Macbeth refuses to conform to traditional gender roles in its depiction of Lady Macbeth's relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her respect for Macbeth is one of low respect and reproach, an unusual and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at that time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband and subsequently herself. She is also very power hungry and doesn't let anything get in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character who defied expectations of women and feminism when she was written in the seventeenth century. Lady Macbeth's relationship with her husband is not as patriarchal as seen in traditional depictions of the dynamics between husband and wife during this time period. For example, he says, “To always alter the favor is to fear / To leave all the rest to me” to Macbeth (Iv72-73). She tells him what to do and how to do it instead of the more usual reverse procedure. She is also taking a position of authority by doing things for herself. Lady Macbeth criticizes her husband, saying, "Wouldst thou that / That esteemeth the ornament of life / And live a coward in thine own esteem?" (I.vii.41-43). He calls him a coward, insulting him easily without repercussions and with the knowledge that he won't do anything about it. After Macbeth kills Duncan and is shocked at the crime he has just committed, Lady Macbeth says, “Give me the daggers. The sleepers and the dead/ They are but images. It is the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil” (II.ii.53-55). In this scene, she takes matters into her own hands by ignoring her husband's inability to fully understand what he just wore... middle of paper... her life without power is worse than death and she would even prefer the latter. At the time it was an atypical character trait for a woman to desire power as greedily as Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth's story throughout Macbeth is different from those of her time in its unusually forward-thinking portrayal of a woman with thoughts and actions. which would have been considered indecent. This is seen through the portrayal of her relationship with Macbeth and how they interact. It is also illustrated through Lady Macbeth's morals and their effect on how she acts and reacts in situations that would weigh heavily on most people's consciences. Her power-hungry attitude is often reserved for men, especially in this era of literature. All of these factors create a character of Lady Macbeth that is dissimilar to the classic depiction of women in the 17th century..