In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth is a very ambitious man, with an equally ambitious wife who will stop at nothing to make sure she gets what she wants. Lady Macbeth,wife of Macbeth, is a very complex character, and over the course of the play, she displays on numerous occasions her ability to put on a strong and masculine face for Macbeth. While a major part of the play is Macbeth’s deep and dark desires to become king, Lady Macbeth also has secret ambitions of her own. Because of these ambitions, she manipulates Macbeth so that she can reach her own personal goals. She is able manipulate Macbeth in that she calls him a coward, she makes herself as ruthless as possible, and she questions his masculinity.
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Whenever the murder comes up, she talks about it with great ruthlessness and acts with plenty of austerity. By doing so, she makes herself very ruthless, and uses this as a way to manipulate her husband. An example of her manipulation by being ruthless is evident in a quick exchange of thoughts between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth right after the murder of King Duncan occurs. Macbeth says “This is a sorry sight”. Lady Macbeth replies “A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight”(2.2.23-24). A normal reaction to murder and death for people is misery, which Macbeth does experience. Lady Macbeth on the other hand doesn’t react this way at all, she doesn’t seem affected one bit which shows that she has made herself very ruthless. Also, because she acts this way, she confuses and manipulates Macbeth, and does this at a time when he is already distraught by everything that has occurred. By doing this, she is clearly a manipulative and selfish person. During the same series of dialogue between Lady Macbeth and her husband, she again displays this tactic of manipulation. Lady Macbeth states that “These deeds must not be thought/after these ways; so, it will make us mad”(2.2.37-38). By telling Macbeth not to even think about his actions, Lady Macbeth basically tells him what he needs to do and doesn’t let him deal …show more content…
Macbeth thinks of himself as a brave and courageous man after fighting so valiantly for the king. Macbeth starts to think of this when planning King Duncan’s murder, and it causes him to develop a little bit of enmity about the murder. Instead of trying to build up his confidence when he really needs it, Lady Macbeth manipulates him by questioning whether he is a real man or not. For example, in an article by Lily B. Campbell, she writes about how Lady Macbeth challenges the masculinity of Macbeth. Campbell states “rather he was then a man, and to be more would be to be more than man”(Campbell 129). Instead of being supportive and trying to build up the confidence of her husband, Lady Macbeth outright states that he is not a man for having second thoughts, and that he would be more of a man for committing the murder. Also, the fact that she would try and insult Macbeth when he thinks of himself so highly, just shows that she is trying manipulate his mind for her own gain. Very shortly before the murder of the king, Macbeth is being irresolute about committing murder, but Lady Macbeth uses drastic measures to get rid of his fears. “When you durst do it, then you were a man,/and to be more than what you were, you would/be so much more the man”(1.7.49-51). Lady Macbeth uses a different style of manipulation here, she simply says that when Macbeth was fighting, he was
Whenever the murder comes up, she talks about it with great ruthlessness and acts with plenty of austerity. By doing so, she makes herself very ruthless, and uses this as a way to manipulate her husband. An example of her manipulation by being ruthless is evident in a quick exchange of thoughts between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth right after the murder of King Duncan occurs. Macbeth says “This is a sorry sight”. Lady Macbeth replies “A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight”(2.2.23-24). A normal reaction to murder and death for people is misery, which Macbeth does experience. Lady Macbeth on the other hand doesn’t react this way at all, she doesn’t seem affected one bit which shows that she has made herself very ruthless. Also, because she acts this way, she confuses and manipulates Macbeth, and does this at a time when he is already distraught by everything that has occurred. By doing this, she is clearly a manipulative and selfish person. During the same series of dialogue between Lady Macbeth and her husband, she again displays this tactic of manipulation. Lady Macbeth states that “These deeds must not be thought/after these ways; so, it will make us mad”(2.2.37-38). By telling Macbeth not to even think about his actions, Lady Macbeth basically tells him what he needs to do and doesn’t let him deal …show more content…
Macbeth thinks of himself as a brave and courageous man after fighting so valiantly for the king. Macbeth starts to think of this when planning King Duncan’s murder, and it causes him to develop a little bit of enmity about the murder. Instead of trying to build up his confidence when he really needs it, Lady Macbeth manipulates him by questioning whether he is a real man or not. For example, in an article by Lily B. Campbell, she writes about how Lady Macbeth challenges the masculinity of Macbeth. Campbell states “rather he was then a man, and to be more would be to be more than man”(Campbell 129). Instead of being supportive and trying to build up the confidence of her husband, Lady Macbeth outright states that he is not a man for having second thoughts, and that he would be more of a man for committing the murder. Also, the fact that she would try and insult Macbeth when he thinks of himself so highly, just shows that she is trying manipulate his mind for her own gain. Very shortly before the murder of the king, Macbeth is being irresolute about committing murder, but Lady Macbeth uses drastic measures to get rid of his fears. “When you durst do it, then you were a man,/and to be more than what you were, you would/be so much more the man”(1.7.49-51). Lady Macbeth uses a different style of manipulation here, she simply says that when Macbeth was fighting, he was