Images of masculinity and femininity in MacbethLady Macbeth does not have the traditional role of "mother", "daughter" or "wife", but of "partner". Macbeth's letter refers to her as: 'My dearest companion in greatness..' I (v) Despite his military culture, Macbeth perceives Lady Macbeth as his equal, it would seem in all things; his political life, his career, his personal life; that is, she is his better half. Noticeably the emphasis is on "he". Lady Macbeth has no status of her own, like all women of this era as "status" could only be derived from one's husband or father. The doctrine adopted by Macbeth goes against all conventional ideas of how a woman should be regarded by a male. In the Renaissance era the division of the sexes was so wide, but Lady Macbeth resists tenaciously even when Macbeth dismisses her: "We will proceed no further in this matter": (I vii 32) To resist what Macbeth says for any reason, is not to be not a woman at all. A woman is supposed to be weak, fragile and submissive to male desires and certainly should not argue effectively with her husband. But Lady Macbeth rejects the role of "woman" as defined by men. You could be forgiven for thinking of Lady Macbeth as the only woman worth studying in Macbeth since the other female characters have such minor roles. But I think witches are important when examining femininity. They are the first characters we lay eyes on, and every event in the play is indirectly controlled or caused by them. This is definitely a very powerful role. Witches are said to predict the future and serve the devil. So Macbeth's apparent fear and belief in their prophecy was undermining ecclesiastical authority. Pay close attention to... middle of paper... I spent the rest of his life feeling he had failed as a man, such was the importance of images of masculinity.'Bringing forth men-children only' (Macbeth 1:7 :72)Works CitedShakespeare Macbeth; ArdenGeorges Duby and Michelle Perrot, Natalie Zemon Davis and Arlette FargeA History of Women; Belknap HavardBruce R Smith Homosexual Desire in Shakespeare's England; University of Chicago PressCallaghan, Dympna. Woman and gender in Renaissance tragedy. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press International, Inc., 1989Johannes Fabricus Alchemy: Medieval Alchemists and Their Royal Lust; Diamond Books 1994 Novy, Marianne. Love Argument: Gender Relations in Shakespeare. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1984 Eros and Magic in the Renaissance; University of Chicago Press 1987