The Colorful and Compelling Lady Macbeth

The Colorful and Compelling Lady Macbeth

This is my first time reading Macbeth and I must admit to my surprise upon seeing such a fierce and fiery female character.  Lady Macbeth is quite a colorful and intense woman.  Reading her lines after recently completing King Lear makes me recall Regan and Goneril, two other bloodthirsty Shakespearean ladies.  If all three women were in the same play, I think they would be great “frenemies.”  Lady Macbeth, as seen with Regan and Goneril, can be just as brash and ferocious as the male characters of Shakespeare.  Shakespeare cares a great deal about giving a fair representation of power corrupting both genders.  Macduff’s lines after learning of King Duncan’s death  in 2.3 reveal the view of women that is commonly held when thinking about Shakespearean women: “O gentle lady,/ ‘Tis not for you to hear what I can speak./ The repetition in a woman’s ear/ Would murder as it fell” (59-62).  Shakespeare gives us such an ironic speech from Macduff that as a reader one almost can chuckle.  It is interesting how he calls her “gentle lady,” as her actions and eagerness to perform cutthroat duties for power definitely are not tender or “gentle.”  Also the fact that Macduff cannot even imagine uttering what has occurred to Lady Macbeth because it “would murder as it fell” is fascinating.  He believes to be sparing her, when she is the last one that should be spared.  As the reader, we are granted access to some fabulous Shakespearean dramatic irony. 

                In 2.2 a great use of antithesis can be seen with Macbeth and his wife.  Macbeth appears to be a thinker and somewhat more sentimental. These are traits traditionally thought of as “female”.  After the murder he committed he doubts that the entire ocean could cleanse him from this wrongdoing: “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand?” (58-59).  Macbeth immediately thinks to the grand scale and suffers from the guilt of his action.  Whereas a couple lines down, Lady Macbeth views here assistance and guilt quite differently:  “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.65).  She believes that only “a little water” will save her and her husband from their wicked deed. Shakespeare gives the reader opposites with “Neptune’s ocean” and “a little water” that are extremely well played in this scene. 

                Lady Macbeth’s hasty nature and feistiness reminded me of Henry IV’s Hotspur.  Her attitude, and intense focus on action are interesting but do not bode well for her character.  In 2.2 she states to Macbeth: “These deeds must not be thought/ After these ways.  So, it will make us mad” (32-33).  Her focus on the immediate is a major character flaw.  She even seems to take pleasure in her treasonous involvement.  The lady essentially yells at her husband for his inaction: “Infirm of purpose!/ Give me the daggers.  The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures.  ‘Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil” (2.2.50-53). Again her attitude reminds me much of the reckless warrior mindset of Hotspur.  She is ready to do whatever it takes and has holds an impetuous approach.  It will be great to see how Lady Macbeth’s character unfolds throughout the text.