“Come you spirits. That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty; make thick blood… Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers…”
This clearly shows that Lady Macbeth has a dark side and resorts to unholy rituals to give her strength.
One example where Lady Macbeth seems fiendish is when she and Macbeth plot to kill Duncan. At first Macbeth is unsure about what is to be done but lady Macbeth convinces him that he should murder the king and claim the crown for himself. However in order to convince Macbeth to go forward with the plan she questions his manhood and disgraces him into thinking that he should carry out the plan as proof
of his manliness. The skilful use of her womanly wiles to persuade Macbeth into murdering Duncan is best seen in Act one scene seven. “What beast was ’t then. That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would. Be so much more the man nor time nor place”.
The fact that Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth of committing such a dreadful act when he is having doubts shows her as having fiendish like traits which are unbecoming of a queen.
Another instance where Lady Macbeth comes off as being fiendish is just after Duncan’s murder when she takes the bloody daggers away from Macbeth, wipes the blood onto the unsuspecting and slumbering servants and leaves the daggers at their sides. She does this without any feeling of guilt. When Macbeth shows his remorse for killing Duncan and fears about being exposed, Lady Macbeth seems scornful of his inability to accept that his innate nature for ambition can and will override loyalty and honesty. This is shown in the quote from Act Two, Scene Two:
“A little water clears us of this deed: How easy it is then!” This shows that Duncan’s death has had no effect on Lady Macbeth spurs her on to ridicule Macbeth for feeling remorse. She also says that no one will be able to prove their wrongdoing since the evidence can be washed away with water. This is evident of her fiendish traits that murder is but a means to the end.
Lady Macbeth once again shows her fiendish ways when she pretends to faint after hearing about the murder of the King. She knows that Duncan has been murdered, yet she tricks the people around her into believing that she is genuinely shocked about such a treacherous happening. The irony of this is that when she was conspiring to kill Duncan she showed no compassion or remorse at the thought of the heinous deed.
Lastly, Lady Macbeth continues this pattern of an unremorseful nature when she fails to stop Macbeth from killing Banquo to forestall the prophecy which states that Banquo will be the father of kings though he himself shall not be one. She suspects that Macbeth will kill him, but does not try to convince him to do otherwise. When Macbeth suggests that he is going to do something about Banquo, she makes no attempt to dissuade him. She seems quite pleased that Macbeth is going to do something of his own accord about Banquo, as this will help her keep her position as Queen. She does not yet feel any remorse for anything that they have done, and seems to think that it is good that Macbeth is finally taking charge of his own destiny via deceitful deeds if need be.
However Lady Macbeth could also be described as a tragic hero, because although she was fiendish, she did feel remorse at the end of the play which resulted with her taking her own life, as she could no longer live with the guilt of committing the evil deeds that she had done.
In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is given the title “fiend like queen” because there are numerous occasions where she reveals her fiend like characteristics such as when she conspires with Macbeth to kill the king, frame the humble servants and not dissuade Macbeth from killing Banquo. However, in a different light, Lady Macbeth could be viewed as a tragic hero. Towards the end of the play Lady Macbeth feels so much remorse that she goes insane and commits suicide. This is because she feels so quilt-ridden that she becomes tragically insane. Therefore Malcolm’s description of Lady Macbeth being Macbeth’s fiend like queen is acceptable to a certain degree.
