Additionally, Shakespeare employed of the theme of ‘appearance versus reality’. BY utilising this theme he invites us, to re-examine initial conclusions that that we may have drawn regarding Lady Macbeths character. At first she appears cold and manipulative, and it would have been easy to see her as the villain in the situation. But what we must understand is that in reality, all she had done was out of love and compassion for her husband. In her famous sleepwalking scene we uncover her deep and intensifying remorse for what she had done. We unveil her mask of a heartless and a guiltless human to find a woman who is quite the opposite, one who is deeply distraught, essentially driven mad by her own guilt and her husbands disregard. A point for you to consider: LADY MACBETH SHOWED DEEP REMORSE, MACBETH SHOWED NOTHING.
Now it is clear, that Macbeth is the true culprit in the murder and fore mostly the real villain in the crime. I hereby testify that even without Lady Macbeths encouragement, Macbeths own evil mind and his lust for power would have forced him to commit the murder anyway. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth exhibits unyielding remorse for her little involvement in the crime, yet Macbeth continues on with his murderous rampage, essentially ILLUMINATING in our minds that Macbeth is the real villain, not that of Lady Macbeth.
Let e leave you with an issue that Shakespeare addresses in his play KING HENRY V –
He asserts that“every subjects soul is his own, that is, a mans salvation or domination depends on himself alone. No-one else can be held accountable”
Thankyou.
After this, she shows signs that the spirits have honored her request in that she becomes unnaturally masculine in her thoughts and emotions. She also lacks substantial guilt, until the end of the play. One example of her masculine attitude is her willingness to take things into her own hands as is shown when she tells Macbeth, "put/ This night's great business into my dispatch,(I, v, 65-66). This establishes her as being in control, whereas it is usually the husband who is in control. Lady Macbeth also effortlessly smears the King's men with blood, which, is unnatural for a woman who would normally faint at the sight of blood. Lady Macbeth is without emotion, mainly fear and remorse, for much of the play, which is also unnatural. All of these facts point to her initial invocation of the spirits who seem to help her stay masculine and without remorse for so long.
For the typical stereotype, the already approved function of the placid wife would be that of Lady Macduff. Does one contrast Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff and as a result find
is it Lady Macbeths integrity, There could be an unjust
One of her most masculine attitudes is her willingness to take things into her own hands as shown when she tells Macbeth "put/ This night's great business into my dispatch. This establishes her as being in control, emphasising the absence of her need for her husband. We must think about this carefully, when trying to decide who is most evil. Does this integrity – an attribute only thought to be employed by that of the opposite sex, and desire to be more than the already approved function of ‘the husbands sidekick’ encourage the audience to see her as unnatural, abnormal and essentially evil. This view is unfair and unjust and we must disregard this
Lady Macduff is the only other female role in the play, she seems so gentle and vulnerable without her husband by her side whilst Lady Macbeth appears to be the total opposite.
Is it her desire to be more than the already approved function of the stereotyped wife... the archetype of femininity - that encourages the audience to view Lady Macbeth as the villain. Is it the fact that Lady Macbeth engages attributes that were only thought to be employed by that of the opposite sex. Attributes such as integrity and ambition, or fact that she doesn’t need her husband by her side to get her message across that urges the reader view her as abnormal and subsequently, evil.
- is powerful and full of integrity – probably more so then Macbeth, of a nature that women of that time were not expected to be of, engaging attributes only thought to be employed by that of the opposite sex. Is this what encourages the audience to view Lady Macbeths character as EVIL.
The idea that Lady Macbeth had deep and unyielding remorse for her sins and essentially is not the real villain is made evident through the theme of appearance versus reality. When Macbeth believed his hand was permanently blood stained in Act 2, Lady Macbeth had told him “A little water clears us of this deed’, here we are first likely to see her as a conniving villain, lacking any female warmth and humane feeling. Yet later, in her sleep walking soliloquy, she cannot seem to rid the blood from her hands, and we uncover that she does in fact have feeling. We unveil her mask of a heartless and guiltless human to find a woman who is quite the opposite, one who is deeply distraught, essentially driven mad by her own guilt. This idea of unclean hands is of course another biblical reference, alluding to the book of Mathew when Pilate washes his hands off the killing of Jesus. This allusion emphasises the fact that she understood that what she had done was wrong and that a ‘little water’ would not change that. This intense remorse that she felt is contrasted to the absence of that of Macbeths, where instead he continues on with his murderous rampage and shows no guilt or feeling at all.
Furthermore, the extent to which Macbeth’s ambition has led to the increase of chaos and darkness, is formidable. This highlights clearly the fact that Macbeths own dark desires, his own ambition for influence and greatness were what caused him to commit the murder, it wasn’t the weird sisters, or Lady Macbeth who instigated the idea, but rather Macbeth himself. We instead find an evil Macbeth with a total absence of sympathetic feeling, and a consequent incapability of remorse.
As a wise critic once said: “It is not the spirit of mischieve that animates the Wierd sisters, nor is it is not the passionate and strong willed ambition of Lady Macbeth that we find the mainspring of this tragedy”, RATHER “ in the disproportioned though poetically-tempered soul of MACBETH HIMSELF”.
His lust of power was so eager and inordinate, surpassing every other opposing feeling of honour or principle.
- In regards to seeing Lady Macbeth as the real villain, would we be thinking the same if the character was a male – Banquo for example. Lady Macduff was the archetype or typical representation of the perfect female at that time, whilst Lady Macbeth was the opposite. Lady Macbeth lived in a world where for a woman to desire more than the approved function of a serene household wife –( ie lady macduff ) made a woman unnatural and ultimately evil. Was it this vilification of women that Shakespeare seemed to employ, the contrast of the placid Lady Macduff and the powerful Lady Macbeth that makes the latter out to be evil?. This fear of female power that makes her out to be the villain behind the murder. What if Lady Macbeths character was a male, would we still think the same. Just She is powerful and full of integrity – probably more so then Macbeth, of a nature that women of that time were not expected to be of, engaging attributes only thought to be employed by that of the opposite sex.
