English Literature Mock EXEMPLAR ANSWER 

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play in which Lady Macbeth is presented in parts as a victim. Lady Macbeth is the wife of the titular character Macbeth and as the play progresses we see her change from a strong, persuasive, determined and manipulative atypical Jacobean heroine to a victim of her own plotting. Her transformation from atypical Jacobean heroine to victim is complete when she commits suicide. She is a victim of her guilt, of her own making and a victim in her relationship.

Lady Macbeth is presented as a victim in that she becomes a victim of her conscience. In Act 5 Scene 1 this is shown as her conscience and guilt are symbolised in the “damned spot” that she is unable to remove. The spot is a symbol of her guilty conscience and her inability to remove it shows she is unable to forgive herself, or forget, her evil actions and the terrible consequences of them. She has manipulated Macbeth and, (regardless of the amount of responsibility we can attribute to Macbeth for the act of regicide which they both embarked on) her manipulations and plotting resulted initially in the death of a King – the act of regicide being considered the most heinous crime in Jacobean times. Not just any king, but a good king whom Macbeth himself described as “golden” when observing his dead body after the murder. The word choice of “golden” has suggestions of being precious, rare and of noble quality thus suggesting that Duncan was a man above all others, and that his character was precious, rare and highly prized in the society in which the play is set. Furthermore the word choice of “damned” used by Lady Macbeth is associated with damnation and hell. This shows that she herself is aware of the evil that she has committed and that has consumed her, and that she is unable to escape. As a Queen she was seen by a Jacobean audience as God’s representative on earth, and so her evil acts and the “damned spot” that she is marked with are in stark contrast to the expectations and beliefs regarding the monarchy – she is far removed from religion and righteousness and cannot be saved. Her final act of suicide shows her to be the ultimate victim as this would be viewed (much the same as many current day religions) as ensuring that Lady Macbeth would be forever damned as suicide is not an act supported by religion but one believed, and Lady Macbeth would have known this, to ensure eternal damnation. Therefore the spot and her subsequent act of suicide show her to be the ultimate victim to her guilty conscience.

Shakespeare also presents Lady Macbeth to be a victim of her own making. Throughout the play Lady Macbeth wished to defy her gender expectations and assume a more masculine character, as she believed that this would help to commit the acts she felt necessary in order to ensure that she assumed the throne. Indeed earlier in the play she commanded the sprits to “Unsex me”. The use of command shows her previous strength and also her fearlessness as she is not simply commanding a servant, but rather the feared supernatural. Her use of command would be atypical of a stereotypical Jacobean woman who was subservient to the males who dominated society and held the power. Also by not just liaising with the supernatural, but commanding it, Lady Macbeth was shown to be fearless but also to have complete disregard for her own gender which she saw as a weakness and something that must be removed to help her further her plans and achieve her ambitions. Ambitions which were very different to those of the stereotypical Jacobean woman which would have been to have children and be a mother. In Act 5 Scene 1 Lady Macbeth reverts to talking about herself and wishing to be more feminine when she declares: “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”. She shows she is fully aware that she has indeed by now lost her feminine qualities and she appears to be regretful of this. Her reference to “perfume”, which is associated exclusively with women, shows not only her desire to associate with the feminine, but also her understanding that she is indeed by now a victim of her making. The use of hyperbole show that she is beyond redemption and will never be able to smell sweetly again, instead she smells of “blood” which is linked to death, war and battle and of course the masculine. Her status as victim is highlighted when she refers to her “little hand”. The word choice of “little” suggests being insignificant, delicate and childlike (all qualities of the typical Jacobean woman). This shows that she now has reverted to see herself as a woman, but a broken woman who is unable to remove the masculine traits that she previously so desired and craved, instead she is torn between desperately seeing her body as feminine but marked and stained by the masculine activities in which she engaged. She is a victim of her own making as she previously in many utterances rejected her femininity, but now wishes she was “sweet” but realises she will never be.

Additionally Lady Macbeth is also presented as a victim in her relationship with Macbeth. She has become a victim of his now relentless ambition and craving of power as she has been forgotten by him in her time of need (her descent into madness). At the start of the play in Act 1 and Act 2 in the most important moments for these characters they were together and supported each other for example in the plotting and carrying out of the murder of Duncan, replacing the daggers back in the chambers and when Macbeth saw the ghost of Banquo at the feast. Indeed Lady Macbeth supported Macbeth and was the more dominant in the relationship often commanding him to “be a man”. The very act of calling into question a husband’s masculinity was highly unusual in the Jacobean times, and the use of command furthers the idea that Lady Macbeth previously was the dominant in the relationship. Previously Lady Macbeth protected Macbeth and ensured their plan was carried out and kept secret, she during the feast hid his act of madness (in seeing Banquo’s ghost) and helped ensure their plan and act of regicide was kept hidden, and their guilt. Previously both avoided blaming the other whereas now Lady Macbeth is alone with a servant and the doctor while Macbeth is on a murderous rampage to ensure he retains the throne, and he has left his wife to her own devices. Lady Macbeth acknowledges the change in the relationship and her loss of power and her now role as victim to Macbeth’s ambition when she states: “my lord, no more o’ that: you mar all this with starting”. Her reference to her husband as “my lord” shows the inequality and her awareness of this in the relationship. More telling is the blame that she now lays directly at Macbeth’s door showing that she sees herself as victim to his acts when she claims in reference to Macbeth that “you mar all this with starting”. The word choice of “mar” suggests having ruined, destroyed and deliberately lessened something. By Act 5 scene 1 it is clear that Lady Macbeth feels that she is a part of “all this” and thus now a victim of her husband and his actions. The fact that Macbeth has left her alone in her hour of need would suggest this also.