Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a powerful character whose traits go against the stereotypes of a Jacobean woman. Her soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 5 included dark imagery such as “dunnest smoke of hell” and “take my milk for gall”. The use of dark imagery emphasizes lady Macbeth‘s violent behavior. The imperative “come you spirits” suggests that Lady Macbeth is commanding and powerful. Lady Macbeth views femininity as a weakness and she wants to be stripped of it. Therefore, she commands the spirits “unsex” her so that she‘ll be uncompromising and ruthless. Lady Macbeth’s imperative and commanding choice of words perhaps shocked the audience since women are inferior to men in the Jacobean society. Her desire to have masculine power would add to the shock and disbelief of the audience. She illustrates her ambition with gruesome imagery of dashing a smiling baby against the wall.
The use of dynamic verbs “plucked” and “dashed”, suggesting that she is ruthless and would do anything to achieve her goals which further adds to the shock of the audience as women at the time were expected to behave maternally. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth’s emasculating nature is displayed when she worries that Macbeth is “full o’the milk of human kindness”. In Jacobean society, women are expected to behave maternally and milk has connotations of innocence, purity, and kindness. All of which Lady Macbeth views as a weakness. Her tenacity is revealed when she aggressively insults Macbeth‘s masculinity by implying that he is a coward and his code of honor when he refused to kill King Duncan. She also implies that he is sick and weak, further humiliating Macbeth.
Thus, leaving Macbeth with no choice but to kill King Duncan. After Macbeth kills Duncan, she appears to have no regrets about committing regicide Instead, she is more focused on covering the crime She commands Macbeth to “wash this filthy witness from your(his) hand”. When Macbeth starts to panic, she reminded him that the blame will be put on the guards, asserting her control over the situation, She alludes to holy water by saying “A little water clears us of this deed”. Thus she believes that holy water can “clear” her sins. Alternatively, this also conveys her lack of conscience. When Macbeth starts to arouse suspicion, she “faints” to divert attention, using her femininity to her advantage.
In Act 3 scene 2, Her character starts to change as she started getting paranoid. Lady Macbeth starts to lose her violent nature and starts to feel uneasy “You must leave this”. She asked Macbeth, “Is Banquo gone from court?” which suggests that Lady Macbeth is insecure because she fears that Banquo knows too much and fears that he might expose her and Macbeth. She lost her control over Macbeth when he refused to listen to her and “What‘s to be done?” suggests that she is unsure about their next move and she asks Macbeth for help Macbeth distances himself from his wife when she refused to explain his plot to kill Banquo. “Nought’s had, all’s spent where our desire is got without content” implies that her downfall was foreshadowed, and like Macbeth, her ambition ultimately led her to her demise. ln Act 3 scene 4, she illustrates deception by inviting the guests to the banquet to avoid suspicion and to deceive the guests. When Macbeth sees Banquo‘s ghost and starts to go insane, she covers for him, “This is the very painting of your fear” and like in Act 1 she questions his masculinity “Are you a man?”
This is suggesting that Lady Macbeth is in control of the situation and is aware of the high stakes. After the banquet, when Macbeth refuses to tell his plan to Lady Macbeth. This illustrates her powerful status deteriorating as Macbeth distances himself away from her and refuses to listen to her. Her powerful status starts to deteriorate as the play progresses because Macbeth starts to take control Her absence in Act 4 indicates that the distance between her and Macbeth is growing. Her absence removes her strength and relegates her to the traditional female role. Lastly, in Act 5 scene 1, she went from being an ambitious and powerful woman to a scared, paranoid and even mental woman, Like Macbeth in Act 3, she is haunted by the blood of her victims and tortured by her conscience, This might be due to her relationship with Macbeth being slowly ripped apart. Lady Macbeth needs Macbeth to appear powerful and strong and when she lost control over Macbeth and he excludes her. she starts to fall apart. “Out, damned spot! out, I say” links back when after Macbeth kills King Duncan, she said, “A little water clears us of this deed”, now she sees that blood in her conscience and can‘t get rid of it.
This further amplifies her guilt-stricken state. In the end, she commits suicide because she cannot bear the guilt. Alternatively, this suggests that she is still trying to retain some control by taking her own life. However, her death off-stage conveys her lack of agency, power, and strength and she will now go to hell because of her sins. In conclusion, Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a strong and powerful character whose hamartia (“vaulting ambition”) results in her downfall as she became guilt-stricken and paranoid to the extent where she can’t bear the torment of guilt and commits suicide She relied on Macbeth to appear strong and powerful, but when he distances himself away from her, she starts to lose her powerful status and deteriorate, Lady Macbeth is a complex and mysterious character whose personality changes throughout the play due to her duplicitous nature and leaves the audience with many questions.
