A Weeping Child, Hidden by an Evil Front Essay

Many people say, those who can become good are not truly evil and that those who can become evil are not truly good. A person who is truly evil must have no remorse for the bad they have done. A truly evil person can never become good. Lady Macbeth and her husband Macbeth commit the ultimate evil. Together, they kill their King and afterwards murder and deceive many others. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth is depicted to be an evil and cruel woman in the beginning, but in the end it becomes clear that Lady Macbeth is not completely evil because she knew that what she was doing was wrong, was merely trying to please her husband, and shows complete remorse for her actions. In the early scenes of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is portrayed to be a cruel and evil woman, but despite her actions she still realizes her wrongdoing. As she plots and demeans her husband she seems to be the backbone of the plan to kill the King. According to Bernad, a published literary critic, â€Å"She is the ambitious, unscrupulous, cruel woman who would pluck the infant smiling at her breast and dash its brains out. But beneath this iron front is a heart of flesh†¦ † (52). Lady Macbeth is putting on a front of evil to try and make her self think that what she is about to do is okay. She may seem to be evil, but she is in fact completely aware of how wrong her actions are. She even mocks the manhood of Macbeth saying, â€Å" Art thou afeard/ To be the same in thine own act and valor/ As thou art desire? Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life/ And live a coward in thine own esteem,† and even suggests he is more of a woman than she is, however, she cannot kill Duncan herself (I. vii. 43-47). She begs the spirits to unsex her,† Come you spirits/ That ten on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,† knowing that she cannot do the terrible things that she must as the woman she is (I. v. 47-48). Even though she claims she could dash her infant’s brains out, she cannot find it in her to kill Duncan herself due to his so called resemblance to her father. All of the evil she seems to be in the early scenes is self-proclaimed. Lady Macbeth puts on this front of evil, but beneath it all she knows that what she is doing is ultimately wrong. Lady Macbeth not only knows her wrongdoing, but is also unselfish, doing all of this with her husband in mind. Her evil persona is simply bravery. Bernad writes, â€Å"To bolster up her husband’s courage, she puts up a brave front; but when alone, she shows how empty handed she is† (52). Although Lady Macbeth does have something to gain from Duncan’s death, she is trying to get her husband courage up to do something that he ultimately wants more than anything. This is a quality of unselfishness, which is far from evil. In front of him, she simply washes her hands of the blood as if it is nothing, but behind closed doors the blood would remain. Lady Macbeth knows as soon as she receives Macbeths letter that he wants to become the King. She says, â€Å"It is too full o’ th’ 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. 17-20) Lady Macbeth knows that Macbeth wants to be the king. She also knows that without being pushed, he will not do this for himself. In order to be the unselfish and ultimately good wife she is, she must put on this brave and evil front to get her husband what he wants. She thinks of her husband and not of herself when she pushes him to do this evil act. Lady Macbeth is not an evil woman; she is simply an unselfish woman who must be brave for her husband. Remorse is another characteristic Lady Macbeth had that is not evil. A completely evil person has no guilt for the bad they do. As the play continues and begins to come to an end, a new side of Lady Macbeth is shown. A side is shown of a more feminine, and helpless woman. Bernad writes, â€Å" She has become like a scared little girl, suddenly conscious of all the wrong she has done†, and â€Å"she has become almost a pathetic figure† (52-53). By the end of the play Lady Macbeth has become crazy, consumed by her guilt. Her previous front of evil is completely erased and her true vulnerable side is shown in her sleep. As she confesses her guilt and wrongdoing, she becomes an object of sympathy. Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?/ What, will these hands ne’er be clean? No/ more o’ that, my lord, no more o’ that. You mar all/ with this starting† (V. i. 44-47). As she says this she knows she will never be able to get rid of the guilt. She asks if her hands will ever be clean, referring to the guilt she will always carry with her. She then goes to bed, and falls into a sleep she will never wake up from. As Lady Macbeth becomes overwhelmed with guilt, as Bernad says, â€Å" She is the heart-broken girl sitting on the doorstep, weeping over her broken doll. No man is so callous as not to have compassion on her weeping† (52). As Lady Macbeth begins to crumble, there is no evil to her. She is simply a broken woman. Lady Macbeth’s unselfishness, remorse, and complete knowledge of her actions show that she is not completely evil. Although she seems to be evil throughout the early scenes, she realizes that what she is doing is ultimately wrong. This is a trait of a good person and not an evil one. Another one of these traits is her unselfishness. All of her bad actions throughout the play were made simply with the goal to get her husband what he wanted. Lady Macbeth ultimately feels guilt and remorse for all of the wrong that comes out of what she has done. Lady Macbeth is not completely evil because she has traits that a completely evil person cannot have. No person with the ability to do good, and care for others is a completely evil person.