“Fill me from the crown to the toe-top full of direst cruelty!
Make thick my blood.”
She even plans the murder of Duncan and assumes full responsibility for this. She exerts a lot of power over Macbeth in this part of the play and even calls him a “coward” and this demonstrate just how determined she is and how much ambition she has for her husband and herself. She also says in graphic detail, that she would even kill her baby,
“And dashed the brains out, had I sworn
As you have done to this”
This shows she is ready to sacrifice even her womanliness to her murderous intentions. These words make such an immense impact. This also shows Lady Macbeths inextinguishable desire to get her husband to do as she wants. It is this confidence in herself plus the persuasiveness of her words that makes Macbeth act on them without any major hesitation.
After preparation for the murder of Duncan she thinks of performing the act herself but shows a sign of humanity and admits she can’t because he resembles her father,
“Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done’t.”
After the murder has been done, Lady Macbeth shows just how strong a person she really is by using kind words and confidence to calm Macbeth down and prevent him from going insane,
“The sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures; 'tis the eye of childhood
That fears a painted devil.”
Lady Macbeth, however, jokes ironically with Macbeth about forgetting the incident as,
“These deeds must not be thought after these ways:
So, it will make us mad.”
At this point Lady Macbeth is in complete control and has tried to free Macbeth of guilt even though he did perform the deed,
“My hands are of your colour, but I shame
To wear a heart so white.
Lady Macbeth is then able to exclaim in horror “What! In our House!”, to the murder of Duncan, whilst in complete control, to draw away the suspicion from Macbeth. When, however, she finds out that Macbeth has killed the guards she faints “Help me Hence”, but is this a another performance to draw attention away from Macbeth or did she faint from shocked dismay? I believe she was shocked because she was surprised that she was able to get Macbeth to commit the murder of Duncan, but was even more shocked at how over one night and in fear, Macbeth could kill two more men in cold blood.
Lady Macbeth is still strongly in control as the play proceeds, but she still has fears and is still isolated. She is able to handle crisis very well, which is shown at the banquet incident where Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo, but Lady Macbeth is quick to lie for Macbeth to conceal the real ideas. Macbeth is enraged and says,
“Thou canst not say I did it;
Never shake Thy gory locks at me!”
The guests are aware horrified but Lady Macbeth tells them to sit saying,
“Pray you, keep seat.
The fit is momentary; upon a thought
He will again be well.”
However, it is soon obvious she cannot resurrect the banquet and takes control to dismiss the lords,
“At once, good night.
Stand not upon the order of your going,
But go at once.”
As Macbeth progresses with his evil acts, Lady Macbeth starts to go insane. She also hallucinates like her husband but this time about trying to cleanse her hands of the blood that will not wash off. Even though she maybe a strong character, she is reduced and battered by the deeds she has committed and her conscience eventually drives her insane. There is some irony in this as she was the one that was able to rid Macbeth of his conscience, but now hers has overcome her. She then kills herself unable to remove the “damned spot”. At his wife’s suicide Macbeth has already rid himself of his conscience, so much so, that Macbeth commits even more evil acts without even admitting her to his conscience.
Over the course of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth greatly change with respect to their characters and their personalities. Although Macbeth was weak at first it was the strong Lady Macbeth who helped him through the first murder but in sacrifice to controlling Macbeth and his conscience, she lost control of hers and in consequence turned insane and killed herself.
