How Does Lady Macbeth's Relationship Change During The Play

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William Shakespeare's Macbeth

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth writes to his wife as 'my dearest partner of greatness'. How does their relationship change during the play?

Act 1, Scene 5 is where we first see Lady Macbeth. She is reading a letter written by Macbeth informing her of his success in battle and, more importantly, of his encounter with the witches. The letter to Lady Macbeth shows not only a complete trust in his wife - for such a letter could itself be considered treasonous - but also of affection and love: 'my dearest partner of greatness' (1, 5, 9-10) suggests a warm equality of persons.

Later, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a conversation, where Macbeth describes Lady …show more content…

The fact that such a great warrior and killer of men - is so lost in terrifying guilt, indicates the full extent of the evil he has committed. He creates numerous metaphors about sleep, and how he killed it- 'Macbeth has murdered sleep' (2, 2, 36a). Lady Macbeth is surprised by the manner of Macbeth 'What do you mean' (2, 2, 40b), and mentions to Macbeth that he should wash his hands with water, to clear away the blood. She then takes the daggers from Macbeth and takes them back to the king's grooms. In this scene, we can see that the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth has 'cooled off' to some extent. No longer are they calling each other 'love' and 'partner', but now Lady Macbeth refers Macbeth as her 'husband'.

In Act 2, Scene 3, the murder of Duncan is revealed, and Macbeth, in his 'fury', kills the grooms. Macbeth is digging himself in to a deeper hole when he declares that it is difficult for a man to refrain from murdering the murderers as Duncan lay dead (lines 109 - 119a). Seeing the situation that Macbeth is in, Lady Macbeth faints. This could be explained in two completely different ways. First, she …show more content…

In the following conversation, Macbeth reveals to Lady Macbeth what he has done, which he had kept as a secret before. Macbeth, we note, no longer talks of the we - himself and his partner of greatness, but of himself alone:

For mine own good

All causes shall give away

(3,4,135b-136a)

Things are deteriorating in the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth is keeping more and more secrets, and Lady Macbeth feels isolated. No longer are they talking to each other except only at matters of great importance. There is still some affection, when Macbeth reveals what he has done when he became a King, to Lady Macbeth. Their relationship has almost become almost formal, not a loving one.

This is also the last scene in which Macbeth and Lady Macbeth appear together. It could be that from now on, they mind their own business, or Macbeth is too busy to speak to Lady Macbeth.

After a long break, Act 5, Scene 1 is the next scene relevant to the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, even though Macbeth is not present in this scene. Lady Macbeth is wracked by guilty conscience and is suffering mentally as well. She has somehow

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