2nd Block Libby Burton Lady Macbeth Essay

Libby Burton

Mrs. Wood

English 11A

2 February 2016

How Evil is Lady Macbeth?

The topic of what is truly considered evil is widely debated. Some may assume Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” fits this definition, but they are incorrect. It is indisputable Lady Macbeth possesses an element of darkness on her character, but it was actually her desire for power that drove her to make false claims of brutality and appear sinister. She has proven multiple times in the text she not only craves authority, but she is actually too scared to get it herself. She repeatedly acts through Macbeth in an attempt to save her own conscience, but her character is too weak to handle even the crimes she did not even commit. Although some people may visualize Lady Macbeth as a naturally evil woman, she was conclusively driven by greed and, in reality, has revealed herself as too much of a coward to be truly malevolent.

Shakespeare fills “Macbeth” with a sense of supernatural darkness multiple times by implementing characters like the three weird sisters or the ghost of Banquo. The other characters also have a sense of wickedness to them, due to the constant scheming and prophecies given by the witches. Lady Macbeth is no different in confirming her darkness.She claims to be able to do horrendous acts of brutality, for example: “I have given suck, and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash'd the brains out” (I:v, 55-58). Upon hearing a mother talk about killing her own child while it was smiling in her face, any casual reader would think she was completely insane. However, she delivers this line in an attempt to convince Macbeth he is a weak man too full of the milk of human kindness. It is one of her most notorious lines which ultimately corrupts Macbeth’s loyalty to the king. After this scene, more phrases follow leading the audience to believe she’s emotionless. One of these examples is when Lady Macbeth says “give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of the child that fears a painted devil” (II:ii, 53-55). This comes off as very harsh and cold, but like the previous quote, she only says this to assert dominance on Macbeth.

It is well-known that greed commonly drives people to do selfish acts. In one of Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies, she states: “And chastise with the valor of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round” (I:v, 25-26). This is the first time the readers are exposed to her desire to be queen. She proceeds to become more and more desperate for power as the plot thickens. She lashes out towards Macbeth out of desperation for him to complete the deeds she’s too scared to do. In a scene where Macbeth attempts to gain control and says he no longer wants to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth then exclaims with a sense of urgency: “was thou hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?” (I:vi, 35-36). When she was afraid Macbeth may back out of the plans, she panicked and that is why she seems to passive-aggressive. She doesn’t have the courage to do any acts of murder herself, so that is why she manipulates Macbeth throughout the whole play.

It is indisputable it takes a strong character and a complete desensitization to death to be able to get murder off of one’s conscience. The ability to guiltlessly kill is usually a common feature of those society considers evil. Lady Macbeth lacks this feature entirely, she never even killed a man, yet the guilt leads to her demise. One of Lady Macbeth’s most famous lines is about this crippling guilt, she screams “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One: two: why, then ’tis time to do’t” (V:i, 31-32). To feel so guilty about something it kills you only confirms she’s a weak character. At the beginning of the play she even wishes for more courage by saying: “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, topful Of direst cruelty!” (I:v, 39-41). The fact she wished for direst cruelty only means she does not have any and needs it to get what she wants. She only wishes for this after the mention of potential power, so that implies this wish is related to her greed as well.

In reality, Lady Macbeth has revealed herself as too much of a coward to be truly malevolent. Many people do visualize Lady Macbeth as a naturally evil woman, but that is simply not her character. She needed to gain courage to lash out and manipulate Macbeth, but even though blood never stained her hands, she went mad with guilt. She has repeatedly proven herself to be too scared to actually act, like with not killing Duncan and hiding behind Macbeth. When people refer to Lady Macbeth they are simply wrong, because quite frankly, she is not strong enough to be evil if she tried. The definition of evil is often debated, but based on the fact she was lustful for power, it can be agreed Lady Macbeth does not fit the criteria.