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After having heard a description of a horrible deed Lady M assures she is capable of committing, Macbeth replies these famous words-"Bring forth men children only for thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males." meaning he thinks she is incapable of raising female children. It is truly not a compliment, Macbeth feels disgust towards her description of how she'd bash the head of the child whom moments before was sucking milk from her bosom.

This two lines are commonly interpreted as Macbeth saying she will only give him male children which was what most people would have wanted-as male children would continue the royal lineage-but truly, he thought that a woman with her "undaunted mettle" or mind/way of thinking... should not be allowed to raise a girl... look back at how Lady M refers to Macbeth as having too much of "the milk of human kindness."

Their gender roles at the onset of the play are almost (or in some ways) reversed.

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