Lady Macbeth & Gender
Lady Macbeth’s Introduction (Act 1, Scene 5)
Lady Macbeth is introduced reading Macbeth’s letter about the witches’ prophecies. Her immediate reaction reveals a character of terrifying ambition and ruthless intelligence. She does not question the prophecies or express doubt — she instantly begins planning Duncan’s murder. Her first concern is that Macbeth is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness” to do what is necessary.
The nurturing imagery of “milk” is significant. Lady Macbeth sees kindness as a weakness — something soft and feminine that must be purged. She associates compassion with femininity and cruelty with masculinity, establishing the play’s radical exploration of gender roles.
Lady Macbeth calls Macbeth “too full o’ the milk of human kindness.” She sees compassion as a feminine weakness and believes Macbeth must reject it to seize power. This reveals her view that masculinity equals ruthlessness — a view Shakespeare ultimately dismantles.
“Unsex Me Here”: Rejecting Femininity
Lady Macbeth’s famous invocation in Act 1, Scene 5 is one of the most disturbing speeches in Shakespeare. She calls on “spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts” to “unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty.” She asks to have her femininity stripped away so she can commit acts of violence without remorse.
She continues: “Come to my woman’s breasts, / And take my milk for gall.” The transformation of nurturing milk into bitter gall is a shocking image that would have deeply unsettled a Jacobean audience. Women were expected to be gentle, obedient, and maternal. Lady Macbeth’s rejection of these qualities aligns her with the witches — another group of women who operate outside the natural order.
In Jacobean England, women were considered subordinate to men. A wife was expected to obey her husband, manage the household, and bear children. The idea that a woman could drive political ambition and plan a murder would have been seen as deeply unnatural — almost as unnatural as the witches themselves.
Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth to explore what happens when gender roles are inverted. Her power in the early acts is extraordinary — she dominates Macbeth completely. But Shakespeare ultimately punishes this inversion: Lady Macbeth’s suppressed guilt destroys her mind, and she is reduced to sleepwalking and madness by Act 5.
“Unsex me here” is Lady Macbeth’s plea to have her femininity removed so she can act with masculine cruelty. The invocation of evil spirits parallels the witches and suggests she is willing to cross into the supernatural realm to achieve power.
Manipulating Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7)
When Macbeth hesitates about killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth deploys a devastating manipulation strategy. She attacks his masculinity: “When you durst do it, then you were a man.” She questions his courage and implies that refusing to murder Duncan makes him less of a man.
Her most shocking argument comes when she declares she would have “dashed the brains out” of her own nursing baby if she had sworn to do so. This image of infanticide — a mother destroying her own child — is the ultimate rejection of femininity and maternal instinct. Shakespeare uses this horrifying declaration to show how completely Lady Macbeth has suppressed her humanity in pursuit of power.
Lady Macbeth uses several techniques to persuade Macbeth: she questions his manhood (“When you durst do it, then you were a man”), she accuses him of cowardice (“Art thou afeard?”), she presents a practical plan (drugging the guards, framing them), and she uses the shocking image of killing her own child to shame him into action.
Notice that she never appeals to reason or morality — only to pride and shame. This reveals that she understands Macbeth’s weakness: he cares more about appearing strong than about doing right. Her manipulation is so effective because she exploits the Jacobean equation of masculinity with violence and decisiveness.
The Macbeths’ Relationship
The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is one of the most complex in Shakespeare. In the early acts, Lady Macbeth is the dominant partner — she plans the murder, steadies Macbeth’s nerves, and covers for his erratic behaviour at the banquet. Macbeth calls her “my dearest partner of greatness,” suggesting an equal partnership of ambition.
However, as the play progresses, their roles reverse. Macbeth becomes increasingly independent and violent, ordering murders without consulting her. Lady Macbeth, who appeared invincible, is gradually destroyed by guilt. By Act 5, she is alone, sleepwalking, and Macbeth barely reacts to the news of her death (“She should have died hereafter”). Their partnership, built on murder, collapses entirely.
“Too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (Act 1, Scene 5) — Lady Macbeth sees compassion as a feminine weakness in her husband.
“Unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty” (Act 1, Scene 5) — Her plea to abandon femininity and embrace violence.
“When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Act 1, Scene 7) — She weaponises masculinity to manipulate Macbeth.
“I have given suck, and know / How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would… have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out” (Act 1, Scene 7) — The ultimate rejection of maternal instinct.