Similarities Between Macbeth And Scrooge

Terminating Undesirable Relationships: Macbeth’s and Scrooge’s

Journey to a Redeveloped Life

William Shakespeare’s parents both died barely ten years apart, which is why so many of his tragic plays end in death. In his play The Legend of Macbeth Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are obsessed with their own selfish desires and cannot stop their murderous deeds. In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, the character Scrooge is a representation of the type of person Dickens could have become because his father made him start working at the age of twelve. Scrooge is an old, grouchy, and cruel man who cares more about money than his relationship with his fiancée Belle. Although Macbeth and Scrooge both undergo changes of the heart, the outcome brings about

a terrible decline in their relationships.
Both of these vulnerable characters are left by their female companions. Lady Macbeth leaves her husband to face the world alone when she takes her own life. Although she is the reason Macbeth kills King Duncan, her murderous mindset quickly switches to Macbeth. Barbara Everett points out, “At the start of Act 2, Macbeth was conscience stricken while his wife was aggressive and murderous. As Macbeth becomes a jaded killer, Lady Macbeth falls prey to her conscience, with the result that by the beginning of Act 5 their roles are more or less reversed.” As the story goes on, the contrast of their personalities brings them closer together; however, their relationship starts taking a turn for the worse (Dowden ?). Soon she gains a guilty conscience, is unable to fall asleep, and begins to see visions of blood on her hands (Mac. Act. Scene. Line #). She cannot take this excruciating, mentally unstable pain any longer and commits suicide. Hearing the news of his wife passing away, Macbeth’s attitude is calm and unconcerned because he does not need her anymore (Everett). Although Belle does not have a traumatic experience similar to Lady Macbeth, she does break off her and Scrooge’s engagement. The first ghost, The Ghost of Christmas Past, decides to show Scrooge his beloved ex-fiancée (page number; st. what stave). He takes Scrooge back to the day when Belle shatters his heart. Paul Davis acknowledges how unbearable this is for Scrooge by saying, “The Christmas when Belle, Scrooge’s fiancée, returned his ring, telling him that he was more interested in money than in her; finally, a later Christmas when Belle joyfully celebrates the holiday with her husband and children. Shaken by these visions of the past and by what he has lost, Scrooge asks the Spirit to haunt him no longer.” She breaks their binding agreement to stay together because she feels as if it is of no use to Scrooge anymore.
Macbeth and Scrooge each have different priorities in their life as to why their women left them.

Lady Macbeth is overwhelmed with guilt, shame, and cannot control the thoughts in her mind any longer. Early in the story she has all the power in the couple’s relationship and that is how she wants it to stay. However, she begins to manipulate Macbeth by using her sexuality to maintain power by trying to “evoke jealousy in her husband”, but her plan comes quickly to a halt when she decides not to be physical with him until he agrees to murder Duncan (Rooks). This rejection causes Macbeth to turn to the three persistent witches until he is sexually appreciated. From this point on, Macbeth feels as though he no longer needs his wife (Everett). Since Macbeth feels this way, his wife has no one to care for her when she becomes a sociopath. Varying from the psychotic individual of Lady Macbeth, Belle feels as though she is no longer a priority in Scrooge’s life because of money. She wants to be with someone who loves her more than he loves his income. After believing that Scrooge was in love with her for many years, Belle is coming to the conclusion that their relationship is not going to work out. Exactly one year later, Belle’s husband sees Scrooge in his work place and makes the comment to his wife that Scrooge seems lonely. Belle does not pity Scrooge and knows this……..?? By this point, Scrooge realizes how alone he is and will be without Belle, and he cannot stand the thought

of her with what could have been his children.
As each of these relationships come to a dramatic end, the men start working on bettering themselves.

After Lady Macbeth dies, Macbeth begins to feel remorseful about what he has done throughout his life. However, it is too late to have a change of heart, and he has already gotten himself into a fight with Macduff, his archrival. Macbeth cannot be killed by a human; however, Macduff is not a human because he was ripped out of his mother’s womb as an infant (Mac. Act. Scene. Line #). Although Macbeth no longer needs his wife sexually, he now has a reason to live because he does love her. At the end of the fight, Macbeth gets what he deserves for all the evil he has done and is killed by Macduff. “The Macbeths are probably Shakespeare’s most thoroughly married couple,” says Barbara Everett. After Belle breaks Scrooge’s heart, he does not want to celebrate Christmas with anyone, not even his family. When the first ghost takes Scrooge back home, he reminiscences on the days when he and Belle were in love. Patrick Reardon claims, “Through these visitations, Scrooge comes to realize that he has been pursuing a bleak life of fear and selfishness, and he converts —he takes on a new life. Scrooge walks out of his lodge on Christmas Day and gives money to the poor, gives gifts to those he’s previously shunned, gives a raise to Bob Cratchit and gives his heart to Bob’s family, particularly Tiny Tim.” He is no longer consumed with greed, and he gives his money to the poor If it wasn’t

for the gut wrenching heartbreak he had to go through, Scrooge would have never changed his selfish desire for money (Davis 65).