Gender/Lady Macbeth Flashcards
“It is too full o’th’milk of human kindnes”
In ancient medicine, people believed that your health depended on having a balance of four different fluids, or ‘humours’. By suggesting Macbeth is “too full” of “milk”, Lady Macbeth might be implying he is ill or mentally unbalanced. The metaphor “milk of human kindness” presents kindness as a fluid, changeable thing. Milk can expire, go rotten, or be poisoned, so Shakespeare may be hinting that though Lady Macbeth is worried about Macbeth at the moment, she believes she can corrupt him. Alternatively, “milk” connotes breastfeeding, and so associates “human kindness” with femininity. This presents compassion as a weakness, something that emasculates Macbeth and stops him from being the strong, brave king she wants him to be. The use of the “milk” metaphor, as well as applying a ‘feminine’ trait to Macbeth, suggests gender is fluid.
“pour [your] spirits”
This whole extract might seem sexual, and one interpretation is that sex is used in the subtext to illustrate the power dynamics Lady Macbeth is manipulating. Typically, to “pour [your] spirits” would be a masculine action, while the one receiving those “spirits” would be seen as the female. However, in this case, Lady Macbeth wants to take the masculine role, reflecting how she consistently strips Macbeth of his manliness. In keeping with the theme of gender that Lady Macbeth uses in her first soliloquies, she wants to subvert traditional gender roles as a way of getting what she wants.
“Unsex”
“Human kindness”
“Single state of man”
The other key aspect of this quote is the theme of gender, summarised in Lady Macbeth’s use of the verb “unsex”. Though the attributes Lady Macbeth desires, including cruelty, are typically associated with masculinity, Lady Macbeth isn’t asking to be made into a man: she is asking to be rid of the parts that make her a woman. “Unsex” conveys androgyny and ambiguity. Lady Macbeth seems to associate goodness with humanity (“human kindness”), and Shakespeare implies that gender is a sign of humanity (“single state of man”). By being “unsex[ed]”, Lady Macbeth would escape the gender binary altogether, and so would be removed from humanity. This would free her from the burdens and weaknesses of morality and conscience.
“may pour [her] spirits in [his] ear” (1.5)
Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of Macbeth associates femininity with the fall of man. Her bullying leads to Macbeth’s tragic downfall in the same way Eve convinced Adam to eat the Forbidden Fruit. She can be viewed as a femme fatale, an archetype of femininity where a woman charms and seduces her lover, to his detriment. She hopes Macbeth will return home quickly so she “may pour [her] spirits in [his] ear” (1.5), showing how she wants to persuade him to do her bidding. The reference to “spirits” connotes the occult, as if she wants to possess Macbeth. Shakespeare links witchcraft with a woman’s dominance over her husband, implying that it is unnatural for women to have power over men.
An alternative interpretation is that Shakespeare is criticising how society denies women their own freedom and autonomy. Lady Macbeth only has to manipulate and possess Macbeth because her power and status are directly tied to his. “Pour[ing]” her “spirits” into his “ear” m ay be a metaphor for how her desires can only be fulfilled by a male form. Macbeth is her puppet because she cannot do it herself, instead she has to rely on her husband for everything. Shakespeare could be showing that men bring their downfalls on themselves by denying women power.
“from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty”,
“blood”
“thick”,
“the access and passage to remorse”
“no compunctious visitings of nature [to] / Shake [her] fell purpose”
She asks to be filled “from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty”, for her “blood” to be made “thick”, for “the access and passage to remorse” to be stopped up, and for “no compunctious visitings of nature [to] / Shake [her] fell purpose”. This first set of demands deal with the emotional or hormonal aspects of womanhood. Early medicine believed people’s emotional states were determined by different fluids in their bodies, the humors. Thick blood meant someone had a cold heart. Thick blood would also stop her menstruating, a sign of her femininity and therefore weakness preventing her from killing the king.
“Come to my woman’s breasts, / And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,”
She goes on, “Come to my woman’s
breasts, / And take my milk for gall, you
murdering ministers,” (1.5). This addresses
the physical and visible proof of her
femininity more directly than before. She
wants all proof of it gone, as all signs are
obstacles to her plan. Her “breasts” and
“milk” are significant for motherhood, so
Lady Macbeth is rejecting her duty to be a
mother. This has historically been seen as
one of the most threatening things a woman can do, and is often associated with femmes fatales. Refusing to be a mother meant denying a man the ability to immortalise himself through his children.
“Unsex”
she relies on being “unsex[ed]” to be able to do all the cruel and violent things she plans. Therefore, while as a female character she serves to present femininity
as powerful and violent, her language suggests the opposite. If she is successful in “unsex[ing]” herself, then her murderous behaviour is the opposite of femininity. Shakespeare either associates it with being genderless or being masculine. By linking being “unsex[ed]” with “spirits”, Shakespeare suggests you lose your humanity if you defy your gender roles.
“Are you a man?”
“What, quite unmanned in folly?”
The play centralises around Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of her
husband. She frequently questions his masculinity and uses this as leverage to get him to do what she wants.. When she sees him afraid, she asks, “Are you a man?” (3.4) and “What, quite unmanned in folly?” (3.4) which perpetuates the idea that a man must always put on a brave face and not be emotionally sensitive. Although it is Lady Macbeth who convinces him, it is only possible for her to do so because Macbeth’s masculinity is so fragile.
“What beast was’t then / That made you break this enterprise to me? / When you durst do it, then you were a man. / And to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man,” (1.7).
Another way Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth is through their marriage. When she learns that he has gone against his promise she implies that she is breaking their wedding vows. She asks, “What beast was’t then / That made you break this enterprise to me? / When you durst do it, then you were a man. / And to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man,” (1.7). By accusing him of “break[ing] this enterprise” to her, she accuses him of being a bad husband and breaking the Code of Chivalry. She implies she will only deem him a “man” if he kills Duncan, linking the validation of his manhood with the fulfillment of her own desires. In contrast, she calls him a “beast” for betraying her, dehumanising him and calling him a villain for denying her what she wants.
“so withered and so wild in their attire”, with “choppy finger[s]” and “skinny lips” (1.3).
The Witches’ appearances are presented as grotesque and revolting because they aren’t purely feminine. Banquo provides a description of them, saying they are “so withered and so wild in their attire”, with “choppy finger[s]” and “skinny lips” (1.3). They personify the typical Jacobean perception of witches
“Unsex”
‘Macbeth’ is arguably Shakespeare’s most misogynistic play. All of the women, except for the supernatural witches, are dead by the end. The women are either manipulative conspirers who call upon spirits to “unsex” them, hags who talk directly to those spirits, or helpless mothers who are pointlessly slaughtered. Moreover, the main female characters all contribute to Macbeth’s downfall, tempting him with power or persuading him to commit murder. If Macbeth is a retelling of the Garden of Eden, the Witches is the serpent and Lady Macbeth is Eve.
