Who’s To Blame for Macbeth’s Downfall?
(An Understanding of Who Was at Fault for the Downfall of Macbeth) Power is a necessity for many people, so much so that it can drive a person to do the unthinkable. Although the play started off with Macbeth being a joyous, and truthful character, he is bound to fall because of his greed for power. Although many people solely blame Macbeth for his own downfall, they don’t realize that he was not the only one who pushed him to his limits. Firstly, there is the obvious answer that Macbeth himself was the cause for his downfall. However, his wife was no less innocent in the acts, she also is to blame for his destruction. Lastly, there were the witches, who gave him what he desired, which ultimately began his downfall. As stated by Eric Fromm in his book, Escape from Freedom, “Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching
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These three sisters were seen many times throughout the play, and each time, all were creating mischief for multiple people. The first time they came upon the stage, they brought a very disturbing message, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through the fog and the filthy air.” (1:1 Lines 10-11) This message has a simple meaning: good is bad and bad is good, the play is difficult to understand at first, but when understood, the fog is lifted. As described by Lucinda Kent in her webpage article, Sex, death and ogres: Why Game of Thrones and fairytales appeal in uncertain times, “The ogres and witches and giants of fairytales stand in as metaphors for those obstacles that we all face in our own lives.” When they speak to Macbeth, they give him prophecies to look forward to, and this drives Macbeth to start creating ideas about how he could become king. These prophecies ultimately create a situation in which Macbeth has only greed on his