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.

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.

As there is already a King in power, Lady Macbeth and her husband face a difficult decision. In order for Macbeth to be King, the reigning King Duncan would have to die. Lady Macbeth is a kind and gentle women but when she is faced with the temptation of a higher power she turns to darkness to help her commit this sin(quote about de womanizing her). Leading up to the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth doesn't believe that Macbeth is strong enough and doubts his ability to be a man and take charge. (quote about milk of human kindness). Her doubt about her husband stays with her throughout the play and is what constantly drives a wedge between their relationship. What once was a marriage full of love, now is filled with manipulation and

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.

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).

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

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.

The relationship among Macbeth and Lady Macbeth alters throughout the play Macbeth as they both in turn take on the role of the more dominant character. Their attitude to each other constantly changes throughout the play, although events in the play certainly draw Macbeth and Lady Macbeth apart their love for one another is evident throughout the play. Macbeth shows his love by saying a few compassionate words in his letter to Lady Macbeth about the meeting with the three weird sisters. Lady Macbeth shows that she cares for him by planning the murder of King Duncan so Macbeth can become king. By the end of the play Macbeth doesn’t care about his wife’s health that much, when she dies his taught was she was bound to die one day.

In this essay I will discuss the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I will explain how their relationship is different to traditional relationships of the time. At the time, Jacobean people believed that the men were stronger then the woman. They believed that, when married, the husband would be in control and the wife would have no choice but to do what their husband asked. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship was every different.

Lady Macbeth is a complex and intriguing character in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. She is a difficult character to embody as her personality seems split between two sides, one that is pure evil, sly and conniving in contrast to her softer, vulnerable, weak and feminine side. In the play we see her in these two main ways. The reader may feel a certain animosity towards Lady Macbeth throughout the first few acts as her personality appears more and more distasteful, in spite of this towards the end she has a serious breakdown over the guilt that torments her, even in her sleep, regarding her hand in Duncan’s untimely death.

“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare shows the effect of greed/power on a relationship. Is gaining power more important than a relationship? When Macbeth usurps the throne as King of Scotland, he puts aside his relationships to carry out his work as king, and his relationship with Lady Macbeth is, as a result, impacted. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship shifts somewhat and yet partly remains the same when Macbeth is crowned king of Scotland. Macbeth’s relationship remains the same in that he shows Lady Macbeth respect and continues to use words of love to call her by, but it shifts in that Macbeth becomes more independent and does not confide his plans to Lady Macbeth as he had previously.

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.

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

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.