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DanaRose Brown
Mrs. Dill
English IV
23 December 2014
Masculinity in Macbeth: The Cause of the Macbethss Downfalls
According to literary critic James Schiffer, Shakespeares ideal man as well as his
ideal woman combines the best strengths of both sexes. In Shakespeares play The Tragedy of
Macbeth, Shakespeare creates two characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who distort his
idea of the ideal man by attempting to completely separate themselves from anything they
consider to be womanly. Lady Macbeth mistakes masculinity for cruelty separated from all
humane kindness and womanly thoughts. Lady Macbeths obscured view of masculinity
convinces Macbeth to act rashly and cruelly by thrusting away any womanly or compassionate
thoughts, causing him to murder anyone who he believes could threaten his reign as the king of
Scotland (Chamberlain). In the end, Lady Macbeths distorted view of manliness brings about
both of their downfalls. Shakespeare uses the theme of masculinity in The Tragedy of Macbeth to
delineate the downfalls of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth.
While preparing to murder King Duncan, Lady Macbeth expresses her views of
masculinity, which are distorted from Shakespeares true idea of masculinity. Lady Macbeth
displays her distorted view of masculinity when she demands that the spirits unsex me
here,/And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/Of direst cruelty (Macbeth, 1.5:42-44).
When Lady Macbeth asks to be unsexed, she is expressing her desire to be more like a man so
that she can nullify her kind-ness itself (Ramsey 287). Lady Macbeths foil Shakespeares
ideal masculine character, Macduff does not separate masculinity from femininity, and acts

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with control and humanity (294). Lady Macbeths actions contradict those of Macduff because
she believes that with masculinity comes the ability to commit cruel and evil deeds; therefore,
her view of manhood is distorted from Shakespeares idea of the ideal masculine character. Lady
Macbeth expresses that she believes that to be quick to act, regardless of the action, is to be
manly, while to act on the grounds of love, compassion, or obedience to law and morality is to be
womanly she misunderstands the power of those humane qualities she narrowly dismisses as
effeminate (Schiffer 284). For Lady Macbeth, who misunderstands the concept of masculinity,
to be masculine is to be rash and inhumane an idea skewed from the reality of manliness.
Through Macbeth and Lady Macbeths collaboration in murdering Duncan, Lady
Macbeths twisted ideology regarding masculinity is forced onto Macbeth. According to literary
critic Jarold Ramsey, Lady Macbeth implies that Macbeths very sexuality will be called into
question in her eyes if he refuses the regicide. Before Lady Macbeth convinces him of this,
Macbeth pronounces that he will dare do all that may become a man meaning that he will
only do what is proper and appropriate for a man to do, and nothing more (Macbeth, 1.7:46).
Lady Macbeth replies that if Macbeth does not go through with the murder, he is not a man, but
when you durst do it, then you were a man (1.7:49). Macbeth, who does not want to be viewed
as feminine, in turn kills King Duncan. By agreeing to kill Duncan, Macbeth accepts Lady
Macbeths distorted view of masculinity that is being forced upon him.
Throughout the rest of play, Lady Macbeths words regarding his masculinity control
Macbeths actions. Lady Macbeths words fuel Macbeth in an attempt to retain his throne,
Macbeth acts rashly, inhumanely, and cruelly; all ways to act that Lady Macbeth has convinced
him are manly. Persuaded initially by Lady Macbeths false idea of masculinity, Macbeth
continues murdering after he kills King Duncan: first Duncans guards, then Banquo, Macduffs

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family, and eventually Macduff. As Macbeth continues to murder, he is driven to pursue what
he and Lady Macbeth call manliness the more he perverts that code into a rationale for
reflexive aggression the less humane he becomes (Ramsey 286-287). Macbeth not only acts
according to his wifes view of masculinity, but also convinces others to act inhumanely too
because it is the manly thing to do. To persuade the murderers to kill Banquo for him, Macbeth
belittles them by explaining that currently, they are barely men, but if they commit the inhumane
and cruel act of murdering Banquo, he will honor them as men: Now, if you have a station in
the file,/Not I th worst rank of manhood, say t/And I will put that business in your bosoms
(Macbeth, 3.1:102-103). Through his persuasion of the murderers, Macbeth spreads the idea that
the completion of evil, cruel deeds makes one a man Lady Macbeths view regarding manhood.
Macbeths actions throughout the play revolve around Lady Macbeths inaccurate view that
masculinity is inhumane and cruel, and his influenced actions ultimately cause his downfall.
Lady Macbeths masculinity tapers over the course of the play, and her eventual loss of
masculinity leads to her death. When Lady Macbeth desires to unsex herself, she assumes a
masculinity she will prove unable to support despite her taunting words regarding masculinity
and her claims that she has the ability to commit crueler deeds than Macbeth, such as bashing in
her own childs head, Lady Macbeth is unable to fulfill her desire to unsex herself and throw
away all of her womanly thoughts and qualities (Chamberlain 72). During the plays exposition,
the reader can see cracks in Lady Macbeths masculinity. First, she displays that, by her
definition of masculinity, she was not even manly enough to commit the same murderous deed
that Macbeth had committed: Had he [Duncan] not resembled/My father as he slept, I had
donet (Macbeth, 2.2:12-13). Shortly after Lady Macbeth reveals this flaw in her masculinity,
she faints upon hearing that Macbeth had deviated from their plan and murdered the guards,

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exposing her feminine weakness. By the plays catastrophe, she returns finally to her feminine
self, but this return is both unconscious and undesired, a tragic failure rather than a joyful
triumph, and Lady Macbeth commits suicide overwhelmed with the guilt of transforming her
husband into a killing monster (Schiffer 284). Lady Macbeths downfall is traced by the decline
in her desired masculinity, and her life ends when she is eventually overcome with guilt caused
by her initial skewed view of masculinity that she forces onto Macbeth.
Macbeths downfall begins when he kills Duncan, and worsens with each new person he
murders. Macbeths decisions early on in the play are influenced by Lady Macbeth, who initially
motivates him to kill by forcing him to accept a concept of manliness that consists wholly in
rampant self-seeking aggression (Ramsey 289). Throughout the rest of the play, Macbeth acts
according to Lady Macbeths inaccurate definition of masculinity making rash and cruel
decisions to murder anyone whom he feels stands in the way of him keeping his throne. Lady
Macbeth and Macbeth believe that by eliminating all of their enemies, they will be immune to
the pains of illness, the decays of aging, and the ultimate indignity of death; however, this is not
the case and Macbeths masculinity is incapable of saving him from Macduffs sword (Schiffer
286). Because Macbeth is killed by Macduff, who was acting as a true man should to save his
country and avenge his familys death Macbeth is thus murdered by the true, undistorted view
of masculinity (Ramsey 294). Macbeths downfall is highlighted over the course of the play as
his distorted idea of masculinity influences him to murder uncontrollably for the throne.
Many literary scholars believe that Lady Macbeth did not cause Macbeths downfall he
solely caused it for himself. According to literary critic L.C. Knights, Macbeth plunges himself
into conflict, disorder, and moral darkness a result of his personal lust for power. Knights
argues that Macbeths downfall was entirely influenced by his recent attainment of the title

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Thane of Cawdor and promise of the title King of Scotland, which spark his internal hunger
for power, setting him off on his killing rampage. However, before Lady Macbeth convinces
Macbeth that he will not be a man if he does not go through with the murder, Macbeth had been
planning to not kill King Duncan, telling Lady Macbeth: We will proceed no further in this
business (Macbeth, 1.7: 31). Because Macbeth does not decide to kill Duncan until after Lady
Macbeth harshly informs him that withdrawing from the deed will make him less of a man, Lady
Macbeth is responsible for convincing Macbeth to murder Duncan which in turn leads to
Macbeths string of murders and his eventual downfall.
Lady Macbeths view of masculinity which is distorted from Shakespeares view of the
ideal man character fuels both Macbeths and Lady Macbeths downfalls. Lady Macbeth and
Macbeth attempt to thwart all womanly thoughts and qualities and act manly only by making
rash decisions to commit cruel, evil deeds. Although some literary critics believe that Macbeths
downfall was solely his own fault, Macbeth had been planning to withdraw his plans to murder
Duncan until Lady Macbeth convinced him to commit the deed anyway, and this persuasion
leads him to his eventual downfall. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, both Macbeth and Lady
Macbeths deaths are a result of Lady Macbeths alteration of the meaning of manliness, and the
theme of masculinity is used throughout the play to highlight their tragic falls.

Works Cited

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Chamberlain, Stephanie. "Fantasizing Infanticide: Lady Macbeth and the Murdering Mother in
Early Modern England." College Literature 32.3 (2005): 72-91. JSTOR. Web. 18 Dec.
2014.
Knights, L. C. "Macbeth: A Lust for Power." Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File
News Services, 1959. Web. 20 Dec. 2014.
Ramsey, Jarold. "The Perversion of Manliness in Macbeth." Studies in English Literature, 15001900 13.2 (1973): 285-300. JSTOR. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
Schiffer, James. "Macbeth and the Bearded Women." Literature Criticism Online. Gale, 1991.
Web. 20 Dec. 2014.
Shakespeare, William, and John Crowther. No Fear Shakespeare Macbeth. New York, NY: Spark
Pub., 2003. Print.