Is Lady Macbeth responsible for the downfall of Macbeth?

Q: Is Lady Macbeth responsible for the downfall of Macbeth?

In the play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare Lady Macbeth plays a very large role in the downfall of Macbeth, both morally and mentally however it is hard to judge that she is responsible. Unlike the usual woman of the Elizabethan times she plays a very large role in the household; she acts like the man of the house making many of the chief decisions including to kill King Duncan however she only does this for the benefit of her husband and to make him king. Lady Macbeth acts as the way a man should act in her own ideas; cruel, reckless and numb to fear and pity, however this was all to protect Macbeth from suspicions and ultimately death. Lastly Macbeth protects Lady Macbeth by doing all the murders on his own after the murder of King Duncan so Macbeth is responsible for the blood not Lady Macbeth.

In Act 1 Scene 5 Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter and the first thing she considers to make her husband king is “to catch the nearest way”; to act without pity. She considers Macbeth “too full o’th’milk of human kindness.” “Milk” maybe referring to him being ‘womanly’ in her opinion; her idea of manliness is one that is “topfull / of direst cruelty”, blocked “passage to remorse”, and “murd’ring.” She wants Macbeth to commit regicide for their own greed; “what cannot you and I perform upon / th’unguarded Duncan?” However conscience, loyalty, and the consequences for the murder turns him away; “We will proceed no further in the business” however Lady Macbeth teases him, tests his ‘manhood’ to persuade him to do the murder. And also she says “leave all the rest to me” and drugs the king’s guards to clear the way for Macbeth. So it is evident that before the murder Lady Macbeth has been a strong influence of making Macbeth breakdown morally.

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However it is not only Lady Macbeth’s ambition, greed and will to make Macbeth king that made Macbeth murder King Duncan. Before Act 1 Scene 5, in Scene 4 Macbeth has discovered that King Duncan has named Malcolm Prince of Cumberland, the next king of Scotland. This is a strange event since in those days the king of Scotland was elected by the thanes after the king’s death. Macbeth had hoped that the witch’s prophesy meant he will be king after Duncan’s death however since this will not be true he becomes angry; “Stars, hide your fires, / let not light see my black and deep desires, / the eye winks at the hand.” His mind is bubbling with ideas of murder already. “The eye winks at the hand” means ‘don’t see the fatal blow’ which shows in reality he thinks of murder before Lady Macbeth does. Also although he decides not to go on with the murder and Lady Macbeth forces him to he also says “I have bought / Golden opinions from all sorts of people, / which would be worn now in their newest gloss, / not cast aside so soon.” “So soon” gives the feeling that he does actual will to do it, not just now.

In Act 2 Scene 1 there is a very important soliloquy by Macbeth where he loses his mind as he sees a dagger which he can not feel with his hand but only see with his eyes. In this scene a lot of Macbeth’s character and his thoughts are revealed to the audience. From a person “too full o’th’milk of human milk of kindness” to someone ensnared in witchcraft. He refers to Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, and also he compares himself to Tarquin, the rapist of Lucrece, maybe showing his excitement and thrill for blood and its similarity to sexual lust. At the start of the soliloquy he is frightened but by the end he, himself without Lady Macbeth, makes up his mind to kill Duncan; “I go, and it is done.” After he kills Duncan and comes back with the daggers Lady Macbeth snatches the blood-dripping dagger off him to plant them with the guards. Though this could be seen as a disgusting act it was only to help Macbeth since without it he would be suspected. Also Macbeth kills two guards to get rid of the evidence however this isn’t part of Lady Macbeth’s plan. Macbeth acts on his own and kills three times more than what Lady Macbeth had intended. But still, when the suspicion starts to turn on Macbeth Lady Macbeth pretends to faint to save him. Lady Macbeth is only trying to make him great and also protecting Macbeth as a loving caring wife.

After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth starts to wear masks and disguises to hide his inner self as Lady Macbeth had advised him to; “Look like th’innocent flower, / but be the serpent under’t.” However, other than this, Lady Macbeth plays no roles in Macbeth’s downfall. Macbeth steeps deeper and deeper into blood as he begins to kill many people around him through absolute paranoia not to be gain power like the murder of King Duncan. During these Lady Macbeth does not persuade or force; rather oppositely she is neglected as her unity with Macbeth slowly breaks. “Why do you keep alone / of sorriest fancies your companions making.” Macbeth believes she will be proud of his actions; “till thou applaud the deed” however she is not really the ‘man’ she said she was. In Act 3 Scene 2 it can be seen that they swap their nature and she starts wanting to stop. “You must leave this.” But Macbeth is so polluted by evil he says he cannot stand the idea that Banquo, his close friend, and his son lives. “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! Thou know’st that Banquo and his Fleance lives.” After Macbeth kills Banquo he sees his ghost at the banquet. He begins to shout at the ghost and Lady Macbeth rebukes him again testing his manhood however this time it was not to get him to kill but to protect him from suspicion so again it is evident she is acting as a caring wife trying to keep her husband safe and on the throne.

In conclusion Lady Macbeth cannot be said to be responsible for Macbeth’s ruin since although she, using sometimes ruthless and cruel ways, has placed her husband as king, she has only murdered once to get him to the throne and the rest is the decision made by Macbeth and Macbeth alone. Furthermore she has succeed in her goal and she tries her best as a loving caring husband to protect Macbeth from his own stupid actions.

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