Saturday, February 28, 2015

How is Lady Macbeth presented in act 5, scene 1?

In act 5, scene 1, the Doctor and the Gentlewoman spy on Lady Macbeth as she sleepwalks and hallucinates in the middle of the night. The Doctor and Gentlewoman witness a deranged, guilt-ridden Lady Macbeth discuss her husband's bloody deeds as she attempts to wash imaginary blood from her hands. The imaginary blood Lady Macbeth is attempting to wash off is from the deceased King Duncan.
Lady Macbeth is hysterical and neurotic throughout the scene as she questions her husband about murdering Macduff's family and his close friend Banquo. Lady Macbeth further illustrates her guilty conscience by saying:

Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh! (5.1.31–33).

Overall, Lady Macbeth is presented as a hysterical, guilt-ridden woman who is mentally deranged and has completely lost touch with reality. Her mental illness and guilty conscience are directly related to her role in Duncan's assassination. She is no longer the confident, callous woman we saw in previous scenes, determined to rule as queen over Scotland.

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