In Act 5 Scene 1 Lady Macbeth asks, "What, will these hands ne'er be clean?" In what way does this remark indicate a whole host of changes in Lady Macbeth related to innocence and guilt, strength and weakness, and sanity and insanity?
Lady Macbeth felt no guilt killing Duncan because she thought this was the way for Macbeth and her to get more power. Lady Macbeth tried to make others have the guilt which would make her innocent. For example she said, "...His two chamberlains Will I with wine and wassail so convince that memory, the warder of the brain, shall be a fume...What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell?" (43). When Lady Macbeth washes her hands, she wants to get rid of the guilt she knew she always had, but she starts to feel it now when she realizes how bad Macbeth's murders have gotten since he killed a friendly king, a previous friend Banquo, and killed Macduff''s wife and children. For someone who was once never afraid of blood and killing, is now afraid of the blood on her hands is a major change in the book.
Lady Macbeth in the beginning of the book was once full of strength because of her clever ideas to have Macbeth king and her queen while hiding it in disguise. A great example of this is when at the banquet when Macbeth is acting strange because of his actions of late, but Lady Macbeth stays strong. But I also believe when she is washing her hands she is also washing away her strength because she is now starting to show a major weakness in not being able to handle all of the murders. Lady Macbeth once called Macbeth a coward for not killing Duncan, but now she is starting to act like a coward because of how afraid she has become.
Lady Macbeth is losing her sanity because of the way she has been behaving of late. She now has a doctor looking at her, and he even was so shocked he said, "This disease is beyond my practice." (165). The blood and killing has gotten her mentally ill.
At first when lady macbeth wants Duncan dead so she and Macbeth can have power and riches and at first she had no guilt about killing duncan and that kept her mentally sane for a portion of the book but as more people were killed by Macbeth the blood of people that were killed began to mentally tear her apart and making her go completely insane. In order for lady Macbeth to have gained back her sanity she would have had to come clean about all the murders and thus putting her and her husband up for execution and Lady Macbeth will not come clean so the lingering guilt is killing her from the inside. Also as Lady Macbeth says "What hath been done cannot be undone" she cannot bring the dead back so even if she were to come clean I still think the guilt would linger and thus she would never be the way she was before the death of Duncan.
In a way, Lady Macbeth completely changes the way she views Macbeth killing people. At first with Duncan, she wants him dead so that Macbeth gains power. She feels no guilt about killing Duncan. As the play moves forward, she starts to have hallucinations of blood on her hands from Macbeth killing people. As Macbeth was killing more people, Lady Macbeth got worse and worse, and eventually goes completely insane. By the end of the play, Lady Macbeth completely loses her sanity, and requires someone to take care of her. Even the doctor said that curing her is beyond his power. As a result of her going insane, she ends up taking her life in one of the last scenes in the play.
At first, Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan in order to gain power. However, this remark is a perfect example of how Lady Macbeth goes insane and becomes obsessed with her responsibilities in the crimes that were committed. Towards the end of the play, Lady Macbeth's guilt catches up to her and she is taken over by the magnitude of her previous actions. She can never be separated from what she has done in the past, which makes her go crazy. Her hands will never be clean and neither will her conscience. The visions of blood on her hand are a constant reminder of the deaths of innocent people from her and Macbeth's greed for power.
I agree with your point that Lady Macbeth's hands will never be clean because that guilt will always stick with her, which is why she has gone mentally crazy of late. It is a great reminder that is hard to just avoid thinking about the bad things she has done even though it was her idea for killing Duncan
Lady Macbeth felt no guilt killing Duncan because she thought this was the way for Macbeth and her to get more power. Lady Macbeth tried to make others have the guilt which would make her innocent. For example she said, "...His two chamberlains Will I with wine and wassail so convince that memory, the warder of the brain, shall be a fume...What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell?" (43). When Lady Macbeth washes her hands, she wants to get rid of the guilt she knew she always had, but she starts to feel it now when she realizes how bad Macbeth's murders have gotten since he killed a friendly king, a previous friend Banquo, and killed Macduff''s wife and children. For someone who was once never afraid of blood and killing, is now afraid of the blood on her hands is a major change in the book.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth in the beginning of the book was once full of strength because of her clever ideas to have Macbeth king and her queen while hiding it in disguise. A great example of this is when at the banquet when Macbeth is acting strange because of his actions of late, but Lady Macbeth stays strong. But I also believe when she is washing her hands she is also washing away her strength because she is now starting to show a major weakness in not being able to handle all of the murders. Lady Macbeth once called Macbeth a coward for not killing Duncan, but now she is starting to act like a coward because of how afraid she has become.
Lady Macbeth is losing her sanity because of the way she has been behaving of late. She now has a doctor looking at her, and he even was so shocked he said, "This disease is beyond my practice." (165). The blood and killing has gotten her mentally ill.
At first when lady macbeth wants Duncan dead so she and Macbeth can have power and riches and at first she had no guilt about killing duncan and that kept her mentally sane for a portion of the book but as more people were killed by Macbeth the blood of people that were killed began to mentally tear her apart and making her go completely insane. In order for lady Macbeth to have gained back her sanity she would have had to come clean about all the murders and thus putting her and her husband up for execution and Lady Macbeth will not come clean so the lingering guilt is killing her from the inside. Also as Lady Macbeth says "What hath been done cannot be undone" she cannot bring the dead back so even if she were to come clean I still think the guilt would linger and thus she would never be the way she was before the death of Duncan.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, Lady Macbeth completely changes the way she views Macbeth killing people. At first with Duncan, she wants him dead so that Macbeth gains power. She feels no guilt about killing Duncan. As the play moves forward, she starts to have hallucinations of blood on her hands from Macbeth killing people. As Macbeth was killing more people, Lady Macbeth got worse and worse, and eventually goes completely insane. By the end of the play, Lady Macbeth completely loses her sanity, and requires someone to take care of her. Even the doctor said that curing her is beyond his power. As a result of her going insane, she ends up taking her life in one of the last scenes in the play.
ReplyDeleteAt first, Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan in order to gain power. However, this remark is a perfect example of how Lady Macbeth goes insane and becomes obsessed with her responsibilities in the crimes that were committed. Towards the end of the play, Lady Macbeth's guilt catches up to her and she is taken over by the magnitude of her previous actions. She can never be separated from what she has done in the past, which makes her go crazy. Her hands will never be clean and neither will her conscience. The visions of blood on her hand are a constant reminder of the deaths of innocent people from her and Macbeth's greed for power.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that Lady Macbeth's hands will never be clean because that guilt will always stick with her, which is why she has gone mentally crazy of late. It is a great reminder that is hard to just avoid thinking about the bad things she has done even though it was her idea for killing Duncan
Delete