How Is Lady Macbeth Guilty

Words: 661
Pages: 3

Macbeth vs. Lady Macbeth Guilt
People are often pressured to do acts that they are not comfortable with, but feel obligated to do so. The real question is: is the person committing the crime always the one guilty? In Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, Macbeth’s wife pressures Macbeth into murdering King Duncan. From an outside point of view, one would automatically infer that Macbeth is the only one guilty considering he committed homicide, but that is not always the case. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth did have “a desire for something that is wrong” but without Lady Macbeth’s persuasion and manipulation, Macbeth would not have committed the inexcusable act (Gerwig). Though Macbeth is in fact guilty, Lady Macbeth is most guilty. The debate on rather the accomplice or the actual criminal is more guilty is often a discussion after reading Macbeth, but all of the facts go back to Lady Macbeth. Beginning in Act 1,
…show more content…
In Gerwig’s article, it says that “..[Lady Macbeth] is assumed too that she is naturally cruel”. After Macbeth stabbed Duncan, Lady Macbeth still remained unremorseful, while Macbeth was “unnerved,perplexed, [and] horrified..”(Gerwig). Macbeth was so ashamed of himself he could not even retrieve the daggers. Lady Macbeth’s strategic manipulation forced Macbeth to commit the crime.
Though Lady Macbeth is the guiltier of the two, some may argue that Macbeth is guilty as well. Lady Macbeth did not stick two daggers into the King as Macbeth did. That act is inexcusable no matter the extent of peer-pressure Macbeth went through. Macbeth could have stuck up for himself and argued against his wife’s will, instead of stooping to her level. Though Macbeth did not wish to follow up with the plan, he also did initially bring it up. Even though Lady Macbeth is guiltier than her husband, Macbeth still played a major role in the