Gender and power are closely tied in Macbeth, and they can be examined from a variety of perspectives.
At the most superficial level, we can examine who has "power" and who does not. Arguably, the most powerful character is Macbeth, a man, yet he gained his power (being king) from the prophecies of the witches and the encouragement of his wife. While Macbeth ostensibly occupies the power in a "manly" fashion (murder), we might question whether he was actually installed there by female power, as a puppet ruler, beholden to female provocations. Perhaps Macbeth holds the traditional male power because he has to (the role being a male one), and because it is politically expedient for him to do so, and because those who manipulate him seek to use that power for their own gain. This also lends further significance to Macduff's birth by cesarian section; Macbeth is defeated by someone who is "not of woman born", perhaps implying that "true" male power, or at least, a lack of female genesis, was the only way to defeat the largely "female" force that put Macbeth into power.
We should also examine how carefully Shakespeare constructs the idea of being female, as opposed to the reality of it. There are numerous occasions where the female nature is directly addressed in stereotypical terms;
O gentle lady, 'tis not for you to hear what I can speak: The repetition, in a woman's ear, would murder as it fell.
This implies that the nature of women is fragile. Yet on multiple occasions, and especially in private, Lady Macbeth depicts herself in far more brutal terms, in contrast to and especially in contradiction to the aforementioned stereotypes;
I would, while it was smiling in my face,Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gumsAnd dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as youHave done to this.
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Further Reading
What is a good thesis to talk about the relationship of gender and power in Macbeth?
Concerning your question on Shakespeare's Macbeth, I can't write the perfect thesis statement for you, without knowing what you've turned up with your research, what angle you want to take, etc. And I really don't want to presume to write your thesis for you.
What I can do is give you some ideas and some possible thesis statements, then turn the assignment back over to you.
Gender roles and power are reversed and in flux, or constantly changing, in the play.
The witches end up wheeling a great deal of power, and they are androgynous. Lady Macbeth wants power, but as a female, can't have it. She pleads with the spirits to make her more like a man, but isn't--she can't kill Duncan because he reminds her of her father. Macbeth wants power, but behaves more like a stereotypical female when first attempting to get it: he demonstrates pity and mercy by not wanting to assassinate Duncan, because the king has been a humble and fair ruler.
Lady Macduff, too, is trapped in a gender role, left unprotected by a husband that puts the country's welfare above his family's, neglecting even to take her with him or at least move her to a safe place.
Thus, much concerning gender roles and power is present in the play. Your job is to determine exactly what approach you want to take. The possibilities are numerous. Of course, you want to relate gender and power to how the drama works as a whole. One way to help ensure you do this is to connect your primary subject with a literary device or a type of figurative language.
Here are some possibilities:
- Images of the unnatural reflect the state of gender roles and power in Macbeth.
- The theme of "Fair is foul and foul is fair" reflects (or is reflected by) gender roles and power in Macbeth.
- As androgynous creatures, the witches wield power that reflects both male and female gender roles.
Those are just some examples of the kinds of things you could deal with in your essay.