Lady Macbeth: A Psychological Analysis

Another paper done for an english class. This was my attempt at creating an original term paper, and at diagnosing a fictional character. I fully realize that my conclusions would most likely be proven wrong if the situation were assessed by a licensed pr

Lady Macbeth: A Psychological Analysis

                   James Horsley

 

            Classic literature has graced us with a plethora of colorful characters that modern psychologists and psychiatrists could easily diagnose with some sort of mental disorder. Shakespeare, throughout his various works, gives us several perfect examples of just such characters. However, one of these characters seems a touch more unstable, considerably more insane, than any other figure conceived by the playwright. The woman in question is Lady Macbeth, fallen queen of Scotland; of all the tragic characters portrayed in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is perhaps the single most tormented and increasingly unstable. This increasing mental instability is without a doubt, the key factor in Lady Macbeth’s eventual physical downfall.

            Lady Macbeth’s questionable mental status becomes apparent the first time the reader is introduced to her character in Act 1, Scene 5. In this scene, the lady has just received a letter from Macbeth informing her of the weird sisters’ prophecy that he shall become King of Scotland. She immediately begins to plot the murder of Duncan, and starts off on fantasies and delusions of her husband ruling the country. Her misled intentions are first expressed in the lines:

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be

         What thou art promised. Yet I do fear thy nature.

It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness

         To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great;

                                      Art not without ambition, but without

                                   The illness should attend it.”

                                   (I.v.15-20)

A second, stranger delusion she entertains is that she is, in fact, summoning mythological spirits to give her the strength to murder Duncan; the woman is heard calling out, “Come, you spirits/ that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,/ and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full/ Of direst cruelty” (I.v.40-43). Psychologists would agree that such delusions of grandeur, and trouble separating fantasy from reality, are positive signs of paranoid schizophrenia. This episode is particularly important, for the fact it marks the first step of Lady Macbeth’s mental deterioration.

            If the murder of Duncan is set aside, the queen does not suffer another episode of manic behavior until near the conclusion of the play. At this point, her episodes are characterized by sleepwalking. The mere fact that her manic behavior seems to come and go could suggest bipolar disorder as “bipolar disorder is characterized by dramatic ups and downs in mood” (Rathus, 424). Trouble sleeping can also stem from bipolar disorder, although sleepwalking is a disorder all on its own. Though Shakespeare’s obvious poetic statement is that Lady Macbeth is being punished for her part in usurping the throne, sleepwalking can be caused by extreme stress. It certainly wouldn’t be outlandish to surmise that the queen would be feeling incredible levels of stress at this point in her life, due to guilt she expresses during one of her episodes, “The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is/She now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean” (V.i.39-40)? But whether this scene is examined poetically or psychologically, it remains significant because it shows Lady Macbeth has far more on her mind than she can handle, and that she has reached her breaking point.

            It is during this very same scene that Scotland’s Queen begins to suffer from new troubles, in the form of visual hallucinations. While the blood she imagines to be on her hands is symbolic of the inescapable guilt she feels from her part in Macbeth’s reign of tyranny (though such hallucinations are in fact, also symptoms of schizophrenia), recent research suggests that there may be more to it than that.

Studies by Chen-Bo Zhong and Katie Liljenquist, research workers at the University of Toronto, show that use of cleansing products after committing some immoral act may be the mind’s way of attempting to cleanse the body of sin or guilt (Stuttaford). Though from the words of Lady Macbeth, we can safely assume this method did her no good, “Here’s the smell of blood still. All the/ Perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” (V.i.47-48).  Of course the significance of this episode is that it completes Lady Macbeth’s descent into insanity, and eliminates any chance that she may return, as her guilt and mental stress are far too great.  Then, within the passing of four scenes (during which she is never seen, only mentioned), Lady Macbeth is taken by the cold hand of death. While the exact cause of her death is never revealed, the generally accepted theory is that she flings herself from a tower and dies on impact. As there is an increased risk of suicide in people living with schizophrenia, this theory would be very likely ("Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia" ).

            Were Lady Macbeth alive in today’s time, psychiatric treatment might be able to make her condition more manageable. However, the medicinal practices of her day were primitive, and could do little to manage the mind. It is due to this fact, that the Queen of Scotland finds herself caught in a downward spiral into insanity, and as a result of this incredible stress, finds death by her own hand.

 

Works Cited

 

Rathus, Spencer A. Psychology Principles in Practice Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston, 2007.

 

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Language of Literature: British Literature. Evanston: MacDougal Little, 2006.

 

Stuttaford, Thomas. "Out, damned spot: why the Macbeth instinct is still with us." 15/9/06 <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article638886.ece>.

 

"Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia." Webmd. 12/7/06. U.S National Institutes of Health. 2 Mar 2008 <www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/positive-symptoms-schizophrenia>.

 

           

 

 

Reviews

[Celtic Cat]

While I'm so far removed from my Shakespeare reading days, you did a good job advising me of who the Lady is and what her turmoil was about. I am amused by not only the assignment given, but by your writing and conclusion of her mental state. Excellent work!!!

[Robyn]

Lady Macbeth is one of my favourite Shakespeare characters. I remember reading about that study to do with cleansing products, it's funny how Shakespeare seemed to be onto something way before those kinds of studies would even be though of. The paper opens nicely and your thesis is clear and to the point. The bold conclusion closes it nicely and shows what insanity can lead to, especially at that time in history. You sum up Lady Macbeth's mental state well and bring up some interesting ideas. Nice work.

[Emily B]

Very well-written and thought provoking. It must have been fun to write!

[doreen cyr]

well thought out write and very thought provoking
doreen