Character Development of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth Essay

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth, as Macbeths [] dearest partner of greatness [] (Shakespeare 1:5 10) and the tragic Queen of Scotland, plays an important role in contributing to the overall impact of the play. Also, Lady Macbeth is an extremely contradictory character who undergoes such a radical change from a nearly superhuman character in the first act of Macbeth into a sleep-walking mental patient in the fifth and final act in the play. How does Lady Macbeth gradually change throughout the play? At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth impresses the audiences with her strong ambitions and evil thoughts. Later on, Lady Macbeth seems to be weaker and powerless. At the end of the play, Lady Macbeths conscience and deep regret drive her mad, which leads to her death.

From the start, Lady Macbeths ambitions for power, and the deep love for her husband Macbeth, makes her evil, ruthless and determined. First and foremost, Lady Macbeth plays the more dominating role in her relationship with Macbeth as can be seen when she manipulates Macbeth to kill King Duncan. She knows her husband well, that he is a kind man who dreams of being a king but lacks courage and determination to fulfill it. Therefore, in order to help Macbeth to make his dream come true, she repeatedly questions his courage, manhood and his love for her until Macbeth feels that he must commit murder to prove himself. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth shows exceeding desire and determination to be the Queen. She says: [] unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty [] (Shakespeare 1:5 40-42), which demonstrates that Lady Macbeth wishes to have the ability to harm and commit murder in a cruel way. At this time, she behaves more like a man and she is clearly willing to do whatever is necessary to seize the throne. Lastly, Lady Macbeth is full of evil and cruelty and she has no conscience at all. Shortly after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth feels regret and guilt for what he has done. However, the emotional effect of the murder does not yet quite get through to Lady Macbeth, and so she nonchalantly replies: [] A little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it then! Your constancy hath left you unattended (Shakespeare 2:2 70-72). To conclude, Lady Macbeth pursues her desires and goals with great determination and calmness and she is capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts.

As the play progresses, the role of Lady Macbeth starts to show weakness and uncertainty about her future. Initially, Lady Macbeth gradually losses control of her husband as Macbeth begins to make all his decisions by himself and does not need her help anymore. For instance, Macbeth keeps the secret of Banquos murder from Lady Macbeth instead of telling her everything. He says: Be innocent of the knowledge [] (Shakespeare 3:2 45) when Lady Macbeth tries to ask him more details about what he will do. Moreover, Lady Macbeth becomes the one who is unstable and lacks the sense of security. She says: Noughts had, alls spent where our desire is got without content.Tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy (Shakespeare 3:2 4-7) which indicates that she is unsure of whether she is worthy and she is frightened of the future. She realizes that what she losses are much more than what she gets. Finally, Lady Macbeths confidence and determination are little by little replaced by uncertainty and hesitations. She says: [] whats done, is done [] (Shakespeare 3:2 12) which shows her strength and desire gradually diminish since she understands there is no way for her and Macbeth to go back. In summary, the changes in Lady Macbeth slightly emerge while she seems to act more like a woman and less bold than before.

At the end of the play, the burden of Lady Macbeths conscience becomes too great for her and the relationship between her and her husband Macbeth becomes increasingly alienated which attribute to her tragic death. To begin with, Lady Macbeths broken marriage makes her feel lonely and isolated. She keeps thinking the murder day and night which severely disturbs her mentality. However, Macbeth pays his whole attentions to keeping his Kingship and he responds to his wifes strange behavior with indifference and ignorance which makes Lady Macbeths mental illness worse. In addition, Lady Macbeths conscience wakes up and she realizes nothing that she does can rid her off her guilt. As she sleepwalks through Macbeths castle at night, she madly tries to cleanse her hands of the blood of Duncan and she says: Heres the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand (Shakespeare5:1 44-45). This presents a vast contrast since Lady Macbeth mentions in the former act that they can wash off their guilt easily. There is an undoubted fact that Lady Macbeth is completely undone by guilt and descends into madness. Last but not the least, Lady Macbeth takes up the role of the weak, submissive and unstable who tends to be sensitive and vulnerable. She keeps holding a candle in her hands when she sleepwalks which shows her fear of darkness. Lady Macbeths pretended strength diminishes as she fights with the torments of her conscience. To sum up, Lady Macbeths conscience affects her mind adversely, giving her a deep emotional disturbance which encourages her to end her own life.

In conclusion, at the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth pursues power blindly; she lies, plots and is an accomplice in murder. However, at the end of the play, she falls victim to guilt and madness to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. The character of Lady Macbeth changes significantly starting from encouraging Macbeth to kill Duncan until the end when she kills herself. Meanwhile, the sympathy for Lady Macbeth also develops. Although she is evil and cruel, her deep and true love for her husband is unforgettable and impressive.