Lady Macbeth plays the crucial role of the overly criticized wife to the notorious Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. She is portrayed as inimical and deceiving, making it effortless for readers and Shakespeare himself to loathe her. However, she is not as villainous as Shakespeare illustrates her to be throughout the play, and she is certainly not completely estranged from all modern women. She demonstrates strength, ambition, and deceit for the sake of her husband and his image, and remains his “partner in greatness” despite his new affair with royalty. Simultaneous to keeping her tenacious persona intact, she carries the burden of guilt and misery until her very own tragic downfall transpires. Lady Macbeth, the main
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The stereotype of her character is affiliated with crude adjectives and misjudged behavior, a very harsh review of a woman who shares similar characteristics with twenty-first century women. It is true that Lady Macbeth is not the manifestation of a flawless wife, woman, or future queen, however, she is not necessarily “evil”. Shakespeare creates her to be so vile that no reader, critic, or even Shakespeare himself can enjoy her. Jameson explains how Shakespeare did not focus on the positive attributes that Lady Macbeth possesses, “I do not deny that he has represented in Lady Macbeth a woman ‘naturally cruel’, ‘invariably savage’, or endued with ‘pure demonic fitness’...” (Jameson, 8). Instead of presenting Lady Macbeth as a woman who is blind with love for Macbeth, so much so that she would risk anything for him, similar to the lovestruck Juliet Capulet, Shakespeare created her to appear wicked and unforgiving (Jameson, …show more content…
Throughout Macbeth, Lady Macbeth constantly battles her own mind, resembling her very own mental Civil War (Moulton, 2). This is her first example of strength. Macbeth believes that strength is shown through the unspeakable and the most daring of actions, such as murdering a devoted king, an innocent wife and child, his best friend, or even his best friend’s son. The course of his unforgivable and gruesome actions lead to his tragic downfall and his inevitable death. In contrast, Lady Macbeth maintains a different kind of strength known as the power of influence. Driven by enthusiasm for her husband’s future, she is able to change Macbeth’s mind with just a few words when discussing the murder of King Duncan. (Empson, 8). This strength is rare in women of her time, which makes her an extraordinary character. She acts out for her husband, lies for him, and does not once mention herself or the possible riches she will have in her first soliloquy; she only mentions the outcomes for Macbeth’s future (Jameson, 5). She dreams of Macbeth taking the crown, but never wanted the extreme measures that Macbeth took after the murder of the king. Lady Macbeth had no intention of destroying so many families, nor did she only convince Macbeth to murder Duncan for her own wealth. If she had only wanted Macbeth to receive the prestigious title for her own benefit, she would have fantasized about
The stereotype of her character is affiliated with crude adjectives and misjudged behavior, a very harsh review of a woman who shares similar characteristics with twenty-first century women. It is true that Lady Macbeth is not the manifestation of a flawless wife, woman, or future queen, however, she is not necessarily “evil”. Shakespeare creates her to be so vile that no reader, critic, or even Shakespeare himself can enjoy her. Jameson explains how Shakespeare did not focus on the positive attributes that Lady Macbeth possesses, “I do not deny that he has represented in Lady Macbeth a woman ‘naturally cruel’, ‘invariably savage’, or endued with ‘pure demonic fitness’...” (Jameson, 8). Instead of presenting Lady Macbeth as a woman who is blind with love for Macbeth, so much so that she would risk anything for him, similar to the lovestruck Juliet Capulet, Shakespeare created her to appear wicked and unforgiving (Jameson, …show more content…
Throughout Macbeth, Lady Macbeth constantly battles her own mind, resembling her very own mental Civil War (Moulton, 2). This is her first example of strength. Macbeth believes that strength is shown through the unspeakable and the most daring of actions, such as murdering a devoted king, an innocent wife and child, his best friend, or even his best friend’s son. The course of his unforgivable and gruesome actions lead to his tragic downfall and his inevitable death. In contrast, Lady Macbeth maintains a different kind of strength known as the power of influence. Driven by enthusiasm for her husband’s future, she is able to change Macbeth’s mind with just a few words when discussing the murder of King Duncan. (Empson, 8). This strength is rare in women of her time, which makes her an extraordinary character. She acts out for her husband, lies for him, and does not once mention herself or the possible riches she will have in her first soliloquy; she only mentions the outcomes for Macbeth’s future (Jameson, 5). She dreams of Macbeth taking the crown, but never wanted the extreme measures that Macbeth took after the murder of the king. Lady Macbeth had no intention of destroying so many families, nor did she only convince Macbeth to murder Duncan for her own wealth. If she had only wanted Macbeth to receive the prestigious title for her own benefit, she would have fantasized about