The traditional gender stereotype of masculine is referred to as being strong and robust. Typically males initiate power and demonstrate a strong exterior, while females are typically associated with internal emotions. The idea of manhood in Macbeth is tied to strength, power, physical courage, and force of will. Characters throughout the play use the idea of manhood to goad one another into action, manipulating the ideal of masculinity, to serve their own benefits. Macbeth initiates power and strength to prove his manliness, Lady Macbeth induces manipulation to commit acts, and Macduff believes that men must not only react physically, but also emotionally to given situations.
             Macbeth begins with a firm grasp on his beliefs of masculinity, but his actions and thoughts are altered due to his wife's perception of masculinity. Macbeth shows that he encompasses morals and strength when he states, "I dare do all that may become a man;/ Who dares do more is none." (1.7.46-7). Macbeth at this point is not easily swayed, and believes that a real man would not murder for power. Soon after, Lady Macbeth imposes her superiority notions of masculinity, when she accuses him of not adhering to the typical male stereotype. Macbeth echoes Lady Macbeth's advice when he questions the manhood of the murderers he has hired to kill Banquo, " Aye, in the catalogue ye go for men" (3.1.92). Macbeth commits many heinous acts, but without his wife's powerful presence behind him, it is unlikely that he would have aspired to any of the murders. Macbeth is manipulated by his wife's "masculinity", and it is almost as if he is trying to regain power, by proving to her that he too can act upon immoral thoughts. Macbeth began with a strong sense of masculinity, and gradually fell under the stereotype which his wife created.
             Lady Macbeth emasculates her husband repeatedly, knowing that in his desperation to ...