How Has Lady Macbeth Changed Over The Years

As one of Shakespeare’s most reproduced plays, people have been diving into the characters of Macbeth and, Lady Macbeth for years. Which brings into question, what is it about their characters that make them so memorable? William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” is a play where the main character (Macbeth) hears a prophecy from three witches that tell him one day he will be king. This eventually leads him to kill the king to receive the crown but, what is not realized is how much of an effect his wife has on his decision. Throughout the play, the reader views Lady Macbeth as the proactive leader and, Macbeth as the timid follower yet, as the play continues it becomes apparent that they switch roles.

Lady Macbeth is the brains behind this operation …show more content…
He would no longer feel paranoid and, on edge but, because Fleance got away these thoughts are still prominent to him. Except now, Fleance knows what happened and, Macbeth is afraid that everyone will find out it was him who orchestrated the attack. This commences Macbeth fall into insanity, he begins to distant himself more and, more from Lady Macbeth as they grow apart. Moreover; once Macbeth goes to visit the witches again they tell him “Beware Macduff.” He decides that he must kill “His wife, his babes and all unfortunate souls.” This is a decision that Macbeth makes without even mentioning it to Lady Macbeth. She is completely left out of anything he decides now and, this is when their roles are officially completely switched. Macbeth has fully become the leader in their relationship but, unlike Lady Macbeth, he tells her nothing of what he decides to do. Lady Macbeth is nothing more than the timid follower now, a completely different character then at the beginning of the play. This leads Lady Macbeth down her own path of insanity as she starts breaking down mentally, eventually killing herself. All of which happens without Macbeth realizing