Page "Lady Macbeth" Paragraph 12

Unlike Alfar, some critics claim that Lady Macbeth is, in fact, the source of violence in the play.

Carolyn Asp explains in her article, "' Be bloody, bold and resolute ': Tragic Action and Sexual Stereotyping in Macbeth " that Lady Macbeth openly attempts to reject her feminine traits and adopt a male mentality because she perceives that her society associates feminine qualities with weakness.

Likewise, Robert Kimbrough argues in his article " Macbeth: The Prisoner of Gender " that in Elizabethan literature, especially Macbeth, there is the idea that to be " manly " is to be aggressive, daring, bold, resolute, and strong, especially in the face of death.

And to be " womanly " is to be gentle, fearful, pitying, wavering, and soft, a condition signified by tears.

He also argues that Lady Macbeth wants to become cruel, which she considers to be a masculine trait.

However, in order for her to become cruel she must cut off the flow of blood to her heart, which is the seat of love, the source of " remorse ," pity and compassion which are all attributes of human nature.