Macduff Passage Analysis

In the beginning of the scene, Macduff’s wife is having a conversation with Ross about Macduff’s flee from Scotland. After Ross leaves the scene, Macduff’s wife tells her son that his father is dead. The two go on about what they’ll do and how they’ll live since Macduff is gone (Shakespeare 4.2.1-61). She sees the escape of Macduff as a lack of love for the family and an act of a coward. As their conversation develops, she speaks of her husband in a nonchalant manner like he no longer means anything to her. However, at the same time she seems to be more angered that she can no longer trust him. He is no longer the head of the family but just a traitor. She chooses to stop having any lingering hope for Macduff’s return. There seems to be a correlation

In the beginning of the scene, Macduff’s wife chooses the word “fly” and “flight” to describe the escape of Macduff. Both words are both characteristics of birds. When a bird flies, it is supposed to symbolize freedom. However, in this passage, the condition is that given a bird has a family, the bird will be strictly immobile when there is a risk of danger. The bird will not make any individual moves knowing that it can be dangerous for its family. The bird will fight where its fear is at. Macduff’s wife asks her son how he will live since his father is dead. His son says he will live like a bird. Macduff’s wife makes a comment about birds that seem to be pitying and envying them at the same time. “Poor bird, thou’dst never fear the net nor lime, / The pitfall nor the gin” (Shakespeare 4.2. 34-5). These are traps set up for birds. Birds don’t even know how to be afraid of these traps. She appears to be making an indirect comparison between her husband and the birds. She wishes her husband could face his own fears even if he doesn’t know what to be fearful of. And even if he has knowledge of what his fears are, he should just face it like a