Is Lady Macbeth’s Sleep Deprivation Caused by her Guilt and Fears? Would guilt, sleep deprivation, or anxiety cause Lady Macbeth to sleepwalk? My sister once slept walked and fell down our stairs. She woke up with no memory of the fall and was confused on why she was covered in bruises. Sleepwalking can occur for a number of reasons ranging from fears and trama to just being in a very deep sleep. In Macbeth many characters are haunted by their guilt and fears which leads to them sleepwalking. I decided to research the question: Would guilt, sleep deprivation, or anxiety cause Lady Macbeth to sleepwalk? I think Lady Macbeth sleepwalks throughout the play because of her mental health and guilt. Most scientists think the cause of sleepwalking is because of fears, guilt and mental health. According to the National Library of Medicine; "Lady Macbeth presents a nocturnal dissociative episode with an altered state of consciousness, in which traumatic memories return, as a possible manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder." (Gomes) In the play Lady Macbeth commits a …show more content…
Shakespeare made the marriage between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth very manipulative and controlling. As Lady Macbeth's walking and mental illness started to increase the relationship between the two of them decreased. According to Wendy Weisner; “Sleepwalking can strain relationships, especially the person or people with whom you share a sleep space or living space.” (Weisner) Corresponding to the article, after the murders, Macbeth's mental health also started to decline, making both spouses struggle. They both were focused on themselves and the things they were going through making their relationship fail. When Macbeth hears about his wife's sleepwalking he tried to get her help but soon realized it was caused by her own guilt and couldn't be cured. In the end of the play, Lady Macbeth takes her life leaving her husband struggling on his
Macbeth is no longer an honest, innocent husband, as he was in the beginning. Macbeth has completed his transition from an honest and caring leader, into a cold, heartless individual, which is shown when he voices: “She should have died hereafter / There would have been a time for such a word.” (V.v.17-18) Macbeth is informed about his wife’s suicide, and shows absolutely no remorse, which shows how heartless he has become.
Ultimately, Macbeth's obsession with maintaining his power and status consumed him, driving him towards more heinous crimes that only increased his feelings of guilt and paranoia. Similarly, Lady Macbeth was initially portrayed as a powerful, manipulative, and ambitious woman who encouraged her husband to pursue his aspirations ruthlessly. However, after coaxing Macbeth into killing King Duncan, she became consumed by guilt and paranoia, which eventually led to her descent into madness. The guilt of her crime weighed heavily on her conscience, and she was often seen writhing in agony, attempting to wash imaginary
He then has a conversation with his wife saying that his “Sleep [is] in the affliction of [his] terrible dreams” (3.2.20-21). The author uses the motif of sleep to represent peace. This time Macbeth’s sleep is disturbed by terrible dreams, meaning that his peace is disrupted by the results of his actions. He even goes as far as to say that Duncan in his grave “sleeps well,” meaning that death is more peaceful than Macbeth’s life (3.2.25-26). Therefore, the author’s usage of the motif of sleep shows that one who is guilty of an immoral act will suffer consequences
With a suspicious surrounding and a mentally collapsing husband, Lady Macbeth’s depression has only gotten worse. I have been sought out to assist with Lady Macbeth because of her worsening condition of depression.
She loses the ability to sleep which corresponds with Duncan and everyone else who has been killed. Lady Macbeth is driven through an ongoing nostalgic moment before the wicked crime that leaves her unable to sleep. Her handwashing is an attempt to undo her actions which have caused her and Duncan to no longer be able to rest. (Watson). In Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene she becomes hysterical and speaks of the terrible things that she and Macbeth have done.
After Macbeth begins his murderous downfall, Lady Macbeth acquires excessive guilt in many ways. For example, sleeplessness (V.i) is evidence of Lady Macbeth's guilt. Lady Macbeth was sleep walking and trying to wash imaginary blood off her hands while sleeping. This exposes Lady Macbeth was in extreme denial over the murders of Macbeth’s victims.
In fact, “an excess of guilt is listed as a symptom in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (APA, 2013) for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders.” (Stroude 1) Having committed murders, it’s reasonable to assume that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth feel a considerably overwhelming amount of guilt, leading to PTSD and possibly other disorders. Although not officially listed as symptoms of each other in the DSM-5, Paranoia and PTSD are often diagnosed separately in the same people, meaning if someone has one of them, they're likely to have the other. Throughout the story, Macbeth becomes increasingly paranoid that someone will take the throne from him; therefore “they say, blood will have blood” (Macbeth 3.4.124).
She gives up confidential information about what she and Macbeth have done. Lady Macbeth having all of these secrets and stress causes her to get some things off her chest while she is asleep “Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.” (5.1.53-54). “Sleepwalking and sleeptalking are considered supernatural events in Shakespeare’s time” making this seem very scary, especially with what she says. The doctor is freaked out; the only thing he can prescribe to her is God.
However, the sleepwalking and Lady Macbeth believing her hands still have blood on them signifies that they will be forever punished for the crime they committed. She feels disillusionment and is unable to cope with the guilt that haunts her which ultimately results in Lady Macbeth killing
Macbeth’s guilt and battle with mental illness begins early within the play: right after the murder of King Duncan. Macbeth, once a loyal sergeant in Duncan’s army, has killed the king in order to possess the throne of Scotland. This act of such extreme measures begins Macbeth’s descent into madness and insomnia. Immediately after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth says, “Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep.”
Sleep is one of the purest forms of altered consciousness however, traumatic experiences can impede one’s unconscious thoughts. Macbeth returns after killing Duncan and the guards, grief stricken and afraid. He tells his wife that sleep itself has been murdered and that nobody is immune his treachery (5.1.44). Macbeth’s crime is intensified by the act of murder being done at night and to sleeping rather than awake guards. The moment of guilt that Macbeth felt for his actions represents the hidden innocence behind the crimes.
We choose what is right for our well being and health and sometimes we fall into this deep emotional hole. Lady Macbeth loses control of her actions which leads her into her own emotional hole. It is reported that depression causes women that to be aloof and quiet which makes them more prone to making more mistakes due to lack of concentration and sleep (Cape Times 2013). Lady Macbeth is a big role in Macbeth’s life being the dominant person in the relationship. There is a point in life where you lose control over what your mind thinks, and this was her time.
The word “sleep” is used throughout Macbeth with various connotations. One of the ways to interpret Shakespeare's use of “sleep,” is as a symbol of innocence. This symbolism is used repeatedly in concerns to Duncan and his murder. When Lady Macbeth is unable to kill Duncan, she explains, “Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done’t”
Wash your hands. Put on your nightgown. Look not so pale. I tell you yet again, Banquo’s buried; he cannot come out of ’s grave' '. Lady Macbeth's doctor would confirm that her sleepwalking is due to the pent up guilt she has for killing Duncan, Banquo and Macduff's family.
Lady Macbeth has killed herself over the guilt that she has over killing Duncan and it didn’t exactly have the same effect on her husband as it normally would. I feel like once he lost his wife, Macbeth lost his manhood with everything