Act I Character Profile: Lady Macbeth

 

Lady Macbeth is husband to Macbeth. She is first introduced in the play when she receives the letter that Macbeth sends her about the predictions he heard from the witches. Immediately she begins plotting Duncan's murder and the audience knows that she is not a merciful character. In Act 1 Scene 5, she speaks as though she is speaking to some sort of dark force to give her the evil and remorselessness that she will require to murder Duncan. She even asks for these forces to take away her femininity as it will weaken her. "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty." (Shakespeare, 47-50) She is a ruthless and manipulative woman who knows what she wants and will not stop at anything to get there. She has masculinity beyond her years in the sense that she is fearless, violent and ambitious, and even goes so far to question her husband’s manhood and call him a coward when he is tentative about murdering Duncan. “And live a coward in thine own esteem, letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’ like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?” (Shakespeare, 47-49). She definitely wears the pants in her marriage, and is very manipulative toward her husband. She is also very intelligent, and she knows upon reading the letter that the only way to achieve the power of being king and queen that they both desire is to get rid of anyone standing in their way, even if it means committing a great deal of evil deeds.

Though she has an evil streak, I like that she is a strong woman character. It is not often that you find female characters, especially in old stories, that aren't afraid to stand up to powerful male characters like Lady Macbeth stands up to Macbeth. I predict that she will have a large influence on Macbeth's actions throughout the rest of the story.

Click here for a video of the play for Act I Scene 7

Photo: Barker, Joanna. "Lady Macbeth." Lady Macbeth with Macbeth. All the World's a Stage. 3 Apr 2011. 12 Dec 2013. http://shakespeareglobal.blogspot.ca/2011/04/womens-part-shakespeares-feminist.html>