Lady Macbeth Character Analysis

When we are first introduced to Lady Macbeth, she is a powerful and courageous woman. She is also strong-minded and fearless. She isn't your typical woman of this time era; she isn't afraid to fight for what she believes and doesn't always follow her husband's orders as she should. She was the mastermind behind planning the death of King Duncan, which later led to the downfall of her husband, Macbeth. This plan proves her to be a lot more intellectual than the other characters expect her to be. She is unable to kill Duncan herself, because she sees her father when she sees Duncan sleeping. This shows that she does in fact  have compassion and respect for human life. Lady Macbeth decides to challenge Macbeth's "manhood" in order to convince him to go through with her plans to murder the King. When Macbeth returns dazed and covered in blood, Lady Macbeth rushes off with the bloody daggers to frame the servants. Upon her return she states, “A little water cleans me of this deed.” These words show us that she is confident with her actions, and does not see herself or her husband being caught. At this point, she is the strongest character, but she soon begins to shatter. Her guilt that was once non-existent begins to emerge and consume her. She is becoming more and more strained as a result of her and her husband's actions and one day, she finally cracks. Her calm exterior after the death of Duncan slowly progressed as Banquo was killed and her demons came out as Macduff's family was murdered. The unbreakable character has fallen to pieces by Act V. Her famous words, “a little water cleans us of this deed” were now coming back to haunt her. The blood that the water cleansed her of was not washing off any longer and her hallucinations were becoming more vivid, driving her to the point of insanity. She starts to rant and mumble about the people who have been murdered. When she speaks of Lady Macduff, her words show signs of how her guilt had eventually led her to her death. After a few scenes without hearing of Lady Macbeth, we find out that she had died from suicide. Even the strongest walls can fall, and the same goes for Lady Macbeth. Once the strongest character, she became the weakest when she was consumed by her demons. Even the toughest, strongest, and most powerful people can succumb to guilt, which was exactly what happened in this case. A person can only regret and deteriorate for so long until they go mad and kill themselves to escape the feelings that were once eating them alive.