The Symbolism of Lady Macbeth

An inescapable trait of mankind is the fact that all humans are naturally peppered with the blemishes of greed, ambition, and self-interest. A common occurrence in humanity is the incident of a person giving in to the temptation of greed, letting themselves slowly spiral out of control with desire, and eventually finding themselves in a place of negativity and regret. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as an epitome of the darker side of human nature in order to demonstrate a common psychological cycle of self-interest through her actions of greed and ambition, followed by consequences of sorrow.

A common theme in human history is that of greed. One is never satisfied with what he has, and this oftentimes means that a person will do anything to get what he wants. Lady Macbeth is a prime example of the consuming influence of greed. Even at her first entrance, she is wishing to be something else. Make me a man, she says, and “unsex me here” (Shakespeare 18). Men and women since the dawn of time have wanted precisely what they cannot have. Lady Macbeth exhibits this concept perfectly with her “unhealthy focus on the world of men, valuing it above all other things” (Pancoast). She believes that being a man would be infinitely better than her lot of womanhood, just as many people nowadays believe that a Corvette would be infinitely better than their truck or SUV. Like every other member of the human race—both past and present, Lady Macbeth is blinded to the positive qualities of her situation due to her concentration on the things she does not have. Another common side effect of greed is impatience. When a person wants something, he or she usually wants it right away. When she hears of the witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth wants her husband to be king, and she jumps into action. She does not care to wait for fate to deliver the power to them, but is greedy enough to take matters into her own hands. Greed is selfish, and so strong that it convinces the person that everyone else’s feelings pale in comparison to the terrible feeling of want. Lady Macbeth, in an example of this belief, is quick to kill in the name of her lust for power, without thought for the consequences. Confident of their imminent success and possession of the crown, she says, “screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail” (Shakespeare 24). Though she understands the magnitude of the evil she is committing, Lady Macbeth presses forward in her greed and lust, just as real-life people abandon all in the name of want.

Ambition, too, is commonly seen in both the lives of Lady Macbeth and the population of Earth. A vital component in the dangerous cycle of selfishness, ambition is a great motivator for Lady Macbeth’s extreme actions in the play. Obsessed with fulfilling the prophecy, Lady Macbeth pushes Lord Macbeth into immediate action, urging him to murder the king in his sleep. Lord Macbeth is unwilling to go to such drastic measures and even refuses to go through with the agreed plan at one point, saying “we will proceed no further in this business” (Shakespeare 22). However, Lady Macbeth will not accept his answer, calling it cowardice. This mindset is seen in humanity when a person who is so overtaken with ambition uses persuasion, deceit, and mockery towards others in order to achieve their goals. Lady Macbeth goads her husband until he gives in, claiming he is not a man because he does not possess bravery. “You would be so much more the man” (Shakespeare 23), she says to him in an attempt to persuade him to see her side of things. Eventually, her tactics prove successful and Lord Macbeth kills Duncan. When her husband comes close to giving away their secret at a gathering of lords, Lady Macbeth lies in order to keep her crimes hidden, acting as real men do in times of illegality committed in the name of ambition. While on her quest for power, Lady Macbeth “in the process has to renounce morality” (Pancoast) but she does it willingly in order to achieve her ends. Lady Macbeth “is suppressing her moral nature” (Pancoast) when she instigates the death of Duncan; she is willing to give up everything for the sake of her husband’s political career, including, as the people of the time period would have religiously believed, her soul. In committing the sin of taking part in the killing of another man, Lady Macbeth is committing herself to damnation. This is all in order to satiate her ambition, and wrongdoing for this sake can be recognized in many cases within humanity, even to the extent of—as Shakespeare demonstrated through the character of Lady Macbeth—the loss of morality, and the use of dishonesty and persuasion.

As is inevitable in real life, Lady Macbeth concludes her cycle of self-interest with finding herself in a situation of guilt, regret, and insanity. During the latter half of the play, Lady Macbeth all but disappears from the stage as she slowly becomes consumed with the regret and realization of what she has done. Pacing back and forth every night, she feverishly rubs at her hands as she tries to wash from them the ghost of Duncan’s blood, as well as the blood of all those whose deaths followed soon after. She realizes that “what’s done cannot be undone” (Shakespeare 80), and this is a warning from Shakespeare to man and woman alike. Pushed past the brink of insanity by the knowledge of the evil for which she is responsible, the punishment of remorse and crushing guilt drives Lady Macbeth to commit suicide, choosing to end her own life as she has indirectly ended so many others. Similar consequences appear in the lives of many, many other people. For example, the political leader Hitler’s ruthless actions resulted in his rapid ascension to power in Europe during the era of the Second World War. Utilizing the methods of murder and dishonesty, he was close to European domination when he reached the end of his climb. He, too, ended up committing suicide while his empire fell down around him.

Shakespeare’s example of human nature rang true even three hundred years after he wrote Macbeth. Even the most cunning people, such as Lady Macbeth, receive consequences for their actions when they decide to choose greed and ambition over honesty and temperance.

 Lady Macbeth of the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a symbol of the darker side of human nature, and is depicted as such in order to illustrate the detrimental cycle of self-interest which is so frequently seen in the lives of mankind. By having her choose to act in favor of greed and ambition, giving in to the temptation of the natural man, Shakespeare “was opening up a discussion of what…people are capable of” (Pancoast), as well as warning mankind of the dangerous repercussions of falling into the pattern of selfishness. Though she is often considered to be a caricature of evil and unrealistically fictitious, the Lady Macbeths of real-life history are far more abundant than people ever realize.

Works Cited

Pancoast, Rebecca. "Morality and Gender: Feminist Interpretations of Macbeth." Rebecca

Pancoast. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.

Shakespeare, William, and David M. Bevington. Macbeth. Toronto: Bantam, 1988. Print.