“Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,
Your hand, your tongue: look like th’ innocent flower,
But be the serpent under ‘t.”
“ … To alter favor is ever to fear.
Leave all the rest to me.”
(I.V.65-68, 74)
It is in Scene VI that we witness Lady Macbeth’s ability to control her feelings and emotions. Duncan, upon entering Macbeth’s castle, notes that their castle “hath a pleasant seat”. Lady Macbeth shows her self-control by appealing to Duncan with the following words:
“All our services
In every point twice done, and then done double.”
(I.VI.15)
She is devious because she is planning to convince Macbeth into murdering Duncan, yet she is openly friendly towards her prey.
In Scene VII, we see Lady Macbeth change into a slightly obsessed woman with a violent persona. Macbeth has decided to “proceed no further in this business” and Lady Macbeth reacts violently to this development, showering Macbeth with scathing remarks (“Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?”). She also questions Macbeth’s bravery, openly taking advantage of her fragile husband’s self-esteem and confidence with the words:
“And live a coward in thine own esteem
Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’ ”
(I.VII.43)
When these words do nothing to Macbeth’s resolve Lady Macbeth resorts to a more dramatic analogy:
“ I have given suck, and know
How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:
O would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless
gums,
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as
you
Have done to this.”
(I.VII.54-59)
Lady Macbeth wins this war of the words, and once again it demonstrates how Shakespeare has developed her character from a woman with simple-minded plans and dreams to a woman who believes she has the capability to commit the act she speaks of so indifferently. Lady Macbeth imagines that she has the ability to be a remorseless and determined villain, but she isn’t anything of the like in reality. She knows Macbeth is a strong person, deep within, and she feels as though she must seem stronger to convince Macbeth to act out this terrible crime.
After the details of the regicide have been clarified, and after the crime itself, Lady Macbeth changes her technique with Macbeth from shock and intimidation to restraint. She states that he “must leave this”, which appears to calming and unworried. Lady Macbeth’s control over Macbeth has waned, and over herself, her control is dwindling as each second passes. The fire she once had, which drove Macbeth forward, is now no more than a minute spark. She asks Macbeth, “what’s to be done?”, which is a drastic, indeed dramatic change in control. Lady Macbeth is now in awe of Macbeth, a sharp contrast to when Macbeth was in awe of Lady Macbeth’s infanticide analogy.
We don’t hear much from Lady Macbeth for the duration of the rest of the play. She is present at the feast Macbeth holds after Banquo is murdered, but makes no significant comments other than to attempt to excuse Macbeth’s outbursts at the sight of Banquo’s ghost.
The next time Lady Macbeth appears is in Act V Scene I. However, she has undergone a severe transformation. Gone is the woman who had control over Macbeth. Gone is the woman who hid her true emotions and feelings. In her place now exists a woman who is wrought with guilt over the events that have occurred.
Shakespeare uses sleepwalking as the vehicle through which Lady Macbeth’s conscience, and her morals, are conveyed to the audience. As Lady Macbeth sleepwalks, she carries a taper. I believe Shakespeare has used a taper to show that Lady Macbeth is afraid of evil forces; the light is symbolically warding away evil spirits. Lady Macbeth carries this symbolic talisman so as to not be affected by supernatural forces, as Macbeth was. There are other actions that enforce the concept of Lady Macbeth’s guilt. For example, the constant rubbing of the hands can be equated to her trying to wash the blood of Duncan, Banquo, and Lady Macduff off her hands; this is made more obvious by the following quotation:
“The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is
she now? What, will these hands ne’er be
clean?”
(V.I.145-146)
Lady Macbeth feels engulfed in agony and sorrow. She is helpless. The thought of the evil committed which at first she sought after and accepted was now a plague that was infecting her mind, sending her to the brink of insanity.
In conclusion, Lady Macbeth’s character gradually disintegrates through a false portrayal of unyielding strength, and an unsteady control of her husband. Lady Macbeth’s deterioration is not only a result of her unwise decisions and actions; many other factors played a role in the tragedy of this character’s morale. Such factors include her desire for an intimidating personality resulted in the destruction of her morals and in the end, the brutal realisation of her true weaknesses; the couple’s ambition, although obsession is a characteristic of human nature. In addition to her gift of harsh control over Macbeth resulted in a perilous journey for a shared goal and the demise of not only herself but also her husband.
It is in Act V Scene V that Macbeth is informed of Lady Macbeth’s suicide, which was almost certainly a result of these many factors. Lady Macbeth’s suicide prompts Macbeth to reflect on his own existence. Macbeth’s general outlook proved to be a brief contemplation on the meaninglessness of human actions:
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.”
(V.V.19-28)
Macbeth realises everything he strove for in life was in vain; Lady Macbeth’s suicide seems more like an escape from their worthless life. Perhaps if Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were happy with who they were, they would not have allowed power, ambition, corruption, and supernatural forces affect their chances at happiness.
Written by Cameron Dormer, 11B59, on Thursday, February 28, 2002.
Approximately 1300 words.