Lady Macbeth's Portrayal As Sympathetic Or Unsympathetic

Lady Macbeth's Portrayal As Sympathetic Or Unsympathetic

In Act 1 of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, discuss whether the character of Lady Macbeth is portrayed to the audience as being sympathetic or unsympathetic.

In the play, ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare, the character of Lady Macbeth is portrayed through her actions and characteristics to the audience as being sympathetic as well unsympathetic. Her resolve to make her husband the king through evil means arouses the readers to the dark side of her character, while her determination to see him successful only attributes to her characteristic of a dutiful wife who only wishes the best for her husband. The audience is thrust into the mind of Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 5 when she reads the letter from her husband informing her of the witches’ prophecies and there forth. Throughout scenes 5, 6 and 7 of Act 1, the audience sees Lady Macbeth’s slight hints of love and care for her husband against a larger background of her violent rejection of humanity, her nature of hypocrisy, her grip over her husband, her scheming mind at work and her powerful persuasive skills that deters even the strongly resolute Macbeth.
In contrast to the number of instances showing Lady Macbeth unsympathetic, the number of instances that invoke sympathy for the woman is far fewer. From Scene 5 of the act, the impression of a merer ambitious wife can be seen through words like, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be; What thou art promised”. This may only be seen simply as a wife’s longing for her husband’s success and nothing more. However this impression is very short lived with Lady Macbeth’s crueller intentions revealing themselves shortly. In another instance, the audience sees the conventional idea of wife respecting the husband like a master, when she says, “Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor, Greater than both by the all-hail hereafter”. Here the audience views Lady Macbeth like just any other wife, devoted, respectful and loyal to her husband. A hint of...