Download Character Analysis of Lady Macbeth | PDF Sample and more Study notes Literature in PDF only on Docsity! Lady Macbeth | Sample answer ‘Lady Macbeth’s strengths and weaknesses lead to her downfall’ (2014 mock) The mettle of a woman is often weighed down by restricting cultural barriers and societal expectations regarding one’s gender. Women in literature are constantly boxed into roles which deem their femininity synonymous to weakness. In the case of Lady Macbeth in the play “Macbeth”, however, this is not the case. She displays single-minded ambition, unwavering intelligence and fortitude, all qualities that are typically ascribed to male characters. However, she is not without a conscience, as we witness further on in the play. William Shakespeare has truly managed to create a well-rounded character that is wrought with an amalgamation of both strengths and weaknesses. Below I will discuss these traits further, and how they ultimately lead to her demise. First of all, upon our initial introduction to Lady Macbeth, we witness far greater strength of will than her “dearest partner in greatness”. Subsequent to their correspondence, she demonstrates an intimate understanding of her husband and his potential to achieve “the golden round”, despite the fact that he may be “too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way”. Thus, she becomes aware that she must make a moral sacrifice in order to fully commit to her husband’s pursuit of power. She begins to sublimate her femininity with coarse evil, praying to “spirits” to “unsex” her and to “fill her toe top-full of direst cruelty”. Perhaps this sacrificial decision to annihilate her humanity ultimately sows the seed for her eventual destruction, however, such ruthless fidelity is truly a strength of Lady Macbeth’s character. She is more than aware of her husband’s adoration for his "dearest partner in greatness". Thus, in order to persuade her “dearest love” to work against his moral conscience and commit the crime of regicide, she employs her strongest weapon, the “valour of [her] tongue”. She will "pour [her] spirit into [his] ear" and guide him toward regicide. Macbeth’s vacillations do not cloud her judgement. Through incessantly berating him on his sole insecurity, his masculinity, she eventually succeeds in conniving him to commit the crime, committing herself to counselling the reluctant Macbeth throughout the process, a stark reversal of archetypal dynamics so often depicted within a patriarchal society.
