Emcee
28 Sep 2003
What’s Done Is Done
Lady Macbeth, the wife of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is a multifaceted character. We see and are introduced to her character on many levels, but the one characteristic of hers that transcends all the levels is that of false bravery. She is a brave character, who doesn’t like to show her weaknesses. After the murder of Duncan, she tries to pass it off as being unimportant, and pretends to have no guilt over it. She does feel guilt though, and it is so intense after having held it in for so long, it eventually leads to her death.
When Banquo’s ghost comes to haunt Macbeth, she covers for his apparent insanity, telling the guests that “The fit is momentary; upon a thought / He will again be well,” (III, iv, 55-56). She is troubled by the murders she has committed, but tries to keep it to herself, as she does not want to appear as weak. She comforts her husband when he feels guilt after the murder, saying, “Things without all remedy / Should be without regard: what’s done is done,” (III, ii, 11-12).
Lady Macbeth has trouble taking her own advice, however. In Act V, we see how keeping her guilt inside has damaged her. She sleepwalks, washing an invisible spot of blood from her hands. She is torn between admitting her guilt, even for the murders she took no part in (those of Banquo and Macduff’s family), and saving what little dignity she has left. In her addled state, she speaks to an invisible Macbeth, assuring him that, “Banquo’s buried. He cannot come out on ‘s grave,” (V, i, 54-55). Whether we see Lady Macbeth as a loyal wife, a conniving murderess, or an insane woman, she remains absolutely determined to never show any signs of weakness, even when her guilt and fear is eating her from the inside out.