Examples Of Masculinity In Macbeth

Elliot Atwood

Shelly Hoffman

English IV Honors

14 February 2023

Toxic Masculinity and Macbeth Toxic masculinity, or the strict adherence to masculine ideals at the expense of one’s own health and happiness, is the most fatal flaw present in Macbeth. It surrounds him entirely, guiding his life from one moment to the next. Not a single day passes where Macbeth is free from his fearsome inner turmoil over being and becoming the true man he feels he must be. When looking at the text with a keen eye, it is clear as day that the presence of toxic masculinity within his society, his family, and his own mind is what leads to Macbeth’s tragic downfall. Macbeth lived centuries ago, in a time where manliness was more important than even one’s self.

Macbeth’s understandable distress is seen as an effeminate breakdown. His inability to move on from and accept death makes him a coward in the eyes of his wife, and like any man, hearing such an insult from his life partner struck him deeply. Hearing such an attack pushes Macbeth to do as his wife tells him, ignoring his own emotions, solely because he wants the comfort of being seen positively again. This desire is shown in a further interaction with Lady Macbeth. As said by the lady herself, “My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.” (Shakespeare ii.ii.64-65). Lady Macbeth has been conditioned to see any sign of vulnerability or insecurity as unmanly. When she sees her husband acting in fear, she immediately calls him weak. After all, if Macbeth is acting in a way that is not manly, then he is no man at all, and he is weak. Macbeth reacts as any man would when his wife calls him less than a man; he is driven to action, and he allows himself to act in whatever his wife’s interest

He is driven by his desire to be what he sees as a true man. This drive is readily apparent in the things Macbeth says to those around him. In the argument he had with Lady Macbeth over murdering Duncan, in a moment of frustration, he yelps out, “Prithee, peace: I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none” (Shakespeare i.vii.46-47). In this scene, he is being ridiculed by his wife for being a coward, a feminine weakling who is incapable of doing what must be done. He assures her that he is in fact a man, and that he does what he feels he must to be a good man. In every moment, Macbeth makes decisions based on what he thinks a true man would do. He can never escape his own fear of not being manly. His fear is shown even further in a later scene. After Macbeth has Banquo killed, he holds a large banquet for his friends. The gjost of Banquo attends, only visible to Macbeth, who screams, “What man dare, I dare. Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The armed rhinoceros, or th' Hyrcan tiger; Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble. Or be alive again, And dare me to the desert with thy sword. If trembling I inhabit then, protest me The baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow! Unreal mockery, hence!” (Shakespeare iii.iv.103-111). Shakespeare conveys Macbeth’s loss of masculinity through his delusions. The ghost of