Lady Macbeth:
Shakespeare's construction of the role of Lady Macbeth composes her to be one of the most powerful females within literature, whom entirely subverts the many gender expectations of the passive, subservient, patriarchal female. Instantly, upon meeting Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare strongly associates her with the supernatural elements of the play, as she appears to mimic the grotesque, macabre language of the witches: "Pour my spirits in thine ear,/ And chastise with the valour of my tongue." Thus, instantly constructing Lady Macbeth to be a cunning, sly figure in which the audience should remain cautious and untrusting towards; especially for a Jacobean audience, whom would have perceived the supernatural as a very real, corruptive threat.
In addition to this, alongside Shakespeare's alignment of Lady Macbeth with the supernatural elements, he also establishes the nature at which she usurps Macbeth's role within the marriage, and the dominant sense of power she possesses in comparison to her husband. For example, right from the start Lady Macbeth entirely subverts the expectations of the audience, as a Jacobean audience may have at first perceived her to be a conventional representation of the patriarchal female, as she merely repeats the words of her husband aloud - thus, evoking a sense of obedience and passivity, in which women were supposed to uphold. However, directly after she concludes repeating the words of Macbeth's letter, she begins to speak freely her own externalised desires and determination to fulfil the prophecy: "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promised." Therefore, accentuating to the audience that Lady Macbeth will not conform to the expected behaviours of the female within patriarchy, but rather will speak freely, asserting her power and her desires, just as equally as a male would.
Notably, it is interesting to consider the way in which Shakespeare shifts the expected power balance and gender roles within the marriage, in order to make Macbeth appear significantly weaker in comparison to his wife; which maybe makes the dominant shift in Act Four of the play, when Lady Macbeth begins to demise in power, that much more significant. For example, one of the first lines Lady Macbeth states is: "Yet I do fear thy nature:/ It is too full o'th milk of human kindness." which forebodes to the audience that the power to succeed must come from this female figure, as she fears that her husband possesses too much morality and kindness to ever consider murder as a means of improving his social status. Arguably, it remains interpretable whether Shakespeare establishes Lady Macbeth's sense of power within this specific quote merely to accentuate the subversion of these martial roles, placing a strong emphasis on Macbeth's weak nature, which makes his later shift to tyranny and immorality even more disturbing and shocking - as the audience are able to compare this to Macbeth's earlier lack of power in the company of his wife. Or, alternatively, whether Shakespeare establishes Lady Macbeth's disregard of her husband so excessively in this opening scene in order to exaggerate her instinctive relationship with ambition; as she instantly appears to become enraptured with her own desires to "have thee crowned withal" that she begins to belittle her husband and fear that she may have to act alone: "Art not without ambition." The "Unsex me here" Speech:
Throughout the speech, Shakespeare repeats the imperative "Come" which could be suggestive of many interpretations - all of equal significance. Firstly, the repetition of this command, could be establishing a sense of immediacy and urgency to Lady Macbeth's language; thus, accentuating her desperation to be rid of her feminine, weak nature - making her able to fulfil her "black and deep desires." Secondly, it could alternatively be argued that in fact Lady Macbeth's repetition of this imperative throughout could be a means of aligning her with the supernatural, and more specifically the witches; with many critics regarding her as the fourth-witch. Much like the witches use of repetition in Act One, Scene Three: "Show me, show me" and "A drum, a drum", Lady Macbeth's repetition too composes a chant-like rhythm to her speech. Therefore, appearing to align her with the grotesque, excessive and manipulative nature of the witches; as well as presenting the 'bigger picture' of Shakespeare's portrayal of femininity within 'Macbeth' - with his two most dominant female roles forming subversions of gender stereotypes.
Within this speech, Shakespeare establishes just how significantly distorted and corrupted Lady Macbeth's ambition truly is to commit the deed of murder, as she beckons "spirits that tend on mortal thought" to "unsex [her],/ And fill [her] from the crown to the toe top-full /Of direst cruelty". Within this particular extract, Shakespeare establishes that Lady Macbeth's ambition is not simply that which is engrained within all of human nature, but rather this is a transgressive violation of ambition, as she requests not only to be de-feminised, but dehumanised altogether - to make her of a liminal state, void of all guilt, morality and emotion. Thus, meaning that "no compunctious visiting of nature [shall]/ Shake [her] fell purpose."
It is interesting to note within this speech the nature at which Lady Macbeth boldly understands the limitations of the female gender identity, and the way in which she is limited in the role as a female when faced with her over-ambitious desires. For example, the way in which Lady Macbeth demands the spirits to "come, to [her] woman's breasts,/ And take [her] milk for gall" appears to affirm this interpretation. Arguably, it appears that these transgressive desires are successfully fulfilled by the "spirits" too, with Lady Macbeth later stating that she would "dash...the brains out" of her own newborn infant "had [she] so sworn" has done to the act of murder. Therefore, it could be argued that Lady Macbeth's knowledge of her own limited gender identity makes Shakespeare's reversal of the expected gender roles even more effective, as Lady Macbeth appears to almost adopt an external perspective from patriarchy which allows her to attach her own role within the domestic sphere from a detached perspective - much like the isolated, over-seeing nature of the witches upon the "barren heath."
Finally, it is also vital to note the way in which Lady Macbeth calls upon darkness as a means of concealment of her deepest desires: "Come, thick night,/ And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of Hell,/ That my keen knife see not the wound it makes..." Therefore, not only aligning Lady Macbeth's intrinsic link to the Gothic notions of darkness, disguise and concealment; but additionally, exposing that even after beckoning the spirit world to her aid, she still requires external forces of nature to help her literally 'get away with murder.'
One of the most important features of Lady Macbeth's character is her definite distinction between her public and private persona's, which is beautifully summed up in her instruction to Macbeth to "look like th'innocent flower,/ But be the serpent under't."Shakespeare's decision to introduce to the audience the most corrupted, dark side to Lady Macbeth first is no mistake, but rather, by introducing this externalisation of her desires first, Shakespeare sets up the potential for a vast amount of dramatic irony which runs throughout many of the other scenes. For example, after witnessing the "unsex me here" soliloquy in which Lady Macbeth expresses her cravings for darkness to allow her "knife see not the wound it makes", both a modern and Jacobean audience strongly understand the inevitable decision Lady Macbeth has reached - she will murder Duncan, Macbeth will be King, and her gender identity will not limit her. In addition, in regards to context, Shakespeare further establishes Lady Macbeth as a villainous character - more specifically to a Jacobean audience - through his use of the imagery of the "serpent" lurking underneath "th'innocent flower", which links to the medal in which James I was awarded with after the discovery of Guy Fwakes Gun Powder plot.
Within the following scene, Shakespeare's composition of this dramatic irony is strongly put into action, as Duncan not only expresses: "This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air,/ Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses", which the audience know is untrue, as from what we have previously heard from Lady Macbeth's speech the air is more accurately bursting with whisperings of murderous plots and ambitious desires. But additionally, the nature at which Duncan greets Lady Macbeth as his "fair and noble hostess....see, see: our honoured hostess." Thus, not only accentuating Duncan's naivety towards the true intentions of Lady Macbeth, but also Lady Macbeth's manipulative, cunning and duplicitous ability to appear "fair and noble" when in fact she forms the antithesis to this - subsequently accentuating the gothic notions of duality, concealment and disguise.
A weakness?
However, despite Lady Macbeth appearing to be an entirely "fiend-like queen", in fact she possesses a dominant weakness within her character - she cannot actually commit the murder herself - which makes all of her grotesque, macabre commands to Macbeth to "hide what the false heart doth know" less convincing...
A vital quote accentuating this would be:
"Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done't."
Thus, accentuating that in fact Lady Macbeth possesses a very significant character flaw - her femininity - which appears to still not have been removed by the "spirits that tend on mortal thought." Despite her macabre imagery of "dash[ing]...the brains out" of her own infant, she still possesses strong emotional ties to the paternal role within her life, which makes her unable to commit the murder of Duncan. Therefore, composing the sense that although Lady Macbeth may appear like a "fiend-like queen" in the opening stages of the play, in fact as the play progresses she deteriorates significantly, until finally she becomes less powerful than Macbeth himself - "be innocent of knowledge, dearest chuck" - before descending into a state of insanity in her final appearance within Shakespeare's greatest tragedy.
The Sleepwalking Scene - Act Five, Scene One
Lady Macbeth's final appearance within 'Macbeth' accentuates entirely her mentally 'unhinged' state, due to the incessant infestation of guilt preying on her mind, regarding the succession of murders she herself manipulated Macbeth to commit. Throughout this scene, it is vital to note the nature at which Lady Macbeth speaks in prose, which more specifically is only used by Shakespeare in order to accentuate the qualities of insanity within a specific character - for example King Lear, and Ophelia in 'Hamlet'. Notably, throughout the play, most of the characters speak in iambic pentameter, which evokes a strong sense of eloquence, control and sanity in their expression; however, Shakespeare's use of prose within this extract highlights the nature at which Lady Macbeth loses these qualities, as her language becomes free, excessive and uncontrolled.
One vital aspect of this scene which is important to note is Lady Macbeth's sudden questioning: "The Thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?" which accentuates two vital interpretations. Firstly, Lady Macbeth's questioning regarding the absence of the Thane of Fife's wife - meaning Lady Macduff - may form an externalisation of her guilt over the "savage slaughter" of Macduff's "wife and babes." However, it may be more evaluative to perceive this questioning as a rationalisation of Lady Macbeth's lack of knowledge and confusion regarding the murder of Macduff's family; as in fact, as Macbeth begins to assert more power over his wife, he simultaneously chooses not to confirm his murderous decisions with her anymore - making her unaware of the nature of Macbeth's actions.
Furthermore, Shakespeare creates a striking repetition of the imagery of Lady Macbeth washing her hands, which can be regarded as a motif throughout the play. Notably, directly after the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth so boldly and emotionlessly states: "A little water clears us of this deed:/ How easy it is then!" which exposes her lack of morality as she so naively believes the mere act of washing her hands of the blood can clear her of the guilt of murder. However, predictably, this guilt swiftly catches up with her, as within this final scene before committing her own suicide she states: "What, will these hands ne'er be clean?" as well as "what's done,/ Cannot be undone." Thus, accentuating the cyclical structure to this vital motif, and accentuating the inevitability of cause and effect in which Shakespeare so intricately engrains throughout the plot - "unnatural deeds, do breed unnatural troubles."
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