The character of Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth has been referred to as “the fourth witch”. “The fiend-like
queen” is the epithet used by Malcolm to refer to her. It is she who
chastises Macbeth by the valour of her tongue. She goads him overcome
his hesitations and drives him to commit the murder of Duncan. She is
ruthless in the pursuit of her goal. Duncan would never have been
murdered, if Lady Macbeth had no iron will and determination. She calls
upon the powers of evil to unsex her and to take away from her all
womanly charity and kindliness and to fill her from top to bottom with
direst cruelty. But in the end it becomes clear that she is a woman with
common feminine weakness.
Lady Macbeth is ambitious not for herself but for her husband. She
considers him to be worthy of becoming the king of Scotland. The
witches have prophesied the crown for Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is
determined that he would have the crown. She says: “Glamis thou art
and Cawdor/ And shalt be “What thou art promised”. Nothing deflects
her from her purpose. She knows that her husband is infirm of
purpose. To her there is no separation between the will and the deed.
By sheer force of her will, she impels him to the deed. Her passionate
courage makes him admire her in the following words:
“Bring forth men-children only
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males”
At her instigation, Macbeth murders the old king. But her essential
feminine nature is noticeable from the very beginning. It is revealed in
her famous words: “Had he not resembled/My father as he slept, I had
done it”. Again her womanly feeling is revealed when she says: “I have
given suck, and I know How tender it is to love the babe that milks me”
Lady Macbeth is full of self
-
control and resourcefulness. She
takes upon herself the
direction of affairs and arranges everything for the easy execution of the
deed. She
maintains self
Lady Macbeth has been referred to as “the fourth witch”. “The fiend-like
queen” is the epithet used by Malcolm to refer to her. It is she who
chastises Macbeth by the valour of her tongue. She goads him overcome
his hesitations and drives him to commit the murder of Duncan. She is
ruthless in the pursuit of her goal. Duncan would never have been
murdered, if Lady Macbeth had no iron will and determination. She calls
upon the powers of evil to unsex her and to take away from her all
womanly charity and kindliness and to fill her from top to bottom with
direst cruelty. But in the end it becomes clear that she is a woman with
common feminine weakness.
Lady Macbeth is ambitious not for herself but for her husband. She
considers him to be worthy of becoming the king of Scotland. The
witches have prophesied the crown for Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is
determined that he would have the crown. She says: “Glamis thou art
and Cawdor/ And shalt be “What thou art promised”. Nothing deflects
her from her purpose. She knows that her husband is infirm of
purpose. To her there is no separation between the will and the deed.
By sheer force of her will, she impels him to the deed. Her passionate
courage makes him admire her in the following words:
“Bring forth men-children only
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males”
At her instigation, Macbeth murders the old king. But her essential
feminine nature is noticeable from the very beginning. It is revealed in
her famous words: “Had he not resembled/My father as he slept, I had
done it”. Again her womanly feeling is revealed when she says: “I have
given suck, and I know How tender it is to love the babe that milks me”
Lady Macbeth is full of self
-
control and resourcefulness. She
takes upon herself the
direction of affairs and arranges everything for the easy execution of the
deed. She
maintains self
