Lady Macbeth is the opposite of a ‘normal’ Shakespearean woman. Women during these times are meant to be ‘soft’, loving mothers who are meant to stay at home, have and raise children and take care for their husband. However, Lady Macbeth states: “I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you”. This shows the audience that Lady Macbeth isn’t ‘motherly’ like she should be, in fact she would harm a baby. This also presents the theme of violence, which women were not meant to be. She’s also presented to be an abnormal wife. Lady Macbeth seems to be in control of the relationship at first. She manipulates Macbeth into killing Duncan using emasculation - “When you durst do it, then you were a man”. During the Shakespearean times men were meant to be in charge, instead lady Macbeth seems to be. This is also shown during the scene where Macbeth kills Duncan and then comes back to lady Macbeth with the daggers, so lady Macbeth had to take the daggers and plant them on the guards herself - she basically picks up his slack because he’s too vulnerable after murdering his so-called friend and his king who he was meant to me loyal to. This is a reversal of nature because lady Macbeth is the one that is meant to be vulnerable, not Macbeth. (However it’s important to note that lady Macbeth does become vulnerable during the end of the play where she ends up killing herself. This could be said that lady Macbeth restored nature through her death). Not only this, but due to her manipulating Macbeth into killing Duncan there was a reversal of nature when Macbeth became king because he disturbs the natural order. It’s believed that God choices the king and therefore, it was Duncan’s divine right to be king and not Macbeth’s. This disturbed nature - which is shown though the storms and when the animals go insane and eat each other when Macbeth becomes king. (You could also say nature became restored when Macbeth was killed and Malcom becomes king which was his divine right). Another way lady Macbeth’s behaviour was a reversal of nature was when she called on evil spirits to ‘unsex’ her, so she can become ‘manly’ enough to kill Duncan herself. This is not only a reversal of nature because women weren’t meant to be violent, but also because she’s speaking to evil spirits - linking to the supernatural.