Lady Macbeth's Wife Quotes

Words: 749
Pages: 3
Open Document
Many people may think of an average woman as being accommodating, easygoing, and merciful, but there is something different about a particular one, Lady Macbeth. In the play “Macbeth”, Macbeth’s wife proves herself to be only the opposite of the average women. Lady Macbeth, not only is selfish and cruel, but manipulating in everything she does. What more could Macbeth ask for in a wife? In order to fully represent Lady Macbeth, the beginning is where we can see her personality the clearest. This being said, we are introduced to Lady Macbeth through her writing a letter to Macbeth. Saying, “Yet do I fear thy [Macbeth’s] nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness.” (10) With this quote, the given impression is that Lady Macbeth does …show more content…
As this quote depicts, Lady Macbeth is cruel beyond belief, “I have given suck, and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.” (12). What she is saying is that if she had sworn to kill her child before her pregnancy and birth, then she would follow through. Though, this quote also shows her manipulative side, this characteristic will be discussed in the next paragraph. Saying this, Lady Macbeth is truly cruel, and this fact cannot be hidden. “Give me the daggers: the sleeping and the dead are but as pictures: 'tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal; for it must seem their guilt.” (15) This quote is from after the deed, Duncan’s murder, and Macbeth comes back with the daggers. Consequently, the daggers were meant to incriminate the drunk servants, and Lady Macbeth went back to finish the deed. This furthers the point that Lady Macbeth is not just cruel, but heartless enough to return back to a murder site and slather the dead king’s blood on innocent servants. Lady Macbeth goes to great lengths to bring the prophecy of power into her grasp, but on the way, cruelty plagues her very …show more content…
The very character and reason for Lady Macbeth in the play is to manipulate and convince her husband to force his destiny. As this quote depicts, Lady Macbeth continually calls upon Macbeths manhood to achieve what she desires. “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,' like the poor cat i' the adage?” (12). Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth uses Macbeths manhood to convince him and persuade him to do what he “needs to do”. Again, her manipulation is recognized in her saying to Macbeth, “Infirm of purpose!” (15), “Come on; Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks;”(20), and “What, quite unmann'd in folly?” (22). Though, besides her manipulation throughout the play, a turn in character in evident near the resolution, but as it is Lady Macbeth was still guilty of manipulation.
In the end, we see Lady Macbeth is shamefaced and guilty in deed and mind, but all remains; Lady Macbeth is manipulating, selfish and cruel. Without her, the play “Macbeth” would not be the fascinating tragedy it was meant to be, and Macbeth wouldn’t have had the wife of his
Show More

Related Documents: Lady Macbeth's Wife Quotes

Macbeth Evil Vs Evil

William Shakespear, the true nature of evil mixed with the power hungry couple of Macbeth, a nobel warrior, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, cause the downfall of a society. The twists and turns of the play highlight the acts of true evil and show the transformation of a seemingly sane and honest Macbeth into a crazed killer. The characters who show true signs of vile acts are, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the witches who initiated the spree. At the beginning of the play three witches eerily appeared to Macbeth…

Words 485 - Pages 2

Nature Of Evil And Evil In Macbeth

main character Macbeth starts out as an exceptional scottish general. As the play progresses Macbeth meets three strange witches who tell Macbeth about his future.(put the witches prophecy quote here). This inadvertently causes Macbeth to over think this prophecy as he tries to make it come true. Thanks to Macbeth’s impatience it causes him to act in some ways that would be definitely considered evil. That brings up the question of learned versus inherent evil. Are people born with the capacity to commit…

Words 652 - Pages 3

Lady Macbeth Essay

of becoming the King of Scotland. It is evident in the play that both Macbeth, the nobleman, and Lady Macbeth, his wife, suffer from the same tragic flaw: uncontrolled ambition.This uncontrolled ambition causes them to commit regicide. Although Lady Macbeth coerces Macbeth to murder King Duncan of Scotland, it is clear that she is, in fact, a victim to her ambition. She suffers greatly by losing her sanity, which ultimately leads to her death. Lady Macbeth is a victim of her uncontrolled ambition.This ambition causes her to push herself…

Words 626 - Pages 3

Lady Macbeth Quotes Analysis

has been only one explanation for Lady Macbeth's death - suicide. Macbeth is a notoriously ambiguous and murky play. The ambiguous nature of Macbeth allows the reader's own imagination and interpretation to explain parts of the plot. Due to Macbeth's ever increasing bloodlust and the regression of Lady Macbeth from the orchestrator of evil deeds to a liability, it is clear that Macbeth ordered Lady Macbeth's death. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are inseparable. They are…

Words 996 - Pages 4

Effects Of Guilt In Macbeth

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, consists of numerous themes regarding the evil intentions and tragic downfall of the nobleman Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth. Hopeful prophecies that Macbeth receives, creates ambition and greed in both, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth which drives them to reach their goals and fulfill their fate. Along the way, through sinful deeds, they ultimately face the corrosive effects of guilt. The guilt they experience demonstrates the projection of their personal conflicts, directed…

Words 923 - Pages 4

Lady Macbeth Secondary Characters

story of Macbeth is a very interesting one because it not only focuses on the main character a whole lot, but the secondary characters are extremely important as well. Lady Macbeth is the wife of Macbeth and is seen as the main secondary character throughout the story. As you get further into the story, you may realize that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth actually have an extremely unhealthy relationship and it is because of the amount of ambition each of them has. Their differences clash and create an uneasy…

Words 674 - Pages 3

Lady Macbeth: Victim of Ambition Essay

Elias Gacem Mr Misuraca English 12­31­14 Lady Macbeth The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare has a lot of important characters and major roles in the play. Each character is unique in their own way because of enormous amount of characterization each individual contain. Almost every character in Macbeth are fully developed because of their complexity and importance. The most interesting and complex character of Macbeth would be the main character’s wife Lady Macbeth because without her decision making…

Words 902 - Pages 4

Why Is Blood Important In Macbeth

deemed the new Thane of Cawdor after a victorious battle with the former, rebellious title holder. Without Macbeth’s knowledge of the king’s decision, an encounter with three witches and a prophecy foreshadowing Macbeth’s future as King of Scotland compels him to take the throne. Through vaulting ambition and endless desire, Macbeth, with the accompaniment of his loyal yet deceitful wife, Lady Macbeth, attempts to accomplish his goals, even if that involves the death of his peers. As the play progresses…

Words 1184 - Pages 5

The Nature Of Evil In Macbeth

witches and his overly ambitious and greedy wife, Lady Macbeth, use his absence of conscience against him. The witches manipulate and trick him into believing he would become king, which makes Lady Macbeth threaten him because of her greed to become royalty. Macbeth ends up killing his great and mild king, Duncan, along with his best of friends. Macbeth was not ruthless enough to commit these crimes on his own, but was rather manipulated by the witches and Lady Macbeth, who used tricky and manipulative…

Words 1658 - Pages 7

Examples Of Mental Deterioration In Macbeth

This is shown through the titular character, Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, who both fall into a state of near-insanity as they attempt to gain power and defend that power. Macbeth seems to be the greatest victim of mental deterioration, but Lady Macbeth also shows symptoms of a worsening mental state. First, Macbeth. Being the main character, Macbeth shows many ways in which his mind starts to deteriorate. Early in Macbeth’s story, he comes into contact with the witches. The witches tell…

Words 990 - Pages 4