Lady Macbeth's Motives

The tragedy of Macbeth would not be complete without all of its flawed characters. King Duncan, the monarch that Macbeth kills, is much to trusting of his kingsmen. He places his full trust in his men without questioning their motives. Macbeth and his wife, on the other hand, are the exact opposite. After Macbeth is told of his destiny by the weird sisters, he and his wife plot to kill Duncan, and become hyper-aware of the motivations of the people around them. Macbeth begins to question his own best friend’s motives, and eventually has him killed, while his wife encourages him to kill and plot to get ahead as king. This is where the similarities end, as the differences in Macbeth and his wife’s character are extremely clear; Macbeth acts quickly,

Lady Macbeth had urged her husband to stop being good and loyal, to put emotions aside and kill Duncan in order to seize the throne, but she herself could not follow her own advice. At first, she tries to convince herself about what must be done, and in act 1, scene 5, asks, “ Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes” She was entirely willing to commit the act herself, and even Macbeth was surprised to see her resolve, stating, “ Bring forth men-children only, For thy undaunted mettle should compose Nothing but males.” In act 1, scene 7, she says that, “We fail?... we’ll not fail.” She seems strong, and convinced that nothing they will do will go wrong, but her character’s strength seems to dwindle in act 2, scene 2, where she makes a bold claim, “ Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done ’t.” She let sentimentality get in her way, as she, the mastermind of the plot to kill Duncan, could have killed him and spared her husband from the murder. Unlike her husband, Lady Macbeth is more affected by sentimentality, as her feelings got in the way of her killing the