The Demise of Lady Macbeth


 “Out, damned spot, out, I say! One. Two. Why then, ‘tis time to do't. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him. . . The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne'er be clean? No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that. You mar all with this starting” (5.1.37-42,44-47).

            This scene marks the unraveling of Lady Macbeth as she begins to lose her sanity. One characteristic of Lady Macbeth is how eloquently and well-spoken she has been up to this point, almost having a poetic nature. In this scene, her word choice evolves into being choppy and unclear, directly correlating to how unstable she currently is. The transformation of her dialogue directly correlates to the degradation of her mental well-being.
            Lady Macbeth continuously tries to wash this nonexistent spot off her hand and can’t seem to remove it when she cries, “Out, damned spot, out, I say!” It’s almost as if this believed spot of blood on her hands is permanent. This scene reminded me of the story from Genesis regarding Cain and Able. When Cain kills his brother Able, God places a curse on him and marks him with this spot that can’t be removed. Just as Cain’s mark constantly reminds him of how he murdered his brother, this mark on Lady Macbeth’s hand constantly reminds her of all the deaths she orchestrated and how she cannot rid herself of them.
            There is a great deal of irony present in this scene as well. Following Macbeth killing Duncan, he returns to Lady Macbeth with immense grief, distraught over what he’s done. Lady Macbeth responds saying, “Go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hands,” (2.2.60-61). Lady Macbeth simply states that by washing his hands Macbeth will be cleansed of his deeds. However, in this scene, she relentlessly washes her hands, saying, “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” desperately trying to make them clean, yet cannot seem to wash away her own guilt over her actions.
            Lady Macbeth is introduced as a powerful and controlling wife, calling all the shots and formulating all the plans. She is the one who convinces Macbeth of everything that needs to be done. In the conclusion of the play, the roles have completely reversed in which Lady Macbeth is the one who struggles with the idea of murder and is remorseful of her actions while Macbeth is willing to kill whomever he wants to kill. Her madness and impending suicide is hinted at when she claims, “The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?” This is likely foreshadowing of her suicide considering the Thane of Fife’s wife is gone and soon Macbeth’s wife will be gone as well. 

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