The Character Development Of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and The Witches

The perception of manhood has led to the notion that masculinity, which emphasizes power, must be a part of a person's characteristics in order to be instrumental to society. This conception of manhood is why masculinity is closely linked with cruelty. The play portrays the idea that women can be as brutal as men but to do so they must embody manlike characteristics, these can be physical or psychological. Shakespeare's play, Macbeth explores the relationship between cruelty and masculinity. This is seen through the character development of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the Witches.

The relationship between cruelty and masculinity indicates that in order to be powerful, a person must have masculine traits that will help manifest this persona. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is described as a brave and successful warrior as he fights his way through the enemies. This commentary on him fighting shows the concept of masculinity in the play, it’s about being vicious and having control over your mind in order to pursue these ruthless acts of violence.

Get quality help now

RhizMan

Verified writer

Proficient in: Free Essays

4.9 (247)

“ Rhizman is absolutely amazing at what he does . I highly recommend him if you need an assignment done ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

“Till he unseam’d him from the nave to th’chaps and fix’d his head upon our battlements”. The battlefield scene is described right at the beginning of the play, this establishes the role of men in those times and shows how they are associated with bloodshed, destruction, and cruelty. When Macbeth starts his plan for killing Banquo he summons two murderers to commit this crime for him. He uses manhood as a manipulative tool to provoke the murderers just as Lady Macbeth does to him when he starts planning on murdering Duncan.

“Are you so gospelled, to pray for this good man and for his issue, whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave and beggared yours forever?”. He tells the murderers that it is Banquo's fault that they are poor and asks them if they are willing to let him walk free. He knew this tactic would work on the murderers because it works on him, so he tells them to be men and stand up for themselves and as a result, kill Banquo. Macbeth equates masculinity with hostility because every time the topic of manhood comes up, it ends in him being violent either directly or indirectly. This happens twice in the play, first when Lady Macbeth questions his manhood and he murders Duncan. The second time is when he provokes the murderers by questioning their manhood and it ends in Banquo's death. “I am settled and bend up each corporal agent to this terrible feat”. Him being violent in some way every time manhood is brought up, shows what he believes it means to be a man. Macbeth provides a direct correlation between masculinity and cruelty through his barbaric acts.

In Elizabethan times, there was a certain perspective on women, they were seen as gentle, compassionate and loving. Lady Macbeth proves to be the complete opposite of this characterization by possessing both power and ambition which are the two characteristics related most to masculinity in the play. “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty”. She wishes to get rid of everything that makes her a woman and procure a more ferocious identity. As the play goes on, her passion and pursuit of power are revealed more and more. Once she learns about the prophecies, she goads Macbeth into murdering Duncan which eventually leads to their downfall. Lady Macbeth relies on manipulation to get what she wants, she pushes Macbeth's buttons and triggers his ambition by questioning his manhood. “Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would”, like the poor car i’th adage?” . Lady Macbeth is not able to carry out the plan of killing Duncan herself and perhaps this is because of the social restrictions of those times. Therefore, she provokes Macbeth to make him do what she wants without seeing the psychological impact. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth is the brains and mastermind behind the whole operation of killing Duncan. When Macbeth starts having second thoughts, Lady Macbeth comes up with a vicious plan and changes his mind. “What cannot you and I perform upon th’unguarded Duncan? What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell?”. She talks about placing the blame on innocent servants and framing them for the murder, she has no remorse towards anything she does or says. This shows her power and intelligence to put real feelings aside which negatively affects her. Lady Macbeth knows what she wants and how to get it.

Throughout the play, the three witches are presented as agents of evil bent on causing disaster and havoc. The weird sisters epitomize masculinity through their beards in a physical form rather than internal. “You should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so”. Banquo's description of the witches and their beards serve as a symbol of dominance over many of the characters. This instantly connects them with masculinity and establishes their influential role from the beginning. The witches are the source of destruction as they cause chaos in Macbeth's life. They are known to be calamitous and not to be trusted because of their vile deeds yet Macbeth still believes them and is tempted by their prophecies.

“And oftentimes to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths; win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence”. Banquo understands the witches plot as he realizes that they could be saying these prophecies just to cause them harm. If it weren't for the witches prophecies Macbeth would not have thoughts about killing Duncan; they arose a devil in Macbeth and he did not even realize. They cause him to commit horrible crimes and ruin his soul and mind. In a way, his life was over the second the witches informed him about the prophecies. The witches cause mayhem because that’s their nature and their main purpose is to bring evil onto others and ruin their lives. Furthermore, the witches have an understanding of other people's weaknesses and supernatural powers which makes them the most dangerous characters in the play. Macbeth is incapable of self-control and this is shown through his reaction to the witches prophecies. The witches act on this weakness of his and play him like a puppet. “And that distill’d by magic sleights, shall raise such official sprites as by the strength of their illusion shall draw him on to his confusion”. Since Macbeth is based on the 16th century, because of the stereotypes of those times, males should be the dominant character. Instead, it's the witches who can be considered more presiding. Although they are inferior in society, their supernatural strength is the one element that puts them above the common man because they have control over something no one else can touch.

The concept of masculinity is one filled with complications and associated with cruelty. Macbeth provides a clear idea on how these two are related and how they work together to integrate themselves into society. This notion of manhood is seen throughout the play within various characters, more specifically Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the Witches.