How far does Lady Macbeth play the
decisive role in Macbeth? Argue your answer.
Lady
Macbeth, the wife of Macbeth and later the queen of Scotland, has been referred
to as the “Fourth Witch” and Malcolm calls her “The Fiend- like Queen,” for it
is she who chastises Macbeth by the “valour of her tongue” overcomes his
hesitation and drives him to commit the murder to get the crown of Scotland.
She is ruthless in the pursuit of this end, shows such iron will and
determination as overcomes all obstacles in the way, and Duncan could not be
murdered except her. She calls upon the power that rule human destiny to unsex
her, to take away from her all womanly charity and kindliness, and to feel her
from top to bottom with direst cruelty. She seems to be ruthless monster who
would go to any extremes and use all possible means to achieve her end. But
this is only an appearance, and as the action develops it becomes clear that in
reality she is a woman with common feminine weakness.
In the beginning of the play she is the very picture of cruelty and grandeur. When she receives the letter from Macbeth and knows the predictions of the witches who have prophesied the crown for Macbeth, She determines to kill Duncan to achieve the crown of Scotland. As soon as Macbeth returns, she goes straight to the point without any greetings of wifely joy and permits him to speak of nothings else.
