Lady Macbeth

• Lady Macbeth


  Symbolises appearances vs reality
• Lady Macbeth is the wife of a Thane, so her husband owns land given to him by the king. She can't possess any land herself, but she lives in luxury and has a good reputation. It's possible that she had children at one point, but at the time of the play she's childless and we don't see any of her family.
• Motivation


  One argument is that, traditionally, wives had to be supportive of their husbands' careers and aspirations. By pushing Macbeth to be king, Lady Macbeth could be fulfilling her role as the devoted, helpful wife. It's also a demonstration of her love for Macbeth, as she wants him to succeed. Alternatively, her motivation is her own ambitions and goals. Her position as a woman in society means her own career prospects are limited, so the only way to move up the social ladder is for Macbeth to. She wants to be queen and reap the benefits of Macbeth's successes. Furthermore, becoming queen could be compensation for her lost children. If we do conclude that she had children but they died in infancy, then Lady Macbeth has lost her 'purpose' as a woman.
• Appearances vs Reality


  • One of Shakespeare's resounding messages in the play of 'Macbeth' is that nothing is as it seems. Appearances cannot be trusted as they rarely match up with reality. One of the most significant, and destructive, examples of this is the character of Lady Macbeth.
• Lady Macbeth's main role

  To shake things up and cause havoc, meaning her aim is to fool and manipulate as many people as possible with her deceitful ways. She benefits hugely from the divide between appearances and reality. Furthermore, she relies on people's prejudices and assumptions to get away with her actions.
• Feminine wiles


  Some would argue she uses her feminine wiles to persuade Macbeth to kill for her: either way, the social conventions surrounding gender come to her advantage.
• Facade


  Something she tells Macbeth over and over is to make sure he puts on a facade for other people. She believes that as long as they can maintain their deceitful masks, they will get away with murder and so much more.
• Transferring desires and plans

  Another way Lady Macbeth exploits appearances is by transferring her desires and plans into Macbeth. She is the villain kept behind the scenes. Though Macbeth is the one acting and killing, he is fulfilling Lady Macbeth's wishes. It is as if she has possessed him, or transformed herself into him through persuasion.
• Gender identity


  Lady Macbeth's gender identity is ambiguous. On the outside, she looks feminine, but if her spells were successful, then she is wombless and full of gall on the inside.
• Soliloquies


  By allowing us to hear her soliloquies, Shakespeare emphasises the divide between appearances and reality and how extreme her deceit really is.
• Fragmented self


  As the plot develops, Lady Macbeth's own sense of self deteriorates. Her suffering, torment, and hallucinations could all be side effects of her fragmented self. She has manipulated her identity so much that she is no one at all.
• Femme Fatales


  • Otherwise known as the maneater or vamp, this is a common archetype for female characters in literature and art. The term refers to a woman who is mysterious and seductive, using her charm to ensnare men and lead them into dangerous or deadly situations. Typically, femme fatales are villains and create a sense of unease for other characters and the audience. Common traits include heightened sexuality and a rejection of motherhood.
• Shakespeare's use of the femme fatale archetype


  Shakespeare uses these aspects of the femme fatale archetype in the character of Lady Macbeth. She threatens to emasculate Macbeth, and uses her power over him as his wife to get her own way. Some productions of 'Macbeth' even show Lady Macbeth using sexuality and seduction to explicitly manipulate her husband. All of this is for her own ulterior motives, and clearly she drives Macbeth to his own death.
• The Fall


  • The theme of 'The Fall', particularly of man, is used a lot in literature, and is linked to the concept of the tragic hero. The Fall is an archetype where a character descends from a higher to a lower state, often because something happens to them that means they lose their innocence and happiness. Typically, a woman is responsible for the fall of an honourable man.
• Parallels between Lady Macbeth's story, the archetype of 'The Fall', and the Biblical tale of the Garden of Eden


  There are many parallels between Lady Macbeth's story, the archetype of 'The Fall', and the Biblical tale of the Garden of Eden. You could even say there are parallels between how Eve was historically viewed as the cause of mankind's Fall, and the way Lady Macbeth's character has been interpreted as being the root of Macbeth's evil.
• Arthurian Legend


  • Arthurian Legend refers to the legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. These stories were incredibly popular, and were seen as examples for ideal kingship and chivalry. King Arthur was brave, noble, kind, and loving. His knights, too, were chivalrous, adventurous, and determined to protect their kingdom. Lady Macbeth takes a similar role to Morgan le Fay: she is the lover of the story's main hero, but she is also his downfall.
• Marriage and Motherhood


  • In the Jacobean Era, women had no legal rights in society, and this meant that when they married, they became the property of their husbands. Their role was to have children and run the household. Domestic abuse, and even domestic murder, was extremely common. Maternal mortality (how common it was for a woman to die from pregnancy, childbirth, or the period after birth) was also extremely high. A woman's destiny was to get married and have children.
• Lady Macbeth's relationship with marriage and motherhood


  Within her marriage, she is a dominant figure with her own clear identity and purpose. Outside of her marriage, she is viewed only as Macbeth's wife and a good host. Her relationship with motherhood is much more complicated. It seems like, at some point, she had children, but they must have died, as there are no signs of children when the play unfolds. She tries to banish all her reproductive organs from her body, rejecting the role of mother altogether.
• Gender


  • Whether Shakespeare intends to show the perils of femininity or of androgyny through Lady Macbeth depends on how successful you think her prayers to the spirits were. If we are to believe she was successful in unsexing herself, then her villainy and disturbing personality suggest that gender nonconformity is dangerous. By losing her femininine identity, she loses her humanity. Alternatively, if we still view her as a female character, her acts of manipulation and seduction portray women as deceitful, wicked beings.
• Macbeth's perception of masculinity


  Her highly critical attacks on his manhood, and her perception of masculinity as violent, drives Macbeth to murder and tyranny. This adds to Shakespeare's exploration of manliness.
• Lady Macbeth as an unconventional female character


  • Lady Macbeth is a very unconventional female character by traditional and Jacobean standards. She is given multiple soliloquies - something that usually only male characters were allowed. When Shakespeare first introduces her to us, she has the dominant role in her marriage, which would have been unheard of. Rather than appearing weak or idiotic, she is smart, cunning, and bloodthirsty, and embraces the occult and villainy in order to achieve her goal. She is so powerful that a Jacobean audience would view her as unnatural, possibly even supernatural.