Consider the concepts of morality in Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the light of the relationship between gender and power. Defend your answer.
In Macbeth a very important theme is that of morality. This means the difference between good and bad. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as being the “bravest” soldier and for being an honorable thane. We see Macbeth as being a man with morals who fights for good reasons and in honor of the king of Scotland. However as the play implies, who is “fair is foul and foul is fair,” (Act 1, Scene 1) meaning that appearance can be differing from reality.
Gender and power are two topics that are shown in detail in the drama of Macbeth. With regards to gender, throughout the play we encounter how man has to have no morals at all and how man should have no remorse on the actions they do. In fact Lady Macbeth tries to be unsexed from a woman to be as strong as men:
“Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,

And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full

Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood;

Stop up the access and passage to remorse” (Act 1 Scene 5).
Even though Macbeth never says it out loud, Macbeth in the beginning did care about his morality and about doing right and not wrong. In fact he wasn’t sure about killing Duncan but when Lady Macbeth questioned his manhood, he decided to be a man. However we then see that after Duncan’s murder the guilt kills his sleep and thus he realized in doing wrong. But throughout the play, Macbeth is deceived more and more with power and doesn’t care anymore about morality and religion as he then starts killing everyone who gets in his way.
With regards to the theme of power in Macbeth, one can encounter many people who have power. The more the power one has, the more corrupt the person in power becomes. Gender also affected the way of power. Men are the ones who are outward and aggressive about it, and women are more subdued about power. Lady Macbeth possesses more ‘manly’ qualities than Macbeth in the beginning of the play since she has power of Macbeth and his actions. As a result, he does everything in order to prove himself in his power to his wife. Therefore the relationship between power and gender is quite visible.
Morality in this relationship is also important. This is because the morality of men and women in power differ as well. Power in Macbeth led to his own corruption and the loss of his morality as he starts doing wrongdoings and doesn’t care about doing well. Therefore in becoming more man and in power, Macbeth lost his morality and faith. This means that men in power become more corrupt and loss of morality takes place the more a man is in power. In Macbeth one can see how power and masculinity can lead to loss of morality and lack of well doings. With regards to Macbeth, this loss Is evident throughout the play where the more power he got, the more morality he lost.