Was Lady Macbeth 'evil'?

Lady Macbeth is the penultimate person in the play, especially at the beginning, next to Macbeth himself. And though she does not survive to the end, her influence on Macbeth lasts throughout.

She is most influential person in MacbethÒ's downfall, next to the witches. However, her relationship with him goes far deeper then that of the witches. It is my belief that the witches act only as a trigger to start the events in the play, and that Lady Macbeth herself was the driving force behind MacbethÒ's actions. It is she who he contacts when he meets the witches, and immediately trusts her with the prophecy he is given.

The relationship between Macbeth and his wife is paramount to the understanding of a major theme of this play. At first it would appear to be an equal partnership. However, I believe Lady Macbeth was the dominant of the two character; she could have persuaded Macbeth to do anything if she so wished. And though she does not openly exercise her power over him in public, in private she often uses humiliation and emotional bribery to manipulate Macbeth to execute her will.

The first scene in which we see Lady Macbeth is Act 1 Scene 5, in the first half of which she is reading the letter sent by Macbeth about his meeting with the witches, and about half way through Macbeth, himself enters, having caught up with the messenger who delivered the letter. Immediately we see the nature of her relationship with Macbeth, and have a strong sense of her character. The first thing that you notice of course, is that Lady Macbeth is reading a letter that must have been written mere hours after the events contained happened. It is a letter from Macbeth, containing potentially treasonous information about his meeting with the witches, now, the actual meeting itself could not be considered treason, because that could not be helped, but for Macbeth to even hope for the witches prophecy to become truth would have been very dangerous ground. This is very important; it shows that Macbeth trusts his wife with everything. Another indication of their relationship in the phrase "my dearest partner in greatness". This suggests that Macbeth loves his wife dearly, but not only that, but considers her his equal. At the time this play was based, or even written, women were very much considered inferior. She also perhaps, reveals, a weaker side to her personality when she prays to the dark powers to fill her heart with cruelty, and rid her of feminine kindness. If she were truly evil, then she would not need this extra infusion of darkness. This is an interesting point because it reveals a whole new side to her, which while it isnÒ't a good side; it is a more human side. It proves that she is not a witch, perhaps, as some people think. essaybank.co.uk wwcg cgw escgcgs aycg cgba ncg kccg cguk; wwdg dgw esdgdgs aydg dgba ndg kcdg dguk.

When Macbeth enters, they greet each other warmly, and Lady Macbeth reveals her intentions to murder King Duncan, and persuades Macbeth to go along with the idea, and warns him to greet the King warmly and not give any indication of their plans. It is important how Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth, she uses veiled talk, and double meanings to attempt to sweeten the idea, she never mentions the word murder, rather, and just notes that Duncan will not see the sun rise tomorrow. It is a form of seduction almost, she hides the foul ideas behind pretty words, making it seem as if it is all right. When Macbeth tries to interject, she simply speaks over him, soothing his now troubled mind with a promise that she will handle everything else, as long as he keeps an innocent face. wwff ffw esffffs ayff ffba nff kcff ffuk;

The next scene is Lady Macbeth welcoming Duncan and the others into her and MacbethÒ's castle, and true to her own advice, she is warm hearted and kind. All the while knowing that she intends to kill him. She is the perfect hostess, and makes several remarks on how much she thanks Duncan for rewarding her house with his presence. This is extremely two-faced of her; she greets him with smiles, while practically holding a dagger. Neither of these scenes give many positive points for Lady MacbethÒ's character, it does indeed seem that she is just incredibly evil. wwda daw esdadas ayda daba nda kcda dauk;

The banquet scene also reveals a few astonishing facets about her, as well as reinforcing her apparent cruelty and ambition. The first part of scene 7 shows a lengthy monologue of Macbeth weighing up the pros and cons of carrying out his wifeÒ's wishes to kill the King. Although Macbeth wants to be King, he is unsure of himself, and it is obvious that he is cracking under the pressure already. Lady Macbeth however, when she sees him in such a state, immediately tries to rectify his weakness, using his pride to blackmail him to her will. It is impressive how she can bend him to her will so easily, to whatever she wished. She again uses veiled words to dupe him, stating that the crown is the "ornament of life" and it would be cowardly not to seek it. While Macbeth is in such an insecure frame of mind, these words infuse him with passion, while he lacks surety; his wife fuels him with pride in his cause. She makes it seem to him that murder is a small price for something so valuable as the crown. Although Macbeth said that he didnÒ't want to kill the King, I believe he was just trying to goad his wife into changing his mind, knowing that she would make everything seem all right, he does not reveal all his doubts to her, just enough to make sure she argues with him. During this she makes several references to masculinity and femininity, retorting that Macbeths cowardice is unmanly, and she herself would kill her own child rather then back down. This is a very powerful image, and further increases her mask of cold ambition, also suggesting more links in Lady MacbethÒ's mind between femininity and kindness, which she seems to think is the truth. zl8dlJq Visit essaybank fc co fc uk fc for more fc Do not fc redistribute zl8dlJq wwae aew esaeaes ayae aeba nae kcae aeuk!

Her manipulation is again, effective. She fills him with pride, and using that, suggests a seemingly easy way of dispatching the King in his sleep, and blaming the murder on the guards. Macbeth applauds her, and quickly psyches himself towards the task, steeling himself to put on a false face for the banquet.

Act 2 begins with Lady Macbeth waiting for Macbeth in the Courtyard of their Castle, after he has killed the King. (It is an interesting point to note, that the audience never actually see the King murdered, just the aftermath of it. This was perhaps to prevent the story being too linear). Lady Macbeth has drugged the guards and has drunk herself, and notes its exhilarating affect. Again, this is a sign of weakness

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