The Power Of Lady Macbeth

1279 Words6 Pages
The power of a woman’s words, hands, actions, overpowered by the presence of men within the constructs of modern societies is a thought swayed by the power dynamics between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Macbeth, once a remorseful and kind man, is dominated by the power of his wife, her growing desire for power accentuated by the prophecy of the witches. Although this is true, they, in turn, become the opposite of who they were initially presented as; they play off of each other in a game of this and that, their doubts and securities washing away in different ways. Macbeth was known to be a kind man and Lady Macbeth surely took advantage of that. In her attempt to convince her husband to take this prophecy into his own hands, she persuades that “[his] nature [is] too full [of] the milk of human kindness”, insinuating his character (Shakespeare 1.4.14–16). The prophecy given by the witches have taken Lady Macbeth by this point, sparking her need for more power, her ruthlessness in getting to where she wills to be. Since she is a woman, it is not expected of her to be in this much power over the man in her life. She is willed to be the inferior one, especially during this time period in Scotland, so this strive for power that she feels is atypical for the women of her time. In this way, she even announces that she will give up the characteristics of her being a woman, insisting any deity “come to [her] breast, [taking her] milk for gall”, calling for spirits to make her into the