Fatherless

     A major theme in the play Macbeth is that everyone is without a father.  This becomes evident in Act IV Scene II as Lady Macduff asks her son what he will do without his father that has left them for England.  Macduff's son replies that he will do the same as the birds as he no longer needs his father, but it is she who needs a husband.  During the time period in which Macbeth takes place, if you had a father, then you fell into whatever line of work they occupied.  If for whatever reason you did not have a father, though, you could determine your own destiny.  This reveals why Macduff's son is not bothered by the fact that his father has left their family.  Macduff helped to bring his son into the world, but that is all his son needs him for as he knows he can find his own path.  Today, even those who have a loving and present father are, by the terms of Macbeth, technically without a father.  As the kids growing up in today's society are able to determine their own destiny, they are fatherless.