Essay on Maternity and Masculinity in Macbeth and Coriolanus

Maternity and Masculinity in Macbeth and Coriolanus The power of womanhood is linked with both maternity and masculinity in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Coriolanus; one might say that they are interchangeable. Lady Macbeth becomes the psychologically masculine force over her husband, essentially assuming a maternal role, in order to inspire the aggression needed to fulfill their ambitions. Similarly, in Coriolanus, Volumnia maintains a clear, overtly maternal position over Coriolanus, molding him to be the ideal of heroic masculinity that both separates him from the rest of the characters and inescapably binds him to his mother. These two plays, more than any other in the Shakespearean canon, throw into doubt the notion of a†¦show more content†¦Their androgyny, however, places them outside of the realm of expected gender roles, foreshadowing the upset of such roles by other characters. In between these scenes, we are thrust into the aftermath of a great battle, where the definition of manhood is clearly defined, and one man stands alone as the pinnacle of masculinity. The Captain declares: For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valor’s minion carved out his passage (1.2.16-19), Macbeth’s victory over Macdonwald proves his manhood by displaying his ability to act as a man. The link between manhood and violence is extremely prevalent in Macbeth. After hearing an account of Macbeth’s bloody victory, Duncan declares, â€Å"Oh, valiant cousin, worthy gentleman† (1.2.24), and Macbeth is awarded a higher position in the government: Thane of Cawdor. If gender is proved through performance, then Macbeth has succeeded in becoming the epitome of masculinity. â€Å"Maternal power in Macbeth,† Janet Adelman writes, â€Å"is not embodied in the figure of a particular mother (as it is in Coriolanus); it is instead diffused throughout the play† (Adelman 131). This â€Å"maternal malevolence†(131) is introduced with the witches, but quickly spreads to Lady Macbeth. After she learns of his encounter with the witches and his plot to usurp theShow MoreRelated Female Power, Maternity and Genderbending in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra3164 Words   |  13 PagesFemale Power, Maternity and Genderbending in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra The 19th century essayist and literary critic William Hazlitt wrote of Cleopatra, She is voluptuous, ostentatious, conscious, boastful of her charms, haughty, tyrannical, [and] fickle, which are great and unpardonable faults (Hazlitt 2-3). Much of the criticism of Antony and Cleopatra has recycled this judgement, depicting Cleopatra as a villainess uses her eroticism and sexuality to motivate Antony to