And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull
Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood…
Come to my woman’s breasts
And take my milk for gall”
By being “unsexed” Lady Macbeth is prepared to sacrifice her womanhood for the means to obtain kingship. By ridding herself of femininity she can then carry out the immoral deeds not traditional of a woman of that period. By “make thick my blood” Lady Macbeth is no longer held back by womanly expectations and she now has more control of herself and influence over others i.e. Macbeth. She has a higher trust in her own capability to kill Duncan.
As the play progresses into scene 7, Macbeth, at first agreeing to kill Duncan, then goes on to be uncertain and anxious of the deed, “we will talk no further of this business”; this shows Lady Macbeth’s accurate, however ironic, judgement of her husband’s moral.
Macbeth’s soliloquy of scene 7 demonstrates his inner conflict between the recurring theme of the play “good and evil”, his moral conscience representing the good and his strive for ambition the evil. Shakespeare’s use of language allows the audience to gain a better judgement of Macbeth who was previously described as only “a nobleman” by Duncan at the beginning of the play. In his soliloquy Macbeth contemplates the practicalities of the deed and understands that as Duncan’s “subject”, “kinsman”, and more importantly, his “host”, he has no moral ground for murder. He “should against the murderer shut the door”. Macbeth’s “vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself” is getting in the way of his loyalty to Duncan. This contrasts to his wife as Lady Macbeth does not appear to have a conscience but maintains strong, mannish authority.
Using her skills of persuasion and un-woman like authority over Macbeth, Lady Macbeth questions her husband’s love for her, his masculinity and his courage in attempt to overcome his dubiousness.
“Such I account thy love. Art thou afeared
To be the same in thine own act and valour,
As thou art in desire?”
“When you durst do it, then you were a man”
“But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we’ll not fail.”
Lady Macbeth successfully questions all the things she knew were Macbeth’s weak spots and as a result of this, Macbeth succumbs to her influence and decides to kill the king. This allows the audience to see that the relationship is based on trust. This is demonstrated by fact that Macbeth listens to his wife and ultimately takes what she has to say into account, then carries through with it.
In Act 2, scene 2 of the play the contrast between Lady Macbeth’s ‘manly’ strength and Macbeth’s vulnerability intensifies and the cracks in their relationship become visible.
After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is tormented by a guilty conscience and is terrified of the repercussions to follow.
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?”
Macbeth is coming to terms with the fact that no amount of water will wash away what he has done; he now has to face up to it. In comparison to this, Lady Macbeth instead says “A little water clears us of this deed”. She thinks that by washing away the physical evidence, it will also clean them of the emotional consequences; this illustrates her strength of mind whereas Macbeth is losing his nerve.
“Give me the daggers”; Lady Macbeth takes control of the situation while Macbeth fails to overcome fear. This links back to Lady Macbeth being “unsexed” as her actions and manner of conduction are un-womanly. Macbeth and his wife appear to have switched roles that society expects of a man and woman and Macbeth is now portrayed as the weaker of the two. Macbeth has reached the ‘point of no return’ and his transformation from a well respected “nobleman” into a tyrant is complete.
In Act 3, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship deteriorates and we see more of Lady Macbeth’s fragility and vulnerability. Lady Macbeth is no longer satisfied with what they have achieved and it seems “o’th’milk of human kindness” is now playing its part on her. “Nought’s had, all’s spent Where our desire is got without content”; realization hits Lady Macbeth and she now understands that they have lost everything and gained nothing in a ruthless attempt to fulfil their ambitions.
“there shall be done
A deed of dreadful note”
“What’s to be done?” – Lady Macbeth
“Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck”
Lady Macbeth becomes increasingly detached from her husband and Macbeth no longer confides in his wife instead telling her to “Be innocent of the knowledge” of Banquo’s murder. Because Lady Macbeth can no longer control Macbeth, her scorn no longer affecting him, “Shame itself! Why do you make such faces? When all’s done You look but on a stool”, she begins to lose sanity. Her mental and physical health begins to crumble and Macbeth is too wrapped up in his own evil plans to take notice.
Scene 4 of Act 3, the banquet scene, is extremely significant in the play, it shows both the high point of Macbeth’s kingship and his downfall. In this scene the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth is tested to its limits as both characters deteriorate.
The night that Banquo is murdered, Macbeth holds a banquet. He becomes overwhelmed by previous events and starts to hallucinate, seeing the ghost of Banquo.
“Thou canst not say I did it; never shake
Thy gory locks at me!
The effect of Banquo’s murder has added to Macbeth’s already troubled mind and he diminishes further into insanity. Lady Macbeth, however, maintains composure and rescues Macbeth from his weak conscience. “Sit worthy friends. My lord is often thus, And hath been from his youth.”
The atmosphere is extremely tense and Lady Macbeth is terrified that Macbeth will give away their evil deeds. She takes him aside in attempt to calm him but her insults have no affect on Macbeth and the influence she held over him at the start of the play is now broken. Lady Macbeth then questions his manhood as it appeared successful previously; “Are you a man?” Macbeth replies with “Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that Which might appal the devil”. This marks the collapse in their relationship as Macbeth no longer needs his wife for motivation or for strength and the emotional consequences of his actions have finally caught up with him.
In conclusion, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth shared a close relationship at the beginning of the play. They both knew that Macbeth had too much moral fibre to kill Duncan and so he sought his wife for encouragement and strength. However, when Macbeth operates independently and Lady Macbeth loses influence over him, their intimacy deteriorates ultimately resulting in Macbeth, still manically ambitious and Lady Macbeth, insane with fear and remorse. They no longer know each other and their once strong relationship collapses under the pressure of it all.
