of her frail sex. Come, you spirits, that melt down on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty (1.5.44-47). Lady Macbeth has much in common with the weird sisters. Th... ... their gender and those who are the add together opposite. He proves that both sexes can be ruthless, and do anything to achieve their objective. The field between genders is thin, and is crossed in Macbeth quite often. Works Cited Fraser, Antonia. The Wea ker Vessel. unexampled York Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1984. Mahood, M.M. Shakespeares punning. Shakespeare Macbeth. Ed. John Wain. Nashville Aurora Publishers Inc. 1970. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Folger Library General Readers Shakespeare. New York capital of the United States Sq. Press. 1959. Waith, Eugene. Manhood and Valor in Macbeth. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Macbeth. Ed. Terence Hawkes. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall Inc. 1977. Wills, Garry. Witches and Jesuits Shakespeares Macbeth. New York Oxford University Press, 1995.