The stereotype of sex over the past couple hundred years is that men are the stronger, harder and more powerful sex. This statement is proved false in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Shakespeare successfully manages to break this stereotype in a believable and extremely artistic way. The reader can easily see who the dominant character is in the Macbeth marriage. Lady Macbeth is more ruthless than her husband, Macbeth. This can be seen in 3 distinct stages: the initial reaction to the thought of the murder, the behavior of both characters prior to the murder, and their behavior following the murder.

To start, the reader can see the pertinent differences in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth when the thought of murdering Duncan, the reigning king, is first introduced. As Macbeth initially ponders the proposal to murder the king, he is slightly cautious and apprehensive. He expresses this uncertainty aloud to himself, "Why do...