Comparing Sheila and Lady Macbeth´s Relationships with Their Husbands

Lady Macbeth is filled evil schemes, and knows how to achieve her goal of getting her husband into the kingly position. Lady Macbeth is very convincing in her ideas, and does not leave a lot of space to think otherwise. Macbeth is not left much choice but to conform himself to his wife’s mischievous strategy to get him to become king. He is very loyal, and wants to remain so to his king even knowing he would become king if Duncan, the present king, were to die. Lady Macbeth, however, has other plans for Macbeth, and she soon has him convinced to commit an act which will change their lives forever. Macbeth and his wife are truly opposite people, as Macbeth is laid back and easy going, while Lady Macbeth wants everything planned out and will go onward with plans no matter who they affect. She truly does make Macbeth a more interesting person through her evil schemes.

Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ is a character who suffers greatly in because of her human weakness, which is her vaulting ambition. This ambition is not for her, but for her husband. This woman, who seemed so in control at the beginning of the okay, only cared for her husband and his success, later becomes so consumed with guilt and remorse that it results in her tragic death. Through the discussion of characterisation and lkey scenes, I shall reveal that Lady Macbeth’s human flaw is  not only a major contributor to the ruthlessness of her husband but creates a huge influence in how the play unfolds.

This whole idea of female dominance directly challenges the Chain of Beings and as a result, exemplified Lady Macbeth’s importance as Shakespeare’s device to cause fascination amongst audiences. It also shows explicitly her influence on the main character Macbeth and hence the state of the entire play.

Lady Macbeth has the power over her husband to persuade him into doing anything she requests. She manipulates Macbeth with incredible efficiency by overruling all of his thoughts and changing his perspective on the present. Even though the many tasks that need to be completed are difficult to understand why they need to be done, Lady Macbeth will always convince Macbeth to do it. Her husband often tells her that she has a “masculine soul” which is obvious due to her murderous and envious actions. When the time came to kill king Duncan, Macbeth believes that his wife has gone insane and tells her that the crime they were about to commit was a horrible idea. As a result of his questioning, Lady Macbeth says that executing the crime will show his loyalty to her. On the night of the assassination Lady Macbeth watched the guards of the castle become drunk and unaware of what was going on. Lady Macbeth sent her husband into the castle to kill King Duncan. The married couple fled the scene leaving the guards covered in the evidence. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are stained with the blood of their victims and the feeling of guilt in their stomach.

The Tragedy of Macbeth shows several different forms of relationships ranging in different levels of commitment, trust and understanding. Whether it be Macbeth and the Witches having an informational/friendly relationship that ultimately ended in many murders or Macbeth and Lady Macbeth having not only a family relationship but a political and even criminal relationship that resulted in too much power and greed. Relationships like these formed the plot of this play and make it interesting. Relationships are formed in so many levels and outsides easily can change the views of these relationships causing those involved to change their beliefs and opinions of others because the other relationships take more of a precedence than the original.

How the Relationship Between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Changes and Develops During the Course of the Play

Lady Macbeth is the wife to a brave and valiant soldier who is loved by many. To anyone looking into their marriage it seems perfect. They both love each other and are each others (quote about partner of greatness). Even though they love each other deeply, there is something missing. There are no babies crying, children playing in the yard, or first birthdays. There is no legacy for Lady Macbeth and her husband. Lady Macbeth fears thats she is not enough if she is not a mother and projects those fears about herself onto her

When Shakespeare first presents Lady Macbeth in the play, we believe that she was an ambitious woman who was driven to get power at all costs. We are irresolute however as to whether she is part of a chain of events in the evilness going around the source. The first words we from her mouth are her husband’s word, which he wrote on his letter, showing us that she was the agent of his thoughts. Women in that period of time, were running a household, producing heirs for their husband and taking care of them, this is not the case for Lady Macbeth as she involves herself in social affairs. Her drive for power is what makes them so successful in their deceitful plans. The play shows us that there is a unique chemistry between two individuals which rare in that period as marriage was usually arranged. She is essentially what keeps the force going as she guides Macbeth and teaches is him how to be manipulative. Even though the crime that they had committed was treason she was simply past the point of caring as she believed she had nothing to lose as she was childless and she had no emotional fulfilment as a woman. She is superfluous and nothing less than reigning alongside Macbeth can feel this hole.

At the middle of the play Sheila has gained more power. For example in act 2 when Sheila tells her mother of by saying that ‘impertinent is such a silly word’ and Mrs Birling replies ‘in any case’ Sheila says, 'But, mother, do stop before it’s too late.' The word `stop’ tell us that she is now in more power and she is telling her mother to stop talking to the inspector like this. This links with the play as Edwardian woman are supposed to be non-violent. Also she says, 'you wait mother.' By using the word `you’ she is commanding her mother and now she is making her own decision. Before Sheila never talked to her mother like this, this shows that Sheila has gained more power and can now stand out for herself and decide what is right for her. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth is gradually losing her power. For example in act 3 scene 2 she ask Macbeth 'What’s to be done,' Macbeth replies 'Be innocent of the knowledge.' The word `innocent’ suggest that Macbeth is not involving Lady Macbeth in his plans and telling her to act more innocent.. This shows that she has lost power because now Macbeth is in control and he is making the important decision. Also, in act 3 scene 2 Lady Macbeth speaks to Macbeth and says, 'you must leave this,' and Macbeth replies 'O, full of scorpion is my mind, dear wife' The word `scorpion’ suggest that his mind is now full of evilness. This tells us that Macbeth has stopped listening to his dear wife and he is now answering back. We can clearly see that she has lost power over her husband. This links with the play as Jacobean men made important

Sheila is the daughter of a rich factory owner therefore she has power in society because of her father. Even though she fires Eva because of jealously, she is still shown as a positive character. Lady Macbeth is wife of Macbeth (Thane of Cawdor), because in the Jacobean era women did not have power because men were in control in society. However, Lady Macbeth is in control of the relationship and she is shown to the audience as a negative character. This coursework will be about why Priestly shows Shelia as a positive character but Shakespeare shows Lady Macbeth as a negative character.

Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about his confrontation with the paranormal trio and after finding his hesitance to kill King Duncan to gain the royal title, she ferociously attacks him with her words. Lady Macbeth manipulates her words by making Macbeth question his sense of manhood if he does not follow through. She does this by saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to me more than what you were you would be so much more than a man” (Act 1 Scene 7 Lines 56-58). Macbeth takes this to heart and places his sense of manhood above his morality to gain the respect of his wife. She also is in a position of power over him, proven by her condescending words of saying that if he did not follow through with the assassination, she would “dashed the brains out” of him (Line 65).

Macbeth is willing to give everything in his life in order to maintain his position as King. His hunger for power and growing ambition outweighs his desire to please his wife, thus creating inequality within their relationship. The destruction of natural order that is a result of Duncan’s murder is paralleled in the destruction of the Macbeths’ marriage. Further demonstrating the unnatural elements present within this play is the gender role reversal between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s ambition to attain the kingship can be seen in her desire to rid of her feminine traits.

Secondly, at the beginning of the play she is very cruel while convincing her husband to commit murder with her. While convincing Macbeth, she says to him, “I would, while it was smiling in my face/ Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums/ And dash’d the brains out” (I: 7: 61-63). She is willing to kill her own child in order to go through with the murder of Duncan. In her opening scenes, Lady Macbeth has a merciless, manipulative, murderous mind-set with low moral standards, but has yet to commit any

To begin, each of the character’s personality undergoes an indisputable transformation that is represented through their vulnerability and exposure to events, allowing them be compared and contrasted to one another. Confidence and self-assurance encapsulates how the husband-wife duo can be contrasted in their seemingly different personality. Prior to committing the ultimate crime of regicide, Macbeth acts with uncertainty and is manipulated his cunning wife: “I am Thane of Cawdor./ If good, why do I yield to that [thought of killing Duncan]/ Whose

In the play, Macbeth written by William Shakespeare Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a very interesting relationship. This relationship changes throughout the play and ultimately leads to both of their demises. Although if there hadn’t been a change in their relationship the play Macbeth would not exist. The relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth goes through five stages throughout the play.