Macbeth Relationship

In Shakespeare's "Macbeth" we are introduced to Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth as a nontraditional couple during the Elizabethan era. At the beginning of the play we see a strong bond between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth because they treated each other as equals and one was no inferior to the other. The love that was seen between Macbeth and his wife was eaten away by the evil that began to grow inside them. As the roles within their relationship began to change, the plans of murder and deceit began to unfold.

After Macbeth's encounter with the witches, he sends a messenger to tell his wife that he is meant to be a great ruler and and eventually King. Her reaction to this is nothing but joy and pride for her husband and she seems to be excited for him although she can't help but want to help this dream of his become more of a reality.

Macbeth returns to his wife where she tells him that he is a fool for not wanting to stop at nothing to eventually become King and she thinks that he should do whatever it takes to reach the top. Lady Macbeth herself devised a plan to kill Duncan so that Macbeth could take his place as king. She made her husband feel so guilty for not wanting so much power that he finally gave into his wife and snuck into Duncan's room and stabbed him in his sleep. After he fulfilled her plan, she went behind him and framed Duncan's two guards with the knife so that her husband would be suspected of nothing. However, when Macbeth goes against his wife's wishes and go even farther to kill the guards Lady Macbeth must have felt betrayed. This is where the power in the relationship shifts back to Macbeth, as if he no longer needs his wife.

Macbeth's love for his wife completely changed after this point and he doesn't even mention her. The equality between them has diminished and Macbeth's evilness