What Was The Cause Of Lady Macbeth's Downfall?

Cody A. Thompson

Vanessa Dean

British Literature 12

6 January 2016

What Was the Cause of Lady Macbeth’s Downfall?

Lady Macbeth is one strange character. In the beginning of the play, the readers experience a very blood-thirsty, power-hungry woman. As the story unfolds, however, one can observe that Lady Macbeth slowly loses the power and authority she seemed to originally radiate. At some point in the story, Lady Macbeth’s conscience gets the best of her and therefore ultimately leads her to her somewhat accidental death. What happened to the unruly and driven woman that first appeared? Was it a guilty conscience? Was she scared her husband because of the power he had obtained? What kind of a woman is Lady Macbeth truly? Did she descend because of fear or of a guilty conscience? The audience sees a progressive change in Lady Macbeth 's attitude going from complete cruelty, to a slightly softened heart, to fear and anxiety, to a greater fear of being caught, and finally to a very obvious guilt hanging over her.

It seems to be quite blatant that Lady Macbeth doubts her husband’s ability to rule and readers see her cruel side. In Act 1, Scene 5, she receives a letter from Macbeth stating that he had met three witches. He relayed what the witches had prophesied about him being Thane of Cawdor and Glamis, as well as being king. As

She states that she is being tormented with anxiety and is fearful of what Banquo and Fleance could do to the two rulers. Could her fear be the cause of her downfall? The power and fierceness between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is comparable to a scale. The lower Lady Macbeth goes, the higher Macbeth goes. Her descent in power causes Macbeth to ascend in power, however, the fact that later on in the act, Macbeth seems to have planned a murder(s) without consent from Lady Macbeth, which shocks