Behind the Reason Lady Macbeth Persuade Her Husband to Murder Duncan
When
Lady Macbeth enters, Macbeth tells her that he ‘will proceed no further in this
business.’ But Lady Macbeth wants the old king must be killed at all costs. She
refers to his previous promise and to his fickleness of mind not worthy of a
brave soldier. When Macbeth admits to her that his golden reputation might lose
its ‘gloss’, she sets out to strengthen his resolve by mocking his perceived
weakness. She adds a distinction between masculinity and femininity: In
contrast to her own self-proclaimed manliness, she pours scorn upon her husband’s
lack of courage. She tells him he is ‘green,’ ‘a coward,’ and that he resembles
the proverbial ‘poor cat’ that wanted the fish but would not get its paws wet.
Finally, and most daringly, she tells him that she herself would go so far as
to take her own nursing baby and dash its brains if necessary. She counsels him
to ‘screw (his) courage to the sticking place’ and details the way they will
murder the king. They will wait until he falls asleep, she says, and thereafter
intoxicate his bodyguards with drink. This will allow them to murder Duncan and
lay the blame on the two drunken bodyguards. Macbeth is astonished by her
cruelty but resigns to follow through with her plans. Thus, in order to
persuade her husband to murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth uses her persuasive
eloquence to the best of her power.
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