The Relationship Between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
What exactly was the driving force in Macbeth? Most would argue that it is the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. With conflicting personalities, they are the main characters in Macbeth through which the reader can get a better understanding of the story. The weak, yet ambitious, Macbeth and the ruthless, yet sympathetic Lady Macbeth convey a unique relationship through their twisted, deadly plots and their ambitious similarities that ultimately result in their own downfall.
Macbeth plays the role of a weak, but also ambitious man throughout the play. Macbeth’s biggest weakness is fear. We first experience Macbeth’s weakness through his fear of killing Duncan, when he timidly asks …show more content…
Lady Macbeth first expresses her ruthlessness when she gives her “Unsex me now” (Swisher) speech. By calling upon the evil spirits and asking to have her feminized traits of sympathy and bodily signs of motherhood removed, she is trying to become the ruthless leader that her husband needs her to be (Swisher). Lady Macbeth also gives a ruthless speech to Macbeth about murdering her own child, where she says, “I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple form his boneless gums and dashed the brains out” (1.7.57-59). This shows that she is so ruthless that she would not even care to kill her own baby. Lady Macbeth is also ruthless when is comes to murder, as we see throughout the play. She is the one who invites Duncan to their castle and tells Macbeth about their plan to kill him in his sleep, which is a ruthless and murderous plan that proves Lady Macbeth has no remorse (Swisher 129). Lady Macbeth is so ruthless that she finished the murder by smearing the blood on the guard’s faces and placing the dagger in their hands (Swisher 130). As ruthless as she is, Lady Macbeth also has a sympathetic side as well. Known as one of the “Best marriages in Shakespeare” (Stratford), Lady Macbeth has a sympathetic side for her husband and their marriage (Stratford). Lady Macbeth’s strong willed ambition drove by passion, is for her husband, not for herself (Stratford 134). When she faints after Duncan’s body is discovered, she is trying to keep Macbeth’s name out of suspicion, which shows she can be sympathetic towards her husband (Weller). A large side of Lady Macbeth’s sympathy is shown when she confesses to Macbeth that she would have killed Duncan herself, had he not looked like her father (Swisher 130). This proves that she is sympathetic towards death because she relates it back to her own father. When Lady Macbeth covers for her husband seeing ghosts at the dinner party, she is showing
What exactly was the driving force in Macbeth? Most would argue that it is the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. With conflicting personalities, they are the main characters in Macbeth through which the reader can get a better understanding of the story. The weak, yet ambitious, Macbeth and the ruthless, yet sympathetic Lady Macbeth convey a unique relationship through their twisted, deadly plots and their ambitious similarities that ultimately result in their own downfall.
Macbeth plays the role of a weak, but also ambitious man throughout the play. Macbeth’s biggest weakness is fear. We first experience Macbeth’s weakness through his fear of killing Duncan, when he timidly asks …show more content…
Lady Macbeth first expresses her ruthlessness when she gives her “Unsex me now” (Swisher) speech. By calling upon the evil spirits and asking to have her feminized traits of sympathy and bodily signs of motherhood removed, she is trying to become the ruthless leader that her husband needs her to be (Swisher). Lady Macbeth also gives a ruthless speech to Macbeth about murdering her own child, where she says, “I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple form his boneless gums and dashed the brains out” (1.7.57-59). This shows that she is so ruthless that she would not even care to kill her own baby. Lady Macbeth is also ruthless when is comes to murder, as we see throughout the play. She is the one who invites Duncan to their castle and tells Macbeth about their plan to kill him in his sleep, which is a ruthless and murderous plan that proves Lady Macbeth has no remorse (Swisher 129). Lady Macbeth is so ruthless that she finished the murder by smearing the blood on the guard’s faces and placing the dagger in their hands (Swisher 130). As ruthless as she is, Lady Macbeth also has a sympathetic side as well. Known as one of the “Best marriages in Shakespeare” (Stratford), Lady Macbeth has a sympathetic side for her husband and their marriage (Stratford). Lady Macbeth’s strong willed ambition drove by passion, is for her husband, not for herself (Stratford 134). When she faints after Duncan’s body is discovered, she is trying to keep Macbeth’s name out of suspicion, which shows she can be sympathetic towards her husband (Weller). A large side of Lady Macbeth’s sympathy is shown when she confesses to Macbeth that she would have killed Duncan herself, had he not looked like her father (Swisher 130). This proves that she is sympathetic towards death because she relates it back to her own father. When Lady Macbeth covers for her husband seeing ghosts at the dinner party, she is showing