English literature Lady Macbeth

• 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.
• 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

  Her main role in the play is 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. For example, the male characters see she is a woman so assume she would not get involved with violence, these miscalculations of her character allow her to get away with a lot.
• 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.
• 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. Of course, she underestimates the power of her own remorse.
• 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. It looks like Macbeth is the murderer, but in reality she is.
• Lady Macbeth's manipulation of appearances


  • The connection between her and the Witches. In fact, like the Witches, her 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.
• Lady Macbeth isn't even fully honest to her husband. Only we, the audience, know the extent of her plots and motivations. By allowing us to hear her soliloquies, Shakespeare emphasises the divide between appearances and reality and how extreme her deceit really is. Other characters on stage are oblivious of who she really is, but we know the dark truth. Moreover, 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.
• Femme Fatales


  • Common traits include heightened sexuality and a rejection of motherhood. This was seen as particularly threatening because by rejecting motherhood, a femme fatale is denying a man his immortality and ability to leave a legacy, ultimately leading to the destruction of all men.
• 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. More so than warning of the dangers of unrestrained female sexuality, though, Shakespeare seems to be demonstrating the dangers of unrestrained female ambition and power.
• 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.
• Eve, in the story of the Garden of Eden


  • When the world was first created by God, Adam and Eve lived with Him in the Garden of Eden. They were told not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and for a while they obeyed and lived in harmony. However, Satan came to the Garden disguised in the form of a serpent: he tempted Eve into eating the Forbidden Fruit. After she ate it, she convinced her husband, Adam, to do the same. They lost their innocence, and when God found out, he expelled them from the Garden.
• 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.
• 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. Any education she was offered was geared towards these two occupations: women were taught to cook and clean, and for the upper classes, they might be taught to dance or embroider, all in the hopes of attracting a man. Men were entitled to divorce or disown their wives at any time if they felt she had dishonoured them, disobeyed them, or brought shame to their reputation.
• 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.
• Lady Macbeth's role in Macbeth's perception of his own gender


  • 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


  • 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.
• Shakespeare suggests through her character that giving women power is dangerous and unnatural. It also appears that the only way for a woman to be so brutal and strong is to be evil and supernatural, which is why she prays to evil spirits. Her character allows Shakespeare to examine gender roles, marital relations, and the division of power in his society.
• Lady Macbeth's characteristics


  • Ambitious: Her ambition is much more intense and violent than Macbeth's. She doesn't hesitate or deliberate: immediately she decides to pursue the promise of Macbeth's kingship. She craves power and, later, protection. Her ambition is infectious. How authentic or committed Lady Macbeth's ambition is appears unclear. She speaks in a very violent, brutal fashion, but never acts on these impulses. Her words aren't supported by her actions. Plus, she admits that she can't bear looking at Duncan's corpse because he resembles her father.
• Lady Macbeth's characteristics

  • Supernatural: There's a lot of evidence for Lady Macbeth being the fourth Witch (excluding Hecate), but unlike the three Macbeth meets on the heath, Lady Macbeth is an instrument of the supernatural forces, not a recipient of their prophecies.
• After Duncan's murder, Lady Macbeth loses a lot of her confidence. Her ambition disappears, and she is fixated on her paranoia
• Lady Macbeth doesn't care for morality and natural order. She doesn't care for other people: they're just obstacles to her goal
• Lady Macbeth's speech


  Rhyming couplets while persuading Macbeth, imitating the Witches' spells and trickery
• Lady Macbeth wants to "pour [her] spirits in [his] ear", an allusion to demonic possession
• Guilt and remorse are the undoing of Lady Macbeth, leading her to her death
• Lady Macbeth never refers explicitly to the murder or to blood: she uses euphemisms, such as "deed" and "great business"
• As we enter Act 3, cracks start to appear in Lady Macbeth's calm. She's still unaffected by guilt, but she's paranoid and anxious
• Act 5 Lady Macbeth

  Lady Macbeth's speech is incoherent, frantic, and continuous, as her internal monologue is said aloud
• A case of situational irony is the way she worries about being unable to wash the blood from her hands: earlier, she thought a "little water" would clear her of guilt, but now she learns this isn't true
• Lady Macbeth is forgotten until the last scene of the play, where she is referred to not by name, but by the epithet "fiend-like queen"
• Macbeth


  • Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are incredibly ambitious and power-hungry
  • Most of what we see of their marriage is their plotting and conspiring
  • Both are weakened by guilt and paranoia as the plot develops, and by the end have isolated themselves from each other
  • The main difference between them is their confidence: Lady Macbeth is determined, ruthless, strong-willed, and self-assured, whereas Macbeth is uncertain, weak-willed, and hesitant
  • The power dynamic between them switches. Initially, Lady Macbeth holds the power in their relationship, despite being in an inferior position according to society. She relies on Macbeth for power and status, but controls Macbeth like he's her own puppet. Eventually, Macbeth breaks away from her, plotting without her and keeping secrets
• Pour my spirits in thine ear


  Evokes demonic possession, showing how Lady Macbeth wants to overpower Macbeth with her own villainy
• Unsex me


  Lady Macbeth is asking to be rid of the parts that make her a woman, to escape the burdens and weaknesses of morality and conscience