MACBETH #1

Do you feel sorry for Lady Macbeth? Why or why not?

Yes, I do feel sorry for Lady Macbeth. Even though she was one of the pivotal characters that pushed Macbeth to a spiral of horrible events, it was a mistake. I think there’s an obvious difference between the witches, who intentionally drive people insane, and Lady Macbeth, who quickly felt guilty about her actions. Evidently the witches never repented, but it is clear (especially in Act 4) that Lady Macbeth regretted and repented her actions. Thus, I assume that Lady Macbeth has a good side all along, but was temporarily blinded by her ambition and greed in becoming Queen of Scotland. This is understandable situation, because it is our human nature to want more. We are never satisfied with what we have. Therefore when Macbeth filled Lady Macbeth with all these great possibilities, as a human being, Lady Macbeth was consumed with thoughts of her wearing the shiny crown. If you reach to that level (where all you can think about is what you want), then it is hard to get out of that cycle. Lady Macbeth merely couldn’t get out of that consumption of ambition, hence the murder of Duncan to make her dreams come true. Plus, when I look back at the English history back in the days (the setting of the play), death wasn’t such a big deal. It happened often, so the enormity of death may not be the same as how we conceive it. With that said, I think Lady Macbeth’s reaction after killing Duncan (and after Macbeth killed Macduff’s family) tells a lot about her fragile character. And for that reason I feel sorry for Lady Macbeth.