The construction of femininity and masculinity in Shakespeare`s Macbeth

Examination Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature grade: 20 University of Potsdam (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik) language: English abstract: The title of this paper is The Construction of Femininity and Masculinity in Shakespeare`s Macbeth. As this title suggests I analyzed how Shakespeare construes female and male identity in Macbeth. As in many Shakespearean dramas the play starts with the destruction of order leading up to a crisis and ending in the restoration of order at the end of the play (Gelfert 32). The political order that is destroyed in the course of the play is King Duncan`s natural and fair order which appreciates a unique set of masculine and feminine values. Macbeth murders King Duncan in order to usurp his throne. Macbeth`s reign turns Duncan`s order into chaos and moral order cannot return to Scotland until the tyrant ruler Macbeth is defeated by troops who fight for the restoration of Duncan`s order through the coronation of his son Malcolm. This essay deals with the question of how Shakespeare shapes female and male characters. As a matter of fact female and male characters are ultimately involved in the destruction and restoration of Scotland. This involves questions such as:Which historical concepts does Shakespeare use to construe his male and femalecharacters?Does he construe typical gender roles?And what happens when gender boundaries are crossed when men develop feminine traitsand women male ones? With special regard to the marriage of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth I also analyzed the interaction between the genders. In the course of my analysis I used the term gender originating from Anglo-American feminist discourse meaning the social cultural and psychological meaning imposed upon biological sexual identity (Showalter 1-2). Interpreting femininity and masculinity as gender constructions allows a more thorough analysis of the various pro