Analysis of Macbeth's Ambitions

Shakespeare’s, Macbeth, was a play in which betrayal and the obsession of power will ultimately destroy an individual. However, multiple key factors led Macbeth to his inescapable fate. Lady Macbeth had a limited role to play in her husband’s social destruction and eventually his death. Did Lady Macbeth contribute to his downfall? Perhaps. However, Macbeth’s destruction was also caused by his all-consuming ambition and insecurities of power with the persistent influence from Lady Macbeth. The relationship between the two Macbeth’s was bound in trust and was irreparably fractured by their guilty conscience.

The greatest factor that leads to the destruction of Macbeth was his uncontrollable ambitions. Unrelated to Lady Macbeth, his ambition was witnessed in the second appearance of the witches, upon which they greeted Macbeth with three apparitions. The second apparition was viewed as an unnatural birth occurring: “The power of man, for none of the women born shall harm Macbeth.” (Shakespeare 4.1.79-81). This means, Macbeth’s overambitious personality misconstrued this apparition to conclude he was now immortal and couldn’t be harmed by humans even though it meant he would die by someone born of a C-section. If Macbeth had aired more caution upon hearing the apparition and did not allow his arrogance and ambition to lead his actions, he might still be alive. Lady Macbeth cannot possibly be blamed for his death when it was his own overconfident, carelessness that led to his peril.

During Macbeth’s thought process to commit the dark deed; he made up his mind to spare his noble king as he was well respected and a cousin of Macbeth’s. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth strongly disagreed with this and states, “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Shakespeare 1.7.49-50). This means she was able to pray on his insecurities to overrule his choice and make him murder to exonerate not only her power but Macbeths. However, Lady Macbeth’s influence plays a minimal role against the destruction of Macbeth as he was only motivated by his ego, not Lady Macbeth’s concern. Instead, he chose to listen to his wife, but only to fight his insecurity of lacking traditional manhood. Thus, Lady Macbeth plays a minimal role in his death as she cannot make Macbeth change his opinion, he did it to prove he was a man.

Throughout Shakespeare’s, Macbeth, Macbeth’s actions were ultimately persuaded by his insecurities. After being outranked, Macbeth’s insecurity of lacking power was illuminated in his first soliloquy. "Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires." (Shakespeare 1.4. 50-51). This passage meant, Macbeth’s rage and insecurities had overcome him, thus he needed to act on it by murdering the King. Macbeth displayed resentment and anger after hearing Malcolm would outrank him. Thus, he intended on murdering Duncan to regain his power, which lead to his demise. Macbeth’s insecurity ultimately concluded his fate as the decision was solely based on proving he was a powerful man. Therefore, Lady Macbeth cannot be blamed for this as it was his rage, proved by insecurities, that concluded his deadly fate.

In conclusion, Macbeth's ultimate destruction was not only Lady Macbeth’s fault but primarily his own. Macbeth ultimately succumbed to his ambition, the manipulations of Lady Macbeth, and his insecurities. While their relationship was bound in trust, Lady Macbeth still did play a role in the demise of her husband, but she can not take the blame for Macbeth's internal conflicts. Once all these conflicts cumulated, Macbeth’s destruction wasn’t a matter of if it would happen, but a matter of when, with or without Lady Macbeth.