Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Living… in Inverness Castle in Scotland, with her husband, Macbeth.
Profession… noblewoman. Lady Macbeth manages her husband’s estate and life direction – and zounds, does he require a lot of instruction.
Interests… arranging her husband's rise to the top of the food chain. Whatever that takes, she’s willing and able to do it.
Relationship Status… married. Her husband, Macbeth, is a well-regarded warrior, but it’s Lady Macbeth who is the general in their relationship. Lady Macbeth knows he's a good man, but she thinks he might be too soft for power. As she complains to him, “I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness/To catch the nearest way.”
Challenge… helping her husband achieve their ultimate goal: the throne of Scotland. Lady Macbeth believes that Macbeth is too weak to do what is required, and she's infuriated when he tries to put a stop to her scheme. If her husband isn't willing to do what he has to, she’ll just have to do it herself. But at what cost? As Lady Macbeth muses, “‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy/ Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.” Yet she's determined to see this plan through.
Personality… strong, determined, and capable. Lady Macbeth has an iron stomach and fire in her blood, and if she's promised something, she will do everything she can to get it. Many times, Macbeth is astonished by her strength and ambition. Lady Macbeth has a softer side and a conscience, but she tries to put them aside to do what she must.
Get to Know her in...
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Feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's Scottish play about General Macbeth whose ambitious wife urges him to use wicked means in order to gain power of the throne over the sitting king, Duncan.
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In depicting a man who murders to become king, Macbeth teases us with huge questions. Is Macbeth tempted by fate, or by his or his wife's ambition? Why does their success turn to ashes? Like other plays, Macbeth speaks to each generation. Its story was once seen as that of a hero who commits an evil act and pays an enormous price. Recently, it has been applied to nations that overreach themselves and to modern alienation. The line is blurred between Macbeth's evil and his opponents' good, and there are new attitudes toward both witchcraft and gender.
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A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord siezes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
