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Aggression In Lady Macbeth

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Modern studies show emotional suppression can affect individuals in numerous ways. This is evident in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The character Lady Macbeth demonstrates the symptoms of emotional suppression when the guilt of killing Duncan causes a decline in her psychological health.

Why does Lady Macbeth feel guilty? Winch, Whitbourne, et al explain why people feel guilty in “The Definitive Guide to Guilt.”
From a cognitive point of view, guilt is an emotion that people experience because they’re convinced they’ve caused harm. In cognitive theory, the thoughts cause the emotions. The guilt of emotion follows directly from the thought that you are responsible for someone else’s misfortune.

Guilt results in dramatic transformation …show more content…

Lady Macbeth’s guilty conscience is displayed near the end of the story when she is sleepwalking. She discusses her feelings, but mainly she reiterates her guilt. “The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean? No more o’that, [her] lord, no more o’that. You mar all with [that] starting,"(V. i. 38-40). This demonstrates how Lady Macbeth is feeling remorseful about Lady Macduff’s murder and how Macbeth has ruined everything with his nervousness. Her guilt is coming to the surface as she sleeps and dreams. In this state, she attempts to clean Duncan's invisible blood off of her hands. According to the Mayo Clinic, factors that can contribute to Somnambulism: sleep deprivation, fatigue, stress, depression, and anxiety (Mayo Clinic: Sleepwalking Causes). Shakespeare has made the sleepwalking scene exactly conform to all the characteristics of a pathological somnambulism - that is - the subject sees and hears everything, there is a regularity of development, she repeats the same words and gestures as the original experience and finally, on a return to her regular personality after the attack is over, there is no memory of the attack, in other words, amnesia has taken place. Lady Macbeth's actions during the sleepwalking scene are very complicated, show a clear memory of her past repressed experiences, in fact, they are an exact reproduction of these

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Tharsan Thanapathy Mr. Devereux ENG2D0 18 October 2015 Guilt: A Feeling or Conscience Guilt is part of our conscience, and since humans do not have the technology or knowledge to communicate with it, there is no true understanding of what is right or wrong. Therefore humans go on with our lives without any true understanding of the feelings of guilt. Every day people end up doing actions that they know is wrong and they may not feel bad about it, for example when you lie to get away with something. There is a variety of reasons why one would do this for, one may think they are doing the right thing by saying or doing it, they might lie to someone, or one might even be abiding the law or rules even though they know it is wrong. The law and

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Guilt is a feeling of remorse for some offense, crime, or wrong. “We all feel guilty for things we could have done better. But we need to let go of the guilt and remind ourselves to do better next time.” Steven Aitchison.

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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

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Lady Macbeth suffered from a Post-Traumatic stress disorder and paranoid schizophrenia due to these symptoms: hallucinations, intrusive memories, as well as delusions. Post–traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) is a mental health condition that is triggered by a frightening event that someone has witnessed or experienced. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder is insomnia, guilt, reliving traumatic moments, and concentration problems. (Lipinski) Lady Macbeth is reliving a tragedy moment that

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It is nonsensical to think that this woman would faint at the mere idea of blood after she so willingly pushed her husband to murder Duncan, it is obvious that this faint was merely a distraction from her husband’s lack of explanation as to why he murdered the guards. Her ability to use the misogynistic feminine ideology against the men in the play is a strength commonly overlooked by most readers and audience members alike. Manipulation: Her Fell Purpose Lady Macbeth can be placed somewhat in the role of the “trickster” in these moments of manipulation. A trickster is a character that exhibits a large degree of intellect, using their role in society to play tricks or manipulate those above them.

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5-7). In this instance, Macbeth shows that he can feel guilt, and he exhibits this by demonstrating that he does not desire to end the life of a man whose family was already victimized at his hands. Guilt is the one thing throughout the entire play that stops Macbeth dead in his tracks and causes him to take a moment to consider his present and future courses of action. Although Macbeth was lead to commit murder by the witches’ manipulative predictions of the future, he is the one who ultimately makes the choices that prove that he is in control of his actions, even when his actions cause him to be filled with

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A Guilty Conscience: How Guilt Drives the Powerful to Insanity Guilt is the cause of the destruction of many, particularly in Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth. As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth continue to murder for the sake of power, they embark on opposite journeys but their guilt ultimately drives them both to insanity. Macbeth goes from being driven mad with guilt, to his instability causing him to murder recklessly. His wife goes from expressing no compassion or guilt to her guilt overcoming her and driving her to madness.

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Situations which occur in particular are when he orders the slaughter of Macduff’s family and servants, becomes heartless towards those who feel emotion, and is apathetic towards his wife’s passing. The king becomes so cold due to his guilt-ridden mind, he orders the murder without an ounce of empathy. Plans to eliminate Macduff’s “wife, [] babes, and all.../That trace him in his line” are constructed. If Macbeth had not shut off his emotions he would not have been able to make such an abhorrent decision. Comparatively, the recently crowned ruler of Scotland has become insensitive towards who still experience emotions.

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Although introduced as a thoroughly hardened, ambitious woman, Lady Macbeth’s seemingly unbreakable character shatters when she is consumed by the demon of guilt. The guilt of Lady Macbeth seems nonexistent when she persuades Macbeth to kill King Duncan, but the heinous acts she and her husband commit throughout the play strain her slowly. Eventually, the guilt Lady Macbeth harbors emerges from her subconscious and crumbles her. The downfall of Lady Macbeth reveals that even the toughest, strongest, and most powerful people can succumb to guilt. At the commencement of William Shakespeare’s

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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.

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—No more o ' that, my lord, no more o ' that. You mar all with this starting” (V.i line 36-38). Even though, Lady Macbeth had nothing to do with the murders after Duncan, like Banquo and Macduff’s wife as well as his son, she still feels guilty because she created the monster, by manipulating Macbeth to kill Duncan. Another reason Lady Macbeth feels remorseful is because she had to do with some of the action in the murder, for example planning the death of Duncan and framing Duncan 's attendant. The guilt is causing Lady Macbeth to go insane because she is aware “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.

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In the drama “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” William Shakespeare reflects on guilt . More specifically, Shakespeare implies guilt and how repercussions of guilt can be detrimental towards an individual because it creates emotional instability and distorted judgement. Guilt is displayed many times throughout the play, but mostly through internal conflicts of Macbeth. For instance, Macbeth feels internal guilt when he murdered King Duncan. Macbeth says, “ I’ll go no more/

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Guilt is a feeling that consumes a person and follows them around. This feeling usually happens when one has committed an offence, crime, violation or wrong act. It is the feeling of responsibility for this poor action that has been committed. The author of Macbeth, William Shakespeare, has wrote plays that capture a varying range of emotions that affect many walks of life. In this play, guilt is one of the most significant theme throughout, being displayed countless times.

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Instead of going along with Macbeth’s new plans to murder more people, Lady Macbeth attempts to dissuade Macbeth, telling him that he “lack[s] the season of all nature, sleep,” trying to get Macbeth to go to bed as opposed to plotting and then carrying out his plans of murder (3.4.142). By trying to stop Macbeth from murdering more people, it is clear that despite wanting to be evil and feel nothing, her sense of guilt is too strong for her to

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At first Lady Macbeth did not feel any guilt until things begin to get carried away. Sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth is heard saying, “Here's the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. ”(5:1:53-55) and“ Out damned spot, out, I say”(5.1.37). Lady Macbeth is saying these things because she is visualizing that there is blood still on her hands representing her extreme guilt because she knows what she did not was wrong.

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