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Lady Macbeth is the penultimate person in the play, especially at the beginning, next to Macbeth himself. And though she does not survive to the end, her influence on Macbeth lasts throughout.
She is most influential person in Macbeths downfall, next to the witches. However, her relationship with him goes far deeper then that of the witches. It is my belief that the witches act only as a trigger to start the events in the play, and that Lady Macbeth herself was the driving force behind Macbeths actions. It is she who he contacts when he meets the witches, and immediately trusts her with the prophecy he is given.
The relationship between Macbeth and his wife is paramount to the understanding of a major theme of this play. At first it would appear to be an equal partnership. However, I believe Lady Macbeth was the dominant of the two character; she could have persuaded Macbeth to do anything if she so wished. And though she does not openly exercise her power over him in public, in private she often uses humiliation and emotional bribery to manipulate Macbeth to execute her will.
The first scene in which we see Lady Macbeth is Act 1 Scene 5, in the first half of which she is reading the letter sent by Macbeth about his meeting with the witches, and about half way through Macbeth, himself enters, having caught up with the messenger who delivered the letter. Immediately we see the nature of her relationship with Macbeth, and have a strong sense of her character. The first thing that you notice of course, is that Lady Macbeth is reading a letter that must have been written mere hours after the events contained happened. It is a letter from Macbeth, containing potentially treasonous information about his meeting with the witches, now, the actual meeting itself could not be considered treason, because that could not be helped, but for Macbeth to even hope for the witches prophecy to become truth would have been very dangerous ground. This is very important; it shows that Macbeth trusts his wife with everything. Another indication of their relationship in the phrase "my dearest partner in greatness". This suggests that Macbeth loves his wife dearly, but not only that, but considers her his equal. At the time this play was based, or even written, women were very much considered inferior. She also perhaps, reveals, a weaker side to her personality when she prays to the dark powers to fill her heart with cruelty, and rid her of feminine kindness. If she were truly evil, then she would not need this extra infusion of darkness. This is an interesting point because it reveals a whole new side to her, which while it isnt a good side; it is a more human side. It proves that she is not a witch, perhaps, as some people think.
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When Macbeth enters, they greet each other warmly, and Lady Macbeth reveals her intentions to murder King Duncan, and persuades Macbeth to go along with the idea, and warns him to greet the King warmly and not give any indication of their plans. It is important how Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth, she uses veiled talk, and double meanings to attempt to sweeten the idea, she never mentions the word murder, rather, and just notes that Duncan will not see the sun rise tomorrow. It is a form of seduction almost, she hides the foul ideas behind pretty words, making it seem as if it is all right. When Macbeth tries to interject, she simply speaks over him, soothing his now troubled mind with a promise that she will handle everything else, as long as he keeps an innocent face.
The next scene is Lady Macbeth welcoming Duncan and the others into her and Macbeths castle, and true to her own advice, she is warm hearted and kind. All the while knowing that she intends to kill him. She is the perfect hostess, and makes several remarks on how much she thanks Duncan for rewarding her house with his presence. This is extremely two-faced of her; she greets him with smiles, while practically holding a dagger. Neither of these scenes give many positive points for Lady Macbeths character, it does indeed seem that she is just incredibly evil.
The banquet scene also reveals a few astonishing facets about her, as well as reinforcing her apparent cruelty and ambition. The first part of scene 7 shows a lengthy monologue of Macbeth weighing up the pros and cons of carrying out his wifes wishes to kill the King. Although Macbeth wants to be King, he is unsure of himself, and it is obvious that he is cracking under the pressure already. Lady Macbeth however, when she sees him in such a state, immediately tries to rectify his weakness, using his pride to blackmail him to her will. It is impressive how she can bend him to her will so easily, to whatever she wished. She again uses veiled words to dupe him, stating that the crown is the "ornament of life" and it would be cowardly not to seek it. While Macbeth is in such an insecure frame of mind, these words infuse him with passion, while he lacks surety; his wife fuels him with pride in his cause. She makes it seem to him that murder is a small price for something so valuable as the crown. Although Macbeth said that he didnt want to kill the King, I believe he was just trying to goad his wife into changing his mind, knowing that she would make everything seem all right, he does not reveal all his doubts to her, just enough to make sure she argues with him. During this she makes several references to masculinity and femininity, retorting that Macbeths cowardice is unmanly, and she herself would kill her own child rather then back down. This is a very powerful image, and further increases her mask of cold ambition, also suggesting more links in Lady Macbeths mind between femininity and kindness, which she seems to think is the truth.
Her manipulation is again, effective. She fills him with pride, and using that, suggests a seemingly easy way of dispatching the King in his sleep, and blaming the murder on the guards. Macbeth applauds her, and quickly psyches himself towards the task, steeling himself to put on a false face for the banquet.
Act begins with Lady Macbeth waiting for Macbeth in the Courtyard of their Castle, after he has killed the King. (It is an interesting point to note, that the audience never actually see the King murdered, just the aftermath of it. This was perhaps to prevent the story being too linear). Lady Macbeth has drugged the guards and has drunk herself, and notes its exhilarating affect. Again, this is a sign of weakness on Lady Macbeths part. She also starts at an owls shriek. However, this behaviour is perfectly understandable, since the position they are in, is one of great peril. They have, of course, just murdered a King, which is punishable by death. So being nervous is natural. There are also other hints indicating their heightened paranoia, but again, Lady Macbeth is always quick to sooth her husbands tattered nerves, no matter what state her own are in. This is peculiar, she seems to gain strength from her husbands weakness, when she sees one as mighty as Macbeth (who is a war hero after all) show fear; she gains the ability to look after him; perhaps a motherly instinct? A famous example of her comforting Macbeth is the line "A little water clears us of this deed". Unfortunately, Macbeth is not so easily soothed this time, he is deeply distraught by what he has done, and though he does not for one second blame his wife, he is now very unsure of himself.
The next day, obviously the other houseguests learn of the murder, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth perform an amazing drama to dupe them, and prove their innocence. Macbeth kills the guards who they planted the evidence on. Thus, removing any ability for them to defend themselves. Now, this does temporarily shift suspicion towards Macbeth, but he gives such an intricate and heartfelt speech, that combined with Lady Macbeth swooning and starting to faint, it is enough to convince the others of their innocence at least for the moment. The murder also frightens Duncans sons; they fear that they might be next; this is probably true, since in order for Macbeth to have a good chance to become King, both of them must be killed. So they flee, and this puts them under suspicion. It could be reasoned that they might have killed their father in order to quicken their ascension to the throne. Again, all of which are complete lies. Such harmonious cooperation when under pressure shows that Lady and Lord Macbeth do indeed work well together, and have an excellent relationship.
Between Act and , Macbeth is crowned King, and one of the first things Macbeth does, is have Banqou assassinated. It is important to note that he does this independently of his wife; his coronation seems to have given him new courage. Lady Macbeth herself however, is doubtful in her new found power; she is troubled by their present state. But, she does tell Macbeth this, who is already worried, almost to the point of suicide by his speech. Instead she comforts him again, advising him not to brood on the past. But he is still deeply concerned. He tells his wife of his plan to kill Banquo, and for a change she asks him what to do. He tells to do as she has told him; to put on a false face, and pretend nothing has happened. Macbeth does however, suggest his discontent about his deceitfulness, but recognises its necessity. This switching of roles due to Macbeths increased confidence and Lady Macbeths lack of is perhaps quite important. It shows that their relationship is changing.
At the banquet, Macbeth talks with one of the murderers, and listens to his report on how successful the assassination was. Throughout their conversation, Macbeth; does not mention the word murder; perhaps a sign that his mind is already denying the existence of his guilt. However, after this conversation, the most obvious example of his state of mind occurs. This is of course the ghost of Banquo. This scene is the last scene in which we see Lord and Lady (now of course King and Queen) Macbeth together, it is the last scene in which Lady Macbeth takes charge of Macbeth, she pleads that the Kings apparent madness is just a disease, and asks the gathered Lords to leave quickly when the madness does not seem to abate. This is extremely quick witted and strong willed of her, she has been thrown into the situation where her life is in peril, and she must make up an excuse for her husbands unexpected lunacy on the spot, before the other guests gain an inkling of the true reason behind Macbeth projected guilt. After this scene it is unclear as to what Lady Macbeth is going through, but Macbeth himself slowly deteriorates into paranoia. Lady Macbeth herself I assume, was developing doubts and was unable to help Macbeth as well as tend to her own guilt. So both members of the partnership slowly sink beneath their own discontent.
The next and last scene in which Lady Macbeth features is the scene that seals the fate of the Macbeths. She is deluded and walking in her sleep, and one of her servants and a doctor are talking about the Queens fading mental condition. She is acting out her own guilt, writing letters of confession, muttering and trying to clean the imagined blood off her hands. She is asleep while doing all is, so it is her sub- conscious alone that is acting. We do not know how she acted while awake, but I suspect that she was practically no different from her normal self. I believe their inabilities to express their guilt to anyone was one of the prime reasons why both of the Macbeths went the way they did. Lady Macbeth is a very strong willed and powerful person, but I suspect inside she was as frail as the rest of us.
Obviously, past this point Lady Macbeth cannot be held responsible for Macbeths actions, because she has no say in them anymore. He locks himself away from the world; too paranoid even to trust his wife, who he has trusted with everything up to then.
Lady Macbeth is an interesting character, the impression she initially gives is that of an evil cold-hearted monster, the prophecy in Macbeths letter only reinforces her own opinion that she and her husband should be the ruling monarchs in Scotland, and I suspect that even without the prophecy she would have pursued her ambition.
She is depicted overall as a thoroughly manipulative and scheming female, who will give anything to fulfil her ambition. Although it can be said that through out the play he exhibits masculine tendencies, I think, this behaviour is more of a reaction to the masculine world in which she was born, with a female body. She feels that in order to fulfil her potential she must rid herself of all that makes her female, which in her eyes, means kindness, love, and guilt. And take on masculine properties like power, and ambition. She is trapped by her own gender and greed. She was of the nobility, which is run entirely by men, women taking on an inferior role within the patriarchal society. Lady Macbeth however, is not willing to conform to this ideal, unless it is for her personal or emotional gain. And since she is unable to take power herself, she uses her husband as a vehicle for her ambitions. I do not think she finds the actual power itself that attractive, as Macbeth does, but feels it her goal to make sure she is more powerful then anyone else, she does not want to submit in a kind feminine way to anothers dominance. So, to fulfil this need she does everything she can, to fill her own picture of how she is meant to be within herself. She is, after all, a very human character; she shows weakness on at least three occasions, the third one being very important, because she goes insane. This is very obvious indication of her insecurity, and it is an interesting point to debate, that perhaps she was mentally ill throughout the play. Medical science does not recognise the existence of good or evil, and from a medical point of view, Lady Macbeth was simply a sick person, who, because of her mental condition, was bent on ambition. The play does not show what emotions she was going through, as it does with Macbeth, perhaps because she did not show them, and only experienced the hallucinations just before her death, as her conscience caught up with her, and she succumbed to her guilt, went insane, and killed herself.
The scene in which she dies has little importance to the subsequent ones; Shakespeare perhaps only inserted it to tie up loose ends within the plot. It does however, add resolve to Macbeth to accept his fate, and he gives a very touching speech on the futility of life. I think that at that point, he realises what he has done, and though he is too stubborn to admit the wrong he has done, he is resigned to the consequences. And though Macbeth does not mourn her death a great deal, he was under attack at the time, and since Macbeths coronation, it does seem that Lady Macbeth is fazed out of the play, perhaps an indication that they were growing apart, into their own separate, paranoid worlds, filled with remorse and cloaked daggers. It is a shame, because Macbeths reclusion from her may have contributed to her madness. I believe that she was not able to cope on her own, and needed to support Macbeth to prevent herself from working out her own guilt. They both depended on each other, when Lady Macbeth died Macbeth immediately resigned himself to his fate, and Lady Macbeth died because she had lost mental contact with the outside world. It is true that Lady Macbeth was probably the reason why Macbeths great flaw, his ambition, became his downfall. But she had a mental illness, and she was an ambitious woman trapped in a patriarchal society, so I do not believe she was evil.
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