The Analysis of the Influence of Lady Macbeth’s Character on her Tragic Fate

【Abstract】： Lady Macbeth， one role of Shakespeare's four great tragedies \"Macbeth\"， is depicted as a cruel， merciless woman. To chase power， she instigates her husband Macbeth to murder the king and carries out a series of criminal activities， which has been known as Shakespeare's \"the most evil woman.\" She seems to have a tragic fate. Actually， this paper proposes that her tragic fate results from her multiple and complex characters， both masculine and feminine. So this paper will analyze the influence of Lady Macbeth’s character on her tragic fate from the perspective of androgyny. In the following part， this paper will be divided into five parts， a brief introduction of Lady Macbeth， a brief introduction of androgyny， the concrete analysis of Lady Macbeth’s masculine characters and feminine characters， a final conclusion about the imbalance of these two kinds of qualities.

【Key Words】： Lady Macbeth; character; tragic fate

Ⅰ. Introduction

Historically， countless literary giants have guided people to gather some idea of mankind and understand more profoundly the values， dignity and strength of human beings. Shakespeare is such a great literary master. His four greatest tragedies have become the most classic works in the world， which are known for their depth of thought and excellent character description. He also creates endless impressing， shocking images and roles.

Among all the roles in Shakespeare's， Lady Macbeth is definitely no doubt the most prominent figure to demonstrate the process of mental development. This novel is about what two immoral persons did in a moral society， Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It is always said that every \"successful\" men is behind a \"non-trivial\" woman. However， in the view of the majority of readers of Shakespeare’s， Lady Macbeth is like a hungry tiger eager to pursuit power; a devil incarnate; a doom and destruction maker. It is she that abets her husband to kill the king， usurp the throne and finally makes it impossible to escape the fate of death， but also to herself. In the opinion of many critics， she was a \"Queen of the devil.\" The German poet Heinrich Heine even believes that Lady Macbeth is simply an extremely ferocious beast. （Heine， 2007） But as we all know， everything happens for a reason. So what is it on earth to lead to the final tragic fate of Lady Macbeth？

After careful analysis of the characters of Lady Macbeth， it is not difficult to find that she is ambitious， desired eagerly for power， and has strong will and superior language skills， which belong to masculine qualities. At the meantime， she is also dedicated， fragile， which belongs to feminine qualities. But Lady Macbeth shows more masculine qualities and restrains her feminine qualities， causing the final imbalance and self-destruction of Lady Macbeth. As to this， this paper will analyze the influence of Lady Macbeth’s character on her tragic fate from the perspective of androgyny.

Ⅱ. The thought of androgyny

This semester we learn English literature， in which we begin to gather some idea of the famous English female writer， Virginia Woolf. In her famous novel， A Room of One’s Own， she points that every one of us has two overarching force， one is masculine force， and the other is feminine force. In a man's mind， masculine spirit wins the feminine spirit and vice versa. The most normal and appropriate situation is when these two forces live in harmony and cooperate sincerely. （Woolf， 2007）

Woolf’s Androgyny believes that males and females compensate mutually with each other and integrate in a dialectical way. Only these two kinds of nature achieve harmony and balance inside， can these two qualities achieve perfect combination. The imbalance will definitely lead to the tragic fate. Virginia Woolf herself has ended her own life by immersing in the water. Even if she has penetrated the nature of human beings， the loss of balance in androgyny also makes it inevitable for her to escape the crazy mind and the fate of death. Lady Macbeth’s masculine spirit also wins the feminine spirit in an extreme way. Some critics also call this “evil character.” In the following part I will expound Lady Macbeth’s masculine and feminine qualities in details and examples.

Ⅲ. Masculine Character

Firstly， Lady Macbeth is as ambitious and decisive as a man. In Shakespeare's tragedy \"Macbeth\"， the images of women we have seen have gone beyond mere feminist thought. In the face of prophecy， Lady Macbeth’s reactions are totally different from Banquo’s suspicion and Macbeth’s hesitation， which reflects a kind of \"strong will and perseverance.\" She convinces in her conviction that she should grab this chance without hesitation and put it into practice.

If this is to be interpreted from a psychological point of view， we can see that her decisiveness comes from her long desire for power. To some extent， this desire seems more masculine. However， this masculine soul is confined in a woman， which cannot release in a normal way. So it is not strange why she put all her hope and pursuit to her husband. Especially after reading the letter from her husband， Lady Macbeth’s desire for power expands greatly. She wanted to do whatever she can to encourage her husband to reach the pinnacle of power， even at the expense of being devoid of humanity.

In the Act Ⅰ， Scene Ⅴ，Lady Macbeth said to her husband， “what thou art promis’d. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way; thou wouldst be great， Art not without ambition， but without The illness should attend it; what thou wouldst highly， That thou wouldst holily; wouldst not play 1， And yet wouldst wrongly win;” From this part， we can see how ambitious she is ， how eager she is for power and her decisive she is.

Secondly， Lady Macbeth has strong will and is good at planning. In the Scene Ⅵ， she comforted her husband， “This night’s great business into my dispatch; Which shall to all our nights and days to come， Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.” In such a dangerous situation， even a man can be afraid， but Lady Macbeth is so confident and calm in front of this. She encourages her husband to get rid of fear and carry out the plan naturally. All this have shown her strong will.

When Macbeth hesitates， she scolds him as a coward. Any man cannot bear this word. Macbeth answers， “Prithee， peace. I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares do more is none.” She has successfully stimulated Macbeth’s will. In the Scene Ⅵ， she also instigates her husband that “to beguile the time， Look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye， your hand， your tongue： look like the innocent flower， but be the serpent under’t.” From this part we can also conclude that she is good at persuading and she has superior language skills. This is also one of masculine quality.

Thirdly， she is such a cruel and merciless woman. She always said that 1 face must hide what the 1 heart doth know. She makes careful plans to kill the king and put all the blame on others. Even Macbeth also show some awes to his wife. “Bring forth men-children only; for thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males.” This distorting humanity is destined to make him schizophrenia.

I still remember that part of Lady Macbeth’s statement. “Unsex me here. And fill me from the crown to the top full of direst cruelty; make thick my blood， stop up the access and passage to remorse， that no compunctions visiting of nature shake my fell purpose.” She wants to give up the position of being a woman. But this also means she has given up the right of being loved， which contributes to her tragic fate.

Ⅳ. Feminine Character

Firstly， in the bottom of Lady Macbeth’s heart， she is a gentle and caring person， which is although provincial and selfish. In the ActⅠ， SceneⅦ， she revealed that “I have given suck， and know How tender’tis to love the babe that milks me： I would， while it was smiling in my face， Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums， And dashed the brains out， had I sworn as you Have done to this.” She know the greatness of maternal love. But she still shows heinous cruelty. She said she cannot kill Duncan by herself， because she thought sleeping Duncan looks like her father. From this part， we can feel her selfless， provincial humanity.

Secondly， she has the fragile nerves which are unique to women. Her virtues never disappear in her mind. On the contrary， the virtues are like a mirror， which always reflected her own evils and guilt. But she understood clearly that there is never a chance to atone. The constant bloody stimulus has made her vulnerable spirit break down completely. On the surface， she can comfort her husband reluctantly， but actually， she cannot sustain this pressure any more.

Those sins she has committed are daunting around her constantly. During the last few days of her life， she frequently walked in their sleep， washed her hands constantly and whispered those hidden secrets. Even the doctor who took care of her in those days cannot help feeling sympathetic about him. “What a sigh is there！ The heart is sorely charged. Foul whisperings are abroad. Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles; infected minds to their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets.” While the gentlewoman said， “I would not have such a heart in my bosom for the dignity of the whole body.” which make audience so grievable for Lady Macbeth.

Finally， no matter how much masculine spirit she has， after all， she is just a dedicated woman that needs to be loved. She tries all her efforts to help her husband stand out and usurp the throne. After all this， she thought she can enjoy the pleasures and glory with her husband. However， her husband has never been closed to her or loved her any more. A deep gap has generated between them. When Macbeth heard the news of Lady Macbeth’s death， what he said really makes every reader pathetic， disappointed， frustrated， a mixture of feelings. She seems to deserve this but it still makes us so sympathetic and sorry for her tragic fate.

I still remember what Macbeth said cruelly after hearing the news. “She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. To-morrow， and To-morrow， and to-morrow， Creeps in this pretty pace from day to day， To the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out， out， brief candle！” Lady Macbeth is always training Macbeth to be a cruel and courageous person. Now he is. He is cruel and distant to her forever. He even doesn’t care about whether she is alive or not. For a woman， perhaps there is never a more tragic thing like this.

Ⅴ. Conclusion

Lu Xun once said that the tragedy is to destroy those meaningful things in life to demonstrate in front of the audience. While appreciate Shakespeare's tragedy， if we do not sometimes feel， in a sense， that a hero is doomed to catastrophe or he and others are struggling on the one side and destined to destruction on the other side， like a helpless creature rushed to the Great Falls in the irresistible torrent， or no matter how huge their faults have been， that’s not the only reason for all the miseries that they are suffering and they cannot get rid of the cruel and determined power， we cannot say we have appreciated the main part of the effects of the tragedy.

The self-destruction and tragic fate of Lady Macbeth has been decided by her evil nature from the beginning. The masculine spirit in her mind overwhelmed her feminine spirit in an extreme way， which makes her endow with enormous creativity. She is never a complete evil woman. On the contrary， if she can exert her talents in other sides， she will be a very capable person. However， this is the reflection of Lady Macbeth this tragic hero’s androgyny characters’ meaning， but also the eternal charm of the art of tragedy.

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