Macbeth is the tragic tale of a married couple who watch their lives crumble around them

after their greedy chase for power leads to their own demise. From an outsider’s perspective,
Macbeth and his wife seem like the traditional Elizabethan era couple who follow their
respective roles in society in regards to their genders. However, upon further examination, it
becomes clear that it isn't Macbeth who leads the relationship, as expected of a man of his
position in his time. Much to the reader’s surprise, Lady Macbeth is the one who heavily
influences her husband to make the choices he makes to attain power. In Macbeth, a seventeenth
century play by William Shakespeare, suggests that women are capable of equal ambition and
cruelty as men, yet societal constraints prohibit them to pursue such aspirations on their own.
At the reader’s first encounter with the Macbeths, the reader perceives them to be an
ordinary husband and wife: Macbeth is a brutal yet brave soldier off at war, saving his country
from invasive forces, and Lady Macbeth is tending to their home, communicating to him through
letters. This appearance, however, is erased as soon as the reader is introduced to Lady Macbeth.
The fifth scene in the first act starts off with Lady Macbeth reading Macbeth’s letter describing
an incident with three witches who prophesied that he will gain the title of Thane of Cawdor and
eventually King. Her initial reaction to the letter is that Macbeth is “too full o’ th’ milk of human
kindness / To catch the nearest way” (1.5.11). She fears that Macbeth will not immediately turn
this prophecy into a reality and hasten to acquire the power she so desperately desires. She
immediately begins plotting the current king, Duncan’s, murder and hopes Macbeth hurries home
so she can “pour [her] spirits in thine ear / And chastise with the valor of [her] tongue / All that
impedes thee from the golden round” (1.5.12). She is aware that she will be unable to undertake
a murder on her own and therefore needs to compel Macbeth to glory. She intends to transfer her
courage and lust for power into Macbeth as a means to seize the throne. As a female, she cannot
simply take matters into her own hands and take the lead, but rather needs to stay behind the
scenes and manipulate Macbeth into doing her bidding. Shakespeare characterizes Lady Macbeth
as a frightening woman whose ambition rules her decisions from the get-go and the situation
only worsens from here.
Lady Macbeth is determined to eliminate anything that gets in her way of her vision of
usurping the throne. She even goes so far as to let go of her womanhood, a vital part of her
identity:
“unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty [...]
Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers” (1.5.12-13)
As the man in the relationship, Macbeth has the expectation to be the one so desperate for power
that he would attempt murder without considering consequences. However, she is far more
determined and greedier than her husband to pursue her ambitions. Therefore, Lady Macbeth
wishes to be free of all her feminine characteristics in effort to evade her husband's inadequacies
and carry out the deed herself. Furthermore, society views women simply as caretakers and
mothers, nurturing figures who put others before themselves, which is precisely what Lady
Macbeth opposes. She yearns for her motherly traits to escape her body and be replaced with
immense brutality so she is able to focus on the task at hand and successfully obtain power. This
aspiration is her response to the social constraints that prohibit her to freely express her inner
malevolence.
Despite the limitations placed on her as a woman, Lady Macbeth learns to use her
femininity to her advantage to keep her schemes under wraps. As a female, she is meant to
conceal her devilish desires and has been trained to “Look like th'innocent flower, but be the
serpent under't" (1.5.13). She disguises her evil thoughts with her delicate appearance that
convinces others of her innocence. She utilizes this cunning tactic when the news that Duncan
has been murdered is revealed, feigning such intense shock that she faints. Macduff instructs a
servant to “look to the lady” (2.3.28). This emphasizes how she is able to drive away any
suspicion from herself because of her nature as a woman. She dispels any doubt to protect their
devious plan and aid them to greatness, all through her ability to benefit from her disadvantages.
Additionally, she has mastered the arts of manipulation and deception to actively control
Macbeth and achieve her goal. Lady Macbeth cannot commit the murder herself, so she uses her
womanly charm instead. Firstly, she diminishes her husband’s identity to nothing but his
manhood by constantly criticizing him for “wearing a heart so white” (2.2.23). She challenges
his masculinity and accuses him of cowardice which encourages him to follow through with the
murder to prove his bravery. Through this continuous attack on her husband and genius usage of
her feminine traits, Lady Macbeth acts as a catalyst for the power grab that follows, which
reinforces the unconventional power dynamic between the couple.
Unexpectedly, however, as the play progresses Macbeth begins to dominate the
relationship and grows increasingly ambitious, while Lady Macbeth becomes weaker and
weaker. Slowly, the pair conforms back to a typical seventeenth century power dynamic in which
the man makes the decisions. Although Lady Macbeth had an immense initial impact on
Macbeth, his actions that followed the murder were fueled by personal gains. An excess of
power corrupts one’s brain, and Macbeth was no exception. Macbeth believes he can only stay in
control through violent means. Soon enough, Banquo’s “throat is cut” (3.4.41) and Macbeth
“seizes upon Fife” to murder Macduff’s family (4.1.56) because Macbeth views them as dangers
to his kingdom. Conversely, Lady Macbeth's strength depletes after King Duncan's murder. The
cruel and barbaric crimes she manipulated Macbeth into doing psychologically impact her,
drawing her to insanity. "Out, damned spot," she says, sleepwalking (5.1.70). Her guilt
overwhelms her previously unbreakable character and she commits suicide. Macbeth comes to
the conclusion that life is a “tale / Told by an idiot [...] Signifying nothing” (5.5.77). The
Macbeths’ efforts were in vain because ultimately, they crumbled to nothingness. Lady
Macbeth's character deteriorates as a consequence of a distorted perception of unrelenting
strength and an unhealthily strong influence over her husband. Her imposing identity contributed
to the elimination of her ethical ideals and, inevitably, a harsh discovery of her core deficiencies.
Her ability to brutally influence Macbeth escalated to a dangerous pursuit toward a mutual
objective and the tragedy of the Macbeths.
Simply through integrating a female villain, Shakespeare challenges the Elizabethan era’s
expectations regarding the relationship between gender and power. However, this unanticipated
end of the story, the suicide of Lady Macbeth, prompts many questions. Is Shakespeare
investigating how unchecked ambition results in one’s demise or is he implying that a woman
should not exhibit her ambition for it only has negative lasting effects?