Lady Macbeth: A Character Analysis

Lady Macbeth, in the time of Shakespeare, would have been considered “unnatural” for the simple fact in a few of her lines should constantly defies all that her husband expresses, and in doing so questioned the very fiber of his manhood. Women of the time, some scholars would say, were submissive and quiet, very subdued in what it was that their husbands were doing, in a sense catering to their every whim. However, this critique will express the ambition and the inevitability of being consumed by that ambition, and leading to death, murder and double-damnation.

This ambition is incurred when Lady Macbeth first receives the letter from Macbeth telling of his promotion to Thane of Cawdor Lady Macbeth knows just how ambitious Macbeth is to become king and we can infer from the passage about Macbeth being full of “th’ milk of human kindness” to take the steps necessary to become king” (Act 1, Scene 5) that Lady Macbeth is sure she is going to have to come up with a way in which to allow Macbeth secession to the crownAs she awaits her husband’s arrival, she delivers a famous speech in which she begs, “you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty” (Act 1, Scene 5.) This is her ambition shining through, which will become her downfall later on in the play.

When Duncan arrives wand says he will depart tomorrow, Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth that King Duncan will never see tomorrow. Her ambition for power and position is really becoming prevalent at this point, and when Macbeth is hesitant about killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth outraged and furious, says ” when you durst do it, then you were a man”(Act 1, Scene 7.)

MACB: “If we should fail?”LADY M: “We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place and we’ll not fail” (Act 1, Scene 7.)The audience at this point is really frightened because for a woman to say something like that to her husband was just unheard of, and Lady Macbeth is considered one of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters because she is very ambitious and very ruthless at the same time.

In the famous murder scene, at which point Lady Macbeth is fearful that someone might hear what Macbeth is doing, hears “an owl shriek that fatal bellman” (Act 2, Scene 2,) which is the universal symbol of death. I believe Lady Macbeth, though not at this point, will fall pray to a massive amount of guilt and literally her madness rages through her inevitably causing her death.

Jumping ahead in time upon entering into Act 5, we are delving deeper into the collective conscience of Lady Macbeth. Aside from Lady Macbeth trying to defy her husband, another problem seems to arise because of her ambitious character; she is subjected to horrible nightmares and visions that only extrapolate her underlying guilt and madness for executing her plan to kill Duncan.

However, the burden that Lady Macbeth has endured thus far has become almost too great for her and her mental and physical condition deteriorates. The doctor and the gentlewoman in the room observe Lady Macbeth sleepwalking, madly trying to cleanse her hands of the blood of Duncan and still in her sleep:

“Out, damned spot! Out. I say! One, two: why then “tis time to do”t. Hell is murky, Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeared? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call out power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him” (Act V, Scene 1,)basically admitting to the killing of Duncan.

Double-damnation sets in because she has just admitted to murder, but what she does later on in the play, makes it double.”Here’s the smell of blood still: all the perfumes in Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh! (Act V, Scene 1,)

further reiterating the murder. The line that adds so much closure to this play is the following line,”To bed, to bed; there’s a knocking at the gate; come, come, give me your hand; what’s done cannot be undone; to bed, to bed, to bed” (Act V, Scene 1,) basically saying they can’t bring Duncan back from the dead so they need to hide and act surprised when they are told the news of Duncan’s death.Lady Macbeth’s condition worsens as the play nears its end and as the battle ensues outside of Dunsinane, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt and madness rises to the surface, finally by unspecified means, Lady Macbeth commits suicide.

The theory of double-damnation imbues itself from the Bible, a very Christian reference of “thou shalt not kill.” Killing someone was considered an abomination, then turning around and killing yourself is a direct defiance of God and is punishable by eternal damnation in hell, or so they thought. Lady Macbeth’s situation perpetuates itself in the form of guilt that be from the organized killing of Duncan and maybe even guilt of killing herself.

Though not in the time period of today, many women would praise Lady Macbeth for standing up for what she believes in and taking back the control that her husband once had over her, however that would be considered unnatural in the time of Macbeth.

Many would say that Lady Macbeth killing herself because she could no longer bear the torments that were suppressed in her conscience. Perhaps Lady Macbeth thought that suppressing her conscience for the deed at hand would be enough, as to not think about it and later the thought of the deed would dissipate, and leave her mind forever, or it could be signaling to us her inability to cope with the legacy of crimes yet to come, all of which are left up to interpretation.

Through literal interpretation, once could call Lady Macbeth the woman of the century for the mere fact that the women of this time use female methods of achieving power which involved manipulation to further their supposedly male ambitions. Women, the play implies, can be as ambitious and cruel as men, yet social constraints deny them the means to pursue these ambitions on their own.

Finally because of all the reasons listed above I conclude without a shadow of a doubt that Lady Macbeth would be considered a hero in today’s society, because of those who think this was one of the first attempts at women’s rights even in Shakespeare’s time.