In my opinion, Lady Macbeth is portrayed by Shakespeare as an evil character, as she shows great ambition, she values power and wealth over human life, and she demonstrates cruelty throughout the play. Firstly, Lady Macbeth’s evil character is demonstrated by the reckless ambition she shows. ‘That no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between the effect and it!’ she states. This shows that Lady Macbeth is willing to do anything to accomplish her evil ambitions, even if it means that she has to ignore human compassion which includes her gender, as she wishes the spirits to “unsex her”, to make her less like a women and more like a man. In that period of time, women were below men in society. Being able to have such thoughts as a woman under those circumstances at that time proves that Lady Macbeth is evil and her mind is filled with the lust for high ambition. Therefore, Lady Macbeth’s evilness drives out Macbeth’s ambition to become king and murder Duncan. Additionally, the way that Lady Macbeth values power over human life also shows her evil personality, when she says, ‘Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out’.
This tells us that she would rather kill her own newborn baby by bashing his brains out, than break her own promise. Women were meant to show a soft, feminine nature in society at that time, however uses such vivid imageries, showing how hungry she is for power, and how cruel and evil she is as a female human being. This quote also tells Macbeth that he is weak and less of a man if he is unable to follow through with their plan, when she would be willing to kill her own blood, which shows the sheer force of her character that leads to Macbeth follow what she says. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth’s evilness is also demonstrated by her inhumanity, as she says, ’Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there. Go carry them and smear the sleepy grooms with blood.’ This shows that Lady Macbeth is only afraid of getting caught, but not guilty about what she has done, in addition she wants to make it seem even worse by smearing the grooms with blood and passing the blame to innocent people. In this quote Lady Macbeth is scolding her husband for showing humanity and feeling frightened after performing a murder, which is a feeling that all normal people would have, as she finds this a cowardly behaviour, and this shows her cold-hearted and evil nature. In conclusion, Lady Macbeth personality is expressed through her large ambition, the way that she desires power, and her cold-bloodedness. Therefore, one thinks that Lady Macbeth is evil.
The Essay on Macbeth Play Evil Ambition
The shortest and bloodiest of Shakespeare's tragedies, Macbeth (written sometime in the early 1600 s, and first performed sometime before 1610) treats the subject of ambition, tracing the disintegration of a powerful man who, longing to be more powerful, discards all moral boundaries in his quest for power. After being lured on by the insinuating prophecies of the witches and murdering Duncan, ...
