Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's Distorted Masculinity and Femininity

The Renaissance was the time of transition from the Middle ages to the modern era. Although it was commonplace for people in Renaissance period to uphold social norms of a patriarchal society, a few daring people were able to hold an alternative world view, which consisted of progressive and dynamic attitudes towards the rigid gender system. Reflecting this new world view towards women, William Shakespeare presents the unique situation of this transitional period in Macbeth. Depicting Macbeth’s de-masculinization and Lady Macbeth’s de-feminization, he portrays the conflict and contradiction between the old and new paradigms related to gender. Shakespeare opposes the extreme polarization of sex roles, that is, women must be passive and weak, while men must be active and strong. He also recognizes the creative power of androgyny, that men and women naturally display both masculinity and femininity. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are captured between the old order and the new order and cannot escape from the void. Shakespeare implies that their tragedy is not simply due to their own faults, but to the transitional situation between the old and the new gender identities. The moment when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth think they find a new kind of gender identity, they lose everything, including their lives. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth fail to adapt to society in the process of seeking a distorted gender identity. Through Macbeth, Shakespeare creates a picture, where a mysterious force stronger than individuals shapes major characters’ lives even against their will, and in this picture we are presented with a hero and a heroine who are trapped and destroyed by misunderstanding their own gender roles.