Lady Macbeth is perhaps one of Shakespeare’s most famous female characters. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth, she is depicted as stronger, more ruthless and more ambitious then her husband. She is power hungry and manipulative. Nearing the end of the play however, Lady Macbeth’s once hardened outer shell begins to crumble as guilt grasps her entire being.
When Lady Macbeth first hears of her husbands prophecy of becoming king she states that she knows Macbeth is ambitious, but fears he is too full of "th'milk of human kindness" to take the steps necessary to make himself king (I.v.15). She quickly formulates a plan that ascertains her husbands place as king and accordingly, her place as queen. It is then she delivers a famous speech in which she pleads, "you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe top-f
While Lady Macbeth’s ambition and strength are among her most admirable traits, the audience cannot help but feel as though they are being cheated. Lady Macbeth does not have to work for her power, she simply achieves this power through manipulation. It is said that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Throughout Macbeth it is the struggle for power that is the cause of the tragic heroes downfall. Although Lady Macbeth is not in a literal sense the ‘hero’, in the beginning of the play she assumes a more prominent role than her husband although later on takes a backseat to her Macbeth’s new ruthless power trip. Lady Macbeth seems to “wear the pants” in the relationship; yet, she cannot hold up to the audience’s expectations that she will be the stronghold that she once had the promise to be.
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