Discuss the importance of Lady Macbeth's influence on her husband

              Furthermore, Macbeth wants to enjoy what he has earned from his services. He has earned the title of Thane of Cawdor. He knows that if he proceeds with the murder of Duncan could lose men’s good opinions of him. However, when Lady Macbeth hears this she attacks her husband’s weakest spot; his courage. She tells him he will only be a man if he commits the murder. She states that she herself would kill her own baby in order to attain her goals. She manipulates Macbeth overrides all of his objections and repeatedly questions his manhood. Macbeth is driven to a point where he feels he has to prove himself, “I am settled and bend-up”. When this happens, Lady Macbeth proves to be an immense source of inspiration on Macbeth; she has managed to completely change his mind. It must be remembered that he does have free will.

           After the “deed” is carried out Macbeth is full of remorse. He is shaken by the sin he has committed and it is Lady Macbeth who soothes his nerves once he comes back to the castle. This shows Lady Macbeth’s remarkable strength of will through the murder. She even jokes about it “I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal; For it must seem their guilt”. This is a pun with the words “guilt” and “gild”. It shows Lady Macbeth’s cruelty at this point. Macbeth does not back out of their plan once Banquo and Macduff appear. Even though his character is breaking, his wife’s constancy stops him from revealing anything.          

Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband into murdering by questioning his manhood and wishes she were “unsexed” at one earlier point. She does not contradict Macbeth when he warns her to only give birth to only male babies as she is too evil to bear girls “thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males”. In the same way Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood, he later questions the murderers he hires to kill Banquo and Fleance about their manhood. It can therefore be observed that Lady Macbeth’s influence does not end immediately after the first “deed” is brought about. Even though Lady Macbeth can no longer control her husband at this later point in the play, her influence does not end right after.

The influence Lady Macbeth has on her husband is unquestionably important. She proves to be a stronger character than Macbeth at the beginning of the play. It can therefore be said that Macbeth’s ruin can be traced back to Lady Macbeth’s initial ambition and strength of character. The importance her influence has on his actions at the beginning of the play account for everything Macbeth does even after he carries out their initial plan.