Analysis of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s Dynamic Relationship (Essay Example)

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship begins to grow distant when Macbeth withdraws himself from his wife and begins to make decisions on his own. With his behavior becoming increasingly violent and reckless, she drifts in a completely different direction and feels remorseful for the acts she and Macbeth have committed. This act is the beginning of the deterioration of their relationship due to their deviating attitudes towards the events unfolding. Their inability to lean on each other 

Lady Macbeth feels overrun with guilt about the crimes that have unfolded. She chooses not to disclose her insecurities to Macbeth, further distancing herself from him and revealing her growing distrust in him.“Naught’s had, all’s spent,/ Where our desire is got without content./ ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy/ Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy”(3.2, 6-9). She knows that they have already sacrificed so much to obtain power and they are not happier since gaining power. “‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy”, refers to the idea that they would be better off like their victims, dead, rather than living in guilt over what they have done. Even though she feels an overwhelming amount of guilt, she does not say this to Macbeth directly. This shows Lady Macbeth's growing anxiety about the murders but also her inability to confide in her husband.`  He feels the same way about the crimes he has committed, but he retaliates and deals with his anxieties in the complete opposite way. “Better be with the dead,/ Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,/ Than on the the torture of the mind to lie/ In restless ecstasy”(3.2, 22-25). Macbeth is dealing with his anxieties about the murders in a savage way. He wants to calm his uncertainties by killing off the people who may be a threat. The thought of having to carry out more violence seems to conjure no emotional reaction from Macbeth, and his wife is suffering all the emotional anguish he should be feeling. Their incapacity to share their thoughts and emotions with each other creates a lot of distance between the two, something that did not exist at the beginning of the play. Now that their relationship has started to become less of a safe space for them, their decision making is becoming unplanned and abnormal.

Macbeth makes many remarks that insinuate that his intentions for Banquo were to harm him, but he never tells Lady Macbeth what he is going to do. He appears to be losing trust in his wife; their relationship is beginning to weaken. “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,/ Till thou applaud the deed.--Come, seeling night,/ Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day/ And with thy bloody and invisible hand/ Cancel and tear to pieces the great bond/ Which keeps me pale”(3.2, 51-56). He is saying that it is better that she not know what actions he is going to carry out. Furthermore, the motif of darkness comes into play; he wants to hide his malice towards Banquo in the darkness and wants the darkness to overcome Banquo so he no longer has to be worried about him. At the beginning, they both wanted to banish into the darkness. Although Macbeth still feels that way, Lady Macbeth is uncomfortable in anything that resembles night or the dark, and instead wants to head towards the light. They are heading in very different directions 

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are beginning to head in opposite directions. They are turning away from each other in secret; Macbeth is lying to her by plotting their next move on his own and she is lying to him about how she feels about all of it due to her lack of trust in him.