Gender Roles and Violence in the Play - James Nealon
Throughout the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, masculinity was often associated with violence and power. Lady Macbeth felt that only a man can murder someone because women are not ambitious and cruel enough. She wanted to be “unsexed”, or switch sexes, so that she would be cruel and violent enough to murder King Duncan. “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 5 47). Macbeth in turn felt the same way about murder, but even though he was a great soldier on the battlefield who killed many men, he was reluctant to murder Duncan because it was his duty to serve and protect the king, not murder him. Lady Macbeth kept badgering Macbeth until he finally did murder King Duncan. On the way to Duncan’s chamber, he saw a vision of a bloody dagger, symbolizing the fact that violence would become a major reoccurrence in Scotland if he followed it. All in all, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth associate violence with masculinity although Macbeth is reluctant to actually stick to that belief.
Macbeth questions the manhood of some mercenaries as a means of persuading them to kill Banquo. Instead of Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s manhood, Macbeth follows the example of Lady Macbeth and he uses the same tactics to hire the mercenaries. “Do you find your patience so predominant in your nature that you can let this go? Are you so gospeled to pray for this good man and for his issue, whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the graved and beggared yours forever?.....Are you men?” (III 1 98). Because of the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth has been strongly influenced by the psychological aftermath of violence.
Women, however, are also very violent characters in Macbeth. For example, Lady Macbeth certainly gives us an example of extreme violence. “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 so sworn as you have done to this.” (I 7 62). Lady Macbeth’s violent sense of purpose causes Macbeth to state that a woman as cruel and full of mettle as her should only bring males into the world.
The witches are also another example of cruelty and violence. When a sailor’s wife would not share chestnuts with one of the witches, the witch angrily declared that she will “drain him (the sailor’s husband) dry as hay” and his bark will be tempest-tossed on the sea. Furthermore, when they are brewing a potion, they add gruesome ingredients such as a liver of a blaspheming Jew, a finger of a birth-strangled babe, and a nose of a Turk and Tartar’s lips. These ingredients are from humans, and they were definitely received as a result of violence, and then sprinkled into a potion. Last but not least, the witches’ prophecies about Macbeth and Banquo lead to violence. These prophecies promote gory and violent behavior in Macbeth and that behavior rapidly multiplies throughout the kingdom, fully culminating in the final battle scene. Some major acts of violence include the cannibalism of Duncan’s horses, the murder of King Duncan, Banquo, Macduff’s family, the suicide of Lady Macbeth, and finally the slaying of Macbeth himself. All in all, although women like Lady Macbeth believe that only men are capable of awful deeds, the opposite is true; that both men and women can commit awful deeds of violence, displayed in both the witches and Lady Macbeth.
As one can see, although most of the characters believed that only men were capable of violence, both males and females committed violent acts throughout the play. Macbeth, an implacable warlord who had slain many on the battlefield, also frenetically killed many of his closest friends because he thought they would overthrow him. Females were additionally cruel, especially the witches, who sparked a violent behavior in Macbeth and put human parts into a cauldron full of brew. To sum up, male and female characters were both equally violent, with much more emphasis on masculine violence.
Macbeth questions the manhood of some mercenaries as a means of persuading them to kill Banquo. Instead of Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s manhood, Macbeth follows the example of Lady Macbeth and he uses the same tactics to hire the mercenaries. “Do you find your patience so predominant in your nature that you can let this go? Are you so gospeled to pray for this good man and for his issue, whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the graved and beggared yours forever?.....Are you men?” (III 1 98). Because of the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth has been strongly influenced by the psychological aftermath of violence.
Women, however, are also very violent characters in Macbeth. For example, Lady Macbeth certainly gives us an example of extreme violence. “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 so sworn as you have done to this.” (I 7 62). Lady Macbeth’s violent sense of purpose causes Macbeth to state that a woman as cruel and full of mettle as her should only bring males into the world.
The witches are also another example of cruelty and violence. When a sailor’s wife would not share chestnuts with one of the witches, the witch angrily declared that she will “drain him (the sailor’s husband) dry as hay” and his bark will be tempest-tossed on the sea. Furthermore, when they are brewing a potion, they add gruesome ingredients such as a liver of a blaspheming Jew, a finger of a birth-strangled babe, and a nose of a Turk and Tartar’s lips. These ingredients are from humans, and they were definitely received as a result of violence, and then sprinkled into a potion. Last but not least, the witches’ prophecies about Macbeth and Banquo lead to violence. These prophecies promote gory and violent behavior in Macbeth and that behavior rapidly multiplies throughout the kingdom, fully culminating in the final battle scene. Some major acts of violence include the cannibalism of Duncan’s horses, the murder of King Duncan, Banquo, Macduff’s family, the suicide of Lady Macbeth, and finally the slaying of Macbeth himself. All in all, although women like Lady Macbeth believe that only men are capable of awful deeds, the opposite is true; that both men and women can commit awful deeds of violence, displayed in both the witches and Lady Macbeth.
As one can see, although most of the characters believed that only men were capable of violence, both males and females committed violent acts throughout the play. Macbeth, an implacable warlord who had slain many on the battlefield, also frenetically killed many of his closest friends because he thought they would overthrow him. Females were additionally cruel, especially the witches, who sparked a violent behavior in Macbeth and put human parts into a cauldron full of brew. To sum up, male and female characters were both equally violent, with much more emphasis on masculine violence.
