Saturday, February 8, 2014

Why did Lady Macbeth want to kill the king?

Concerning Shakespeare's Macbeth, I can give you a couple of reasons why Lacy Macbeth wants King Duncan to be assassinated, but I don't know if I can find five. 


First, she is ambitious just like her husband.  She wants to be queen.  This brings influence and power and wealth, or should, anyway.  They're certainly wealthy already, but the crown brings new lands and castles, or at least one castle--Duncan's.


Second, she wants what men have, and what is denied women.  She can't be king, since she's female, so her husband becoming king is the next best thing.  Notice that we never even see Lady Macbeth out of the castle.  She is trying to break free of the limited position her society allows her.  She wants to get out of the kitchen, so to speak. 


Third, she wants her husband to be king.  I don't know that this is really a third reason or just part of the first two, but since you need to come up with five, I thought I'd list a third. 


Ironically, once Macbeth is crowned king, he actually shuts Lady Macbeth out of the decision-making process.  Once, he even basically tells her to leave the stage so he can be alone.  She is reduced in her role of leading the nation, and even her own family.  And she certainly doesn't get out of the kitchen.     

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