Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” We are responsible for our actions, which shape us as a person. Our ignorance towards our actions can distort our reality, just like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth commit actions that shaped their character which ultimately leads to their downfall. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are responsible for their own downfall. Lady Macbeth has no sense of reality, which leads to her undoing. She is so power- driven that she manipulates her husband, Macbeth, to obtain power. Although she is able to influence Macbeth, she creates …show more content…
Lady Macbeth can easily manipulate him, because he feels the need to prove his masculinity. However, Macbeth attempts to “prove” his masculinity by complying with Lady Macbeth’s manipulative demands. For instance, when Macbeth is having second thoughts about killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth says, “Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem.” (42) She calls him a coward and accuses him of not going after the things he most desires. Macbeth responds that he will do whatever he needs to do to become a man but he must do whatever is right not what is wrong. Lady Macbeth then rebuttals by questioning his “goodness,” and asks, “What beast was’t then..When you durst do it, then you were a man”(42) She tests him to see if he is a coward by only considering Macbeth as a “man” if he commits atrocious crimes. Knowing that she believes “manliness” is when someone acts violent to get their desired greed for power, Macbeth comes to the conclusion that he will kill Duncan. Macbeth is fully convinced to go through with killing Duncan. By questioning his masculinity, Macbeth is manipulated into killing Duncan. This characteristic in Macbeth is a flaw which solidifies his downfall. Because Lady Macbeth kept pushing at Macbeth that he was a coward, he felt the need to protect his manhood. His pridefulness in being a man results in him complying to Lady Macbeth’s manipulative