Lady Macbeth William Shakespeare's Play, Term Paper

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She will even attack her husband if that is what it takes. For example, sells him:

Art thou afeard

To be the same in thine own act and valour

As thou art in desire? Wouldst though have that Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life.

And live a coward in thine own esteem. (Shakespeare I.vii.39-43)

Here we see that she will stoop to attacking his masculinity if it will help her. She knows this will work because he loves her.

It is also important to note how she expresses belief in him, which is another manipulative tool. An example of this occurs when she tells him, "But screw your courage to the sticking-place/and we'll not fail" (I.vii.64-5). Without her, he would never have done the things he did. Wayne Booth concurs, noting Lady Macbeth's primary duty is to "incite and confuse Macbeth" (Booth 189). The lady's plan works - as she convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan. Her plan works, and Macbeth agrees to killing Duncan in spite of his misgivings and his "heat-oppressed mind" (Shakespeare II.i.39-46). Because Macbeth goes through with the murder demonstrates the power Lady Macbeth has over her husband. He could never go through with it without her to lean on through the entire thing.

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However, he believes her and believes in her, which is the only way he could act against his conscious in this way. While he may never be able to justify his behavior, he knows he has his wife right there beside him. Macbeth needs his wife to be who she wants him to be just as she needs him to gain her social status.

Without Lady Macbeth, Macbeth would have ended differently. Macbeth might have been king although it is highly unlikely. Without her prodding, he would have never been able to do the things he did and, as a result, became the murderous man he became. Lady Macbeth knew how to manipulate her husband and she was successful because he loved her. While Macbeth is a villain in this play, he is by no means the only villain and not the most evil. While he contemplates his actions, his wife can only thirst for the throne. Without her, he would have never committed that first murder; without her, they would have lived a completely different life.

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