We see Lady Macbeth later in Act 2 scene 4, just after Macbeth has killed Duncan. After hearing a noise, Lady Macbeth says cries, “Alack! I am afraid they have awaked”, and seems nervous. This gives the impression that she is feeling guilty and regretful. She then says that she is afraid that “the attempt and not the deed confounds us”, and she is only afraid that Macbeth was found out before he had the chance to finish, and now their plan is interrupted. This makes her seem very callous and unemotional to the audience.
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She continues to say that she “laid their daggers ready; he could not miss ‘em”. She blames Macbeth for failing, although he at least tried whereas she did not try to perform the deed herself, and left Macbeth with the responsibility. This again makes the audience view her as heartless, and her own failure to kill Duncan makes her seem less strong and powerful than she did in previous scenes. In the previous scenes we noticed she was ruthless but also saw that she is quite emotional and cared about her husband, but here she seems unemotional and not concerned about Macbeth.
When Macbeth feels guilty about murdering Duncan, and sees the blood on his hands, Lady Macbeth tells him it is “a foolish thought to say a sorry sight.” This shows that it is more important to her that they are king and queen than that they have murdered someone. She shows no respect for human life and does not consider others, and the audience views her as cold-hearted. She also points out that he should “consider it not so deeply”, giving the impression that she does not give it any thought, which seems very ironic later in the play. As in the previous scenes, the audience see her as controlling and forceful.
Lady Macbeth says that, “a little water clears us of this deed”, which shows the audience how little guilt she feels, as she has no remorseful feelings that will plague her, as Macbeth feels, but insists that she will be able to forget the murder as soon as the evidence is removed and she has washed her hands. The audience feel is harsh and cruel at the time, but looking back after the end of the play we see that she was trying to help Macbeth to be strong.
Lady Macbeth also patronises her husband and mocks him by saying, “my hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white”. She affects the audience’s view of Macbeth by saying he is cowardly and weak, which in contrast makes her seems strong.
In Act 2 scene 3, it is discovered that Duncan has been killed. Macbeth reacts in a very overdramatic and exaggerated way, making comments like, “had I died before an hour before this chance, I had liv’d a blessed time”, whereas Lady Macbeth reacts with more shock, exclaiming, “Woe, alas! What! In our house?” This exclamation shows she has thought more deeply about how do disguise her guilt than Macbeth, who feels more regret, and is better prepared. The audience see
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her as more sly and scheming, and her ability to concentrate after such a traumatic event shows she is unemotional.
She acts in a similar way in Act 3 scene 4, when Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo. She quickly devises an excuse, explaining that “the fit is momentary; upon a thought he will again be well.” She draws attention away from him by telling her guests to “regard him not”, and tells them that he will be offended when he realises they are watching him and he is interrupting their meal. The audience see her less as scheming, and more as quick-witted and perceptive.
In Act 5 scene 1, the audience’s opinion of Lady Macbeth changes drastically. In this scene, Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking. This shows the audience her real feelings, whereas before she often disguised her real feelings for the benefit of other people, predominantly Macbeth. She seems very distressed and asks herself, “Will these hands ne’er be clean?” This makes her previous comment that “a little water will clear us of this deed” seem very ironic, as this is the action that is now plaguing her. It is obvious that she is now consumed with guilt and unable to think of anything else. She also reveals that she believes that, “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” which shows again how guilty she feels, and how she cannot rid herself of the memories and cannot think of anything else. This changes the audience’s opinion of her because we now feel sympathetic, but also look down on her. She suddenly does not seem as powerful or confident. The audience feels she is very naïve for not realising she would feel this way. She also seems very alone, as Macbeth is no longer influenced by her as he used to be.
In Act 5 scene 5, Macbeth discovers that Lady Macbeth has killed herself. He does not seem to be perturbed to hear this, and says, “She should have died hereafter”. This is where the audience form their final opinion of Lady Macbeth. The power that she had at the beginning of the play now seems meaningless and Lady Macbeth seems pitiful. We realise she was affected more by the murder than it seems, and our opinion of her in previous scenes changes as we see her true feelings. We can sympathise with her feelings of loneliness and rejection, as Macbeth has become the person she ordered him to be but left her behind.
This scene makes us revise our opinions of everything else Lady Macbeth has said in the play, as we now see the guilt she obviously felt, but hid well. She seems insignificant and we pity her. Any power she had
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is now gone, especially as her power over Macbeth has gradually been lost through the play, and he no longer needs her or is concerned by her death. The audience has lost their respect for her, and we look down on her as we see she was desperately struggling to stay in control and hide her emotions towards the end of the play and in the end could not continue. We see how lonely and isolated she became and although we look down on her, we still empathise with her, as we wanted to see them succeed.
Although at the beginning of the play the audience fear Lady Macbeth and see her as monstrous and unfeeling, our final feelings towards her are more pity and empathy. I think that the audience opinion of her changes more than it does for any other character, but this makes her an interesting character and affects our opinion of the play.