History Fridge / MacBeth

* An interesting observation is how the play treats the subject of "manhood". Macbeth and Macduff, each a natural {{Foil}} to the other, naturally represent directly opposite ideals of masculinity. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a few talks about manhood, and in their villainous context, they always talk about how a man must be devoid of feeling or emotion to be truly manly. Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to shut down all his feeling and emotions to be a true man and kill Duncan, and over the course of the play Macbeth acts accordingly and slowly becomes a EmptyShell (like when Lady Macbeth dies, and Macbeth is so emotionally stunted at this point his reaction is violent indifference). Meanwhile, Macduff's scene after his family's death with Malcolm directly counters that idea, for in it he tells Malcolm how he must grieve and shed tears like a man would, and openly weeps and feels pain from their loss. Furthermore, Macbeth's prophecy of "no man of '''woman''' born can harm him" implies Macbeth views himself as above those tainted by femininity due being "of woman born", implying a supremacy of masculinity. Macduff, therefore, is the living antithesis of that concept, for he is both a manly man ''and'' a man who, while born of C-section, ultimately came from a woman, thus showing masculinity needs not to reject femininity its entirely. In other words, Macbeth vs Macduff is not only a case of EmotionsVersusStoicism (on which emotion prevails), but most importantly, it is one of the earliest examples of Toxic Masculinity in the form of King Macbeth, while Macduff represents healthy masculinity (which ultimately triumphs over its more toxic counterpart).

** Premature births aren't that uncommon, and childbirth was the leading cause of death among women well into the 20th century (infections and blood loss, primarily). Also, in Shakespeare's day, c-sections would have been pretty much mythological, and even moreso in Macbeth's. Also, how often do you discuss the circumstances of your birth with your mates?

*** Macduff's portrayal is that of a [[TheStoic silent, grim type]], partly because he doesn't really get a lot of focus but also because he really seems to prefer actions over words. Even in the battle of Macbeth he explicetly says "I have no words for thee, my voice is in my sword". It'd fit with his character that he doesn't really talk all that much about his past or his mother, thus Macbeth being blindsided by Macduff being "from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd".

* Even with his father dead, Malcolm still has his brother. Old Siward presumably has a wife, and Fleance has a mother. Macduff however, has no one left, not even his servants. His wife and babies were all murdered. Sure he avenged them, but is it really a happy ending for him?

** [=MacDuff=] actually at one point says directly of [=MacBeth=] that "He has no children". I also noticed the apparent contradiction when Lady [=MacBeth=] says she has 'given suck', and came to the conclusion that she'd either had a child by someone other than Macbeth ''[yes, she did - check out Holinshed (Maven)]'', or - more probably - they had had a child who had died. Which, as you say, just adds a whole new layer to the play.

* The bit about Lady [=MacBeth=] not being able to kill King Duncan because he looked so much like her father. Shakespeare probably didn't mention it because his audience would have known that Lady [=MacBeth=] and Duncan were first cousins; her father was Duncan's father's younger brother. (Which explains why [=MacBeth=] was able to take the throne; he was a Royal In Law already, AND a war hero.)
** Moreover, [=MacBeth=] was Royal kin on his own account - he and Duncan were first cousins, as their mothers were both daughters of Malcolm II (who had no sons). Maven