This is my second time reading Macbeth and I have to say
that I am enjoying it more this time around. Part of that comes from listening
to the amazing voices from the Folger’s Shakespeare app, but either way. I
never fully appreciated the character that is Lady Macbeth, she is quite gutsy.
It is because of Lady Macbeth that Macbeth even seriously considering killing
King Duncan. As soon as she hears that there is a possibility her husband could
become king, she has already planned the murder in her head.
Lady Macbeth sees her husband as this wimpy fellow simply
because he is not willing to do what needs to be done to make himself king. Macbeth
almost backs out of the plan to murder to Duncan because his loyalty to him
begins to get the best of him. When Lady Macbeth hears that he is not going to
kill Macbeth she flips outs. She believes that if he is unable to kill Duncan,
then he should not be able to see himself as a man.
She is quite a strong woman and if she was not trying to get
to the throne by killing the current king, she would be an interesting queen to
have. She seems to have a lot more guts than Macbeth does, but in a dangerous
way. In a way that if she was given too much power, then she might just be willing
to abuse it.
I feel like Lady Macbeth has always been savage, and she has probably fantasized about being queen for quite some time. It's not surprising to me at all that she became so invested in the idea of murdering Duncan. Her husband was simply the male figure she needed to maximize her potential, since she openly admits her femininity holds her back from doing what she wants to do. Also, I love the comparison to the Queen of Hearts! Lady Macbeth would definitely express her power in a similar fashion.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth is most likely the most interesting character in this play, and I'm glad you shone so much light on her. I think the fact that she wants so badly for her husband to kill the king definitely says something about her as a woman. As Amanda said, it's very clear that she's fantasized about being queen for a very long time. It's unfortunate that she would have to serve at the hand of her husband, but nonetheless, that opportunity for power turned her into a murderous fiend from the very beginning.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth is the bomb..lets be honest. I think she wants her husband to be so great as well as get the perks that come with being a queen. She wants her husband to fit into the role that she wants and she is more willing to get it for him then he is.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time reading MacBeth, but nonetheless, I have always heard references and comparisons to Lady MacBeth when discussing other works of literature. So far, she is certainly the most interesting character in the play because of her ruthlessness, a typically "unnatural" characteristic for a woman. I have to say my favorite thing about Shakespeare is his ability to create compelling female characters. To me, Lady Macbeth resembles Goneril and Reagan in King Lear. They all do whatever it takes to gain power, but are still restricted as women, and have to use their men as the vehicles for their success. Very curious to see how the rest of Lady Macbeth's narrative turns out.
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