How Does Shakespeare Represent Lady Macbeth's Character

Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as an ‘unconventional’ woman of the time. In the Jacobean era, women were expected to be quiet and submissive, however, as we see throughout the play Lady Macbeth chooses to ignore the gender roles and act as in such a way in order to get what she wants ‘unsex me here’. She is requesting from the witches and other spiritual beings to remove the roles expected of her as a woman to allow her to be able to not only get Macbeth to kill King Duncan but also so she can have more power and control within her life.

Another example of Lady Macbeth not being a stereotypical woman of the time is when she asks the witches to ‘Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall’ she is asking them to remove anything that may define her as a woman so she can commit regicide with Macbeth with no objections. Her masculinity is further proven by the fact that when we first meet her she's already planning Duncan's murder.

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This makes the audience feel staggered and concerned about the future of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

Shakespeare portrays how evil Lady Macbeth is when she explains to Macbeth that he should ‘Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under 't.’ The use of the noun ‘serpent’ shows how Macbeth should commit the murder precisely and fast to avoid any repercussions. Shakespeare also mentions that this ‘serpent’ should look like an ‘innocent flower’ meaning that he shouldn't show any signs of aggression or suspicion until murdering Duncan.

This quote again links back to the fact that women were considered less powerful and less educated, so for Lady Macbeth to order Macbeth, a well respected and strong man in itself, shows how much influence and power she has over him, its also ironic that Lady Macbeth is in control over the family while usually, the man is. The audience is once again shocked at the fact that she managed to gain such power over Macbeth, and are anxious that the plan of killing Duncan is occurring very soon.

In Act 1 Scene 5 soliloquy, she mentions how she wants the spirits to ‘make thick [her] blood.’ Blood is essential in our body and acts as a symbol of one's sensitivity. Lady Macbeth asking for her blood to be made thicker is her essentially asking to become less sensitive and remorseless so she can commit the ‘ungodly’ acts she wants to.

Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth bestows her power upon Macbeth by being manipulative and persuasive. A clear example of this can be seen in Act 1 Scene 5 where she states that she wants to ‘pour [her] spirits in [Macbeth’s] ear [and] chastise with the valour of [her] tongue,’ which indicates that she wants to pressure Macbeth into performing her biddings. This manipulation can be observed when she explains to Macbeth that ‘the sleeping and the dead are but as pictures’ in an attempt to dehumanise the sleeping so the task of killing Duncan would be easier. Lastly, in act 3 scene 4, she asks him ‘Are you a man?’, to taunt his masculinity, hoping that these taunts will convince him to proceed with the plan of killing Duncan.Lady Macbeth's manipulative behaviour links back to the context as back in the Jacobean era, women were considered cunning and could achieve most things by persuading their peers. Macbeth's situation with Lady Macbeth also closely relates to how Eve persuades Adam to take a bite of the forbidden fruit which brought all evil into the world. Just how Lady Macbeth convinced Macbeth to commit treason, Eve convinced Adam to take a bite out of the apple.

During the scene where Duncan enters Lady Macbeth's house, she greets him and informs him that ‘all our service, In every point twice done and then done double, Were poor and single business to contend Against those honours deep and broad where with. Your majesty loads our house.’ Shakespeare uses hyperbole when Lady Macbeth says ‘twice done and then done double” to convey how ‘honour[ed]’ she is to have King Duncan in her home. Lady Macbeth is welcoming to Duncan to assist him in feeling that he's safe and not in any type of danger. In the same scene, Lady Macbeth states that ‘we keep it in your trust and we’re glad to give you back what’s yours.’ Shakespeare foreshadows Duncan's death when the mention of the noun ‘trust’, denotes dramatic irony as we know of the plans to kill Duncan. Shakespeare does this to emphasize the complete lack of ‘trust’ involved in this situation, which gives the audience a sense of superiority for acknowledging what is going to occur without anyone beside Lady Macbeth and Macbeth knowing. This statement also creates an effective amount of suspension.

After the deed has been done, Lady Macbeth's character seems to disintegrate. The first sign of this can be seen during Act 5 scene 1 when she starts to sleepwalk and exclaims, ‘Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky!’ Lady Macbeth states ‘Out, damned spot!’ she is witnessing a growing spot of blood on her had, the blood represents the guilt she has for making Macbeth kill Duncan. She is subconsciously admitting to herself that it is her fault people are being killed. Despite her not saying it out loud she has still had the realisation which is causing her to have these hallucinations. In the Jacobean era, sleepwalking was considered a supernatural act, meaning that Lady Macbeth was seen to have demons inside her. Another example of Lady Macbeth’s guilt can be seen when she says ‘Here’s a smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’, Shakespeare uses hyperbole when saying that all ‘the perfumes of Arabia’wouldn't ‘sweeten’ her hand to emphasize how guilty Lady Macbeth's character feels about taking part in Duncan's murder, as not only will the blood not wash off, but the smell remains as well.

Lady Macbeths lowest point is before the final battle where she dies offstage in a moment when there is no time for grief. This is revealed when Seyton states ‘The queen, my lord, is dead’, there was no mention of how she died but due to her mental issues it is safe to assume that she took her own life because she couldn't deal with the guilt anymore. The fact that she dies so suddenly without any warning shows how weak she became by the end of the play, in contrast to her being the mentally strongest at the beginning.

In conclusion, Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as extremely manipulative, proving it throughout the whole play, as well as two-faced, masculine and evil. This all changes progressively as she falls into a deep depression towards the mid-end of the play due to the immense amount of guilt that she felt after being the reason Duncan was killed.