“When you durst do it, then you were a man!”
- Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7, line 49
She always says that she would keep her promise and do whatever she would have to do. Lady Macbeth states that she would kill her own baby to get what she wants.
“I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this."
- Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7, lines 54-59
Obviously she knows her husband quite well and because, in the end, Macbeth ends up agreeing to do what she wants him to do.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are now King and Queen. After they have been crowned King and Queen, Macbeth’s attitude towards Lady Macbeth changes. In Acts 1 and 2, she would be in charge and she would be the one telling Macbeth what to do. Now, in Act 3, he tells her what to do and is in charge for most things. In Act 3 Scene 1, Macbeth expresses his fears about Banquo. He knows that Banquo is a good person, yet he still knows that if the witches’ prophecy came true for him, it’s possible it will come true for Banquo (the prophecy was that Banquo will become the father of kings, yet he will never become King himself). As he fears this to come true, Macbeth plans Banquo’s and Fleance’s murder. However, this time, he doesn’t let Lady Macbeth know. In Act 3 Scene 2, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are quite confused about all the secrets. They are no longer confiding in each other, which goes to show that the murder of Duncan has begun to separate them. When talking about Banquo, and how he is the guest of honour, they seem quite normal. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both know that they are not yet safe, as Banquo is growing suspicious. Macbeth still doesn’t tell Lady Macbeth about his plans to kill Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth has also changed quite a lot since the beginning of the play. He believes that more murders will cover up the crimes he has already committed. In this scene, Macbeth is shown as a weak character as he cannot kill Banquo himself: he hires murderers to do his work. He cannot talk to his wife about this, as she doesn’t know.
In Act 5 Scene 1, Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking. This scene shows what effect the murder has on Lady Macbeth. She is haunted by guilt, which is the reason why she starts sleepwalking in the first place. At this stage of the play, the Macbeth relationship is so bad; Lady Macbeth is unable to talk to her husband about the guilt which torments her. While she is sleepwalking, she tries to rub off non-existent spots of blood from her hands.
“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!”
- Lady Macbeth, Act 5 Scene 1, line 31
In Act 5 Scene 5, it is also obvious that the Macbeth’s are not together, because when Macbeth hears of Lady Macbeth’s death, he feels no emotion. Normally, when someone hears of the death of a close relative, they would burst out into tears. However, Macbeth does not act like this.
“She should have died hereafter.”
- Lady Macbeth, Act 5 Scene 5, line 16
This shows that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have drifted so far apart that they have stopped caring about one another (or in this case, Macbeth has stopped caring about Lady Macbeth). They are so stressed about hiding their crime, that they seem to have stopped caring about their relationship and each other.
