Why Does Shakespeare Subvert Gender Roles?

Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth find themselves constantly oscillating between society's expectations for their genders and an unwillingness to accommodate them. Eventually, the pressure to conform to traditional gender roles becomes motivation for both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to murder Duncan.

Why does Shakespeare reverse gender roles?

So, Shakespeare proved that villainy is not limited to the sphere of male characters but it extends to female characters in the play. Summing, Lady Macbeth's gender role is reversed because of the inborn element of villainy and conscious denial of femininity and womanhood.

Why does Shakespeare play with gender roles in Macbeth?

Macbeth is essentially about power. Rather than writing about men who have all of the power and women who are powerless, Shakespeare portrays men and women as deriving their power from different sources. Men in this play generally gain power through political and military means.