Lady Macbeth Masculinity Quotes

From murder to greed Shakespeare’s Macbeth portrays a story of how one’s flaws can transform into a person’s way of thinking and acting. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth changes from a cold-hearted, greedy, shell of a human body into a guilt ridden woman. Her selfish desires met with ambition and a want for power pushed her into driving Macbeth to kill Duncan. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth become very guilty because of the crime they have committed. Although Macbeth actively kills the King, Lady Macbeth was more guilty of Duncan’s murder than Macbeth.

Throughout Macbeth, three characters seem to have control of Macbeth’s action and his life. Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and the We’ird Sisters all have some type of control over the actions of Macbeth. The wife of the play 's tragic hero, Lady Macbeth, pressures her husband into committing regicide so that she can then become queen of Scotland. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth constantly diminishes her husband 's manhood forcing him to feel less of a man. Unhae Langis, once wrote that, “Lady Macbeth evokes shame in him [Macbeth] to get him back into the contest.” By constantly shaming her husband, Lady Macbeth holds a great amount of control on the way he sees himself.

Lady Macbeth wanted the prophecies to come true. Lady Macbeth wanted her husband to have power.When Lady Macbeth receives the letter from Macbeth, it shows her ambition to help her husband murder King Duncan. Lady Macbeth was afraid that her husband wouldn’t follow through with the plan because it was such a harsh crime. Lady Macbeth taunts Macbeth through the story. She felt as if she was more of a man than Macbeth.

A great example of this is found in the medieval literature “The Canterbury Tales.” In the tale “The Wife of Bath's” the wife gloats about the power she has over all five of her husbands. “I kept my husbands well in hand. I told them they were drunk and their unfitness to judge my conduct forced me to take witness that they were lying” (Canterbury Tales, page 268.) The Wife’s deception against her husband gave her the upper hand in marriage. Stating that trickery was instinct in a woman.

Soon a mere accusation from her becomes enough reason to convict even important, influential people. Abigail uses the witch hysteria that consumes Salem to secure herself from accusation, and gain control of the trials by accusing respectable people, before moving on to Elizabeth, and then in her desperation, she manipulates Mary Warren into eventually accusing John. “Abby' s lust threatens Proctor in many ways: she tempts him to sinning adultery in the first place;

Although introduced as a thoroughly hardened, ambitious woman, Lady Macbeth’s seemingly unbreakable character shatters when she is consumed by the demon of guilt. The guilt of Lady Macbeth seems nonexistent when she persuades Macbeth to kill King Duncan, but the heinous acts she and her husband commit throughout the play strain her slowly. Eventually, the guilt Lady Macbeth harbors emerges from her subconscious and crumbles her. The downfall of Lady Macbeth reveals that even the toughest, strongest, and most powerful people can succumb to guilt. At the commencement of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the guilty conscience of Lady Macbeth is overshadowed by her relentless pursuit to become Queen of Scotland.

She does this by making Macbeth feel distressed during her process of coercion. Her final step of inducement consists of turning Macbeth’s own gender against him, “When you durst do it, you were a man” (i.vii.50). This ultimately is the shifting point of the Macbeth’s companionship. Lady Macbeth is so consumed in her own greed that she loses the love of Macbeth throughout the process of enticement. Lady Macbeth is such a strong character that she can maintain a role of innocence while being the centre of control when planning a murder in internal disguise.

In Shakespeare's shortest and popular tragedy, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy reveals her intentions to lose femininity in order to become mentally strong and ruthless, and it also depicts the idea of masculinity associated with power and authority she craves for. When Lady Macbeth cries, “Come you spirits/…..unsex me here,/ And fill me from the crown to toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty!” she implores the spirits to take away everything that makes her a woman so that her femininity does not interfere with her heinous plan to kill Duncan. In Lady Macbeth’s mind, the words “direst cruelty” represents masculinity, which she believes to give her power and courage, both of which she needs for her plan of regicide to succeed. Lady Macbeth’s rant,

Lady Macbeth’s lust for power was evident as she pushed Macbeth to kill Duncan because she wanted to be queen, but after the deed is done, it is apparent that it has messed with her mind. If it was a common act to sleepwalk and talk in your sleep the gentlewoman would not assume the doctor could prescribe medicine to help. Lastly, it is apparent that Lady Macbeth’s lust for power drove her to insanity when she committed suicide. Macbeth and Seyton heard a scream and Seyton went to check on the cause. After returning he made the statement, “The queen, my lord, is dead.” (Cowther 5:5: 17).

Ambition is a strong force of human nature, which can turn people evil if it takes control of them. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are perfect examples of these type of people. In Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both thirsty for power which leads them to their ultimate demise. People might expect that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a mundane husband and wife relationship, but instead they are in a divergent relationship, which causes them to influence each other in a way that lead to their downfall. The ambition that Macbeth and Lady macbeth have for power was portrayed by their motives, morals, goals, relationships, consciousness and personalities throughout the play.