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Lillian Osborne HighSchool**We aren't endorsed by this school
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ENG 100
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Arts & Humanities
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Dec 16, 2024
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Ambition can cause people to act without taking into account the varied consequences of their acts. In William Shakespeare's play "The Tragedy of Macbeth" a character depicts the adverse consequences and implications of being motivated by ambition. They use manipulation to persuade an individual to think that in their quest to become queen, it seems reasonable to betray their core values. The ambition of the individual drives them to perform misdeeds that make them an accomplice to the king's murder. Guilt is a result of their sincere ambition because they are unable to bear the burden of their wrongdoings which leads to their insanity. Ultimately, the ambition of this character is the tragic flaw that leads to their downfall as it evolves into coercion, unethical acts, and a guilty conscience.Lady Macbeth's desire to become queen drives her to use deceit to persuade Macbeth to kill theking. From the moment she learns of the witches' prophecies, Lady Macbeth becomes consumed with the idea of Macbeth ascending to the throne. Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into making a choice that would demonstrate his manhood by casting doubt on his masculinity.Her ambition for power and status is so intense that she is willing to go to great lengths to ensure Macbeth follows through with the regicidal act. The line "When you durst do it,then you were a man; / and to be more than what you were, you would / be so much more the man" (1.7.56–58) is spoken by Lady Macbeth when Macbeth reflects on the murder. The deceptiveness of Lady Macbeth Suggests the use of manipulation, as it causes Macbeth to alterhis view of the murder. The ambition of Lady Macbeth fuels her manipulative abilities by challenging Macbeth's Masculinity, pressuring him and misguiding him into deciding to commit the murder evokes her guilt and leads to her collapse. The ambition of Lady Macbeth drives her to carry out unethical actions regarding The King's murder which leads to her ruin because of the culpability that later stems from her actions. As AsLady Macbeth reasons why the plan would not fail to Macbeth, she states, In conclusion, the vaulting ambition of Lady Macbeth leads to her downfall as it is the root causeof her expertise in deceit, unethical acts, and guilt-ridden consciousness. LadyMacbeth manipulates her husband by using deceitful strategies such as doubting the masculinity of Macbeth, manipulating him and deceiving him. Her unethical acts, such as executing a setup, organizing, and framing the murder against others, have been ignited by her greed which contributes to her guilty conscience and leads to her destruction. The guilt-ridden conscience of Lady Macbeth is evidenced by her constant desire to wash the blood of the victims off her hands, a direct reference to their blood on her hands, and feeling guilty for their death, all of which causes her to go into hysteria in a downward spiral. In terms of motivation, ambition can be beneficial; however, unrestrained ambition can hurt one's own decisions and actions.Pandey2human kindness" (1.5.15). She is reaffirming the prophecy by telling Macbeth that he shall gainwhat is his through force. Lady Macbeth states that Macbeth is filled with kindness which mayhinder him from committing murder. This represents how disassociated Lady
Macbeth's feelings are from her decision making. She feels no kindness or empathy behind her suggested actions regardless of whether a consequence of those actions would result in the death of her King. Inorder to gain the strength needed to carry out the plot, Lady Macbeth states"unsex me here, Andfill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stopping the access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose,nor keep peace between the effect and it!" (1.5.40). She requested that all her womanly attributes which could be perceived as feminine and therefore weak, be removed. To ensure that she feels no remorse for the terrible actions she plans on committing. These signs of ambition clearly represent the strength that Lady Macbeth wields when acting asthe caretaker for her familyAsMacbethprogresses, Lady Macbeth's role as a caretaker is faced with adversity. BothLady Macbeth and Macbeth have been responsible for a plethora of sinful acts, including themurder of Banquo. A consequence of Banquo's murder is shown as such "Prithee, see there!Behold! Look! Lo! How say you? Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too. If charnelhouses and our graves must send. Those that we bury back, our monuments. Shall be the maws of kite." (3.4.70). It is apparent from the text that the guilt of Banquo's murderhas taken a psychological toll on Macbeth, and as a result, his past sins have manifested and appear to hauntMacbeth. As Macbeth is being torn apart due to his past actions, Lady Macbeth fulfills her role as a caretaker by stating "I pray you, speak not. He grows worse and worse.Question enrages him.At once, good night. Stand not upon the order of your going, But go at once." (3.4.118). LadyMacbeth tried to resolve Macbeth's mental lapse and best as she can, by telling the guests of theparty to leave before Macbeth continues to tarnish his reputation in front of the public. A major change between Lady Macbeth acting as a caretaker in this passage compared to act 1 is that now she is handling it all by herself, with no support. Her mental stability continues to help her act as a caretaker even with her husband becoming impaired.In the final section of the play, Lady Macbeth's strength, and mental stability begins to deteriorate. The guilt of the many murders that she help orchestrate finally came to the surface.The role of the caretaker for the family became to much to bear without any support. Thisdeterioration is stated as " Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. Why, then, 'tis time to do 't.Hell is murky!—Fie, my lord, fie!A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, whennone can call our power to account?—Yet who would have thought the old man to have had somuch blood in him." (5.1.31). This scene reflects the observations of a doctor who appears to beviewing a mad LadyMacbeth. As Macbeth was haunted by the guilt of his actions Lady Macbethalso begins to be affected by the guilt, she see's spots of blood that aren't real, but represent thedeath's she has caused. She eventually sucuumbs to her illness " The queen, my lord, is dead. "(5.5.16). Due to her built of guilt and pressure to be the care taker, Lady Macbeth tragicallykilled herself.The rolethat Lady Macbeth played as woman of the family and as the caretaker was oneof strength and reliability. She was able to support Macbeth's endeveaurs and aid him through hisbreakdown, but as a result she was left alone with no support to later succumb to theconsequences of her actions. This is shown in the play through the progression of her characterfrom a strong willed ambitious woman, then later becoming helpless and mad.Without propersupport from loved ones, periods of mental instability can cause great harm (ie. Lady Mcbeth)Pandey4and is important to act not only as a caretaker for others, but to focus on inner problems aswell.