Analyzing Lady Macbeth's Hamartia: A Tragic Heroine in Macbeth

This essay delves into the character of Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, examining her as a tragic heroine driven by ambition and a desire for power. The analysis explores her hamartia, or tragic flaws, including her ambition, manipulation, and eventual downfall. The essay highlights her complex character, her use of manipulation to influence Macbeth, and her awareness of the societal constraints placed upon her as a woman. It traces her journey from a strong, ambitious figure to a character consumed by guilt and mental anguish, ultimately leading to her tragic end. The essay references scholarly arguments and textual evidence to support the interpretation of Lady Macbeth as a tragic figure whose ambition and flaws ultimately lead to her destruction, similar to other tragic heroes like Julius Caesar. The conclusion emphasizes her tragic fate, highlighting her loyalty to her ambition and her husband, thus solidifying her role as a tragic heroine.

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The idea of hamartia is defined as a tragic or fatal flaw that leads a character to their
doom and downfall. In a more accurate sense, these flaws are inherent to the characters as
part of their nature and character traits. Such traits may make the characters remarkable and
make them stand out from the others while the same will lead them to their tragic destiny.
Due to these reasons, these are referred to as tragic flaws. One such noteworthy character is
Lady Macbeth from the play named Macbeth, authored by William Shakespeare. Scholars
also argue that she might be the most well-known female character created by Shakespeare
out of all. She has a significantly complicated character which makes her even more
interesting and quite the center of attention and focus of discussion for many Shakespearean
scholars (King). She had a complex role throughout the play which can make her flaws even
clearer. For anyone who has read the play or known the story, it would seem anything but
possible to take Lady Macbeth nothing more than a villain. She is regarded as a villain in and
out, and she seems to be the most competent in terms of wickedness. Her demonic
manifestation even takes her to marry Macbeth and thus make her destiny as she has always
desired. If anyone is to analyze her character and her role closely, then it would be more
understandable that she has many traits, strengths, weaknesses and even morality that would
ultimately be the cause of her death. Scholars suggest that Lady Macbeth can be referred to as
a tragic hero/heroine as much as Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (Liebler). Looking at her in the
same mold of Caesar can make one realize how she is considered to be a tragic hero. The
biggest flaw that led her, to begin with, was her ambition. Just like Caesar, her ambition made

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her fly towards the height and went too close to the sun. As a result, she pays the ultimate
price eventually by refusing to live anymore.
From the beginning, it can be noticed that Lady Macbeth was awfully ambitious and she
always held a strong will for things she wished for. But she also had another side that had
empathy, sentimentality, and restraint. But as far as her strong will goes, even she was
defeated by patriarchy and the social norms. She channeled her ambition for her husband and
it was her misogyny that made her do so. Moreover, it can also be seen that she was aware of
her social position because of being a woman. She was well aware of all the boundaries that
will be obstacles in her life and prevents her from accomplishing many things that will not
impossible if she were a man. There are textual glimpses that bind the notion in readers’
minds that she was rather aggravated due to these boundaries and her gender being the cause.
The only thing she has ever wanted was to have immense power and authority by all
measures in society. It was difficult for a woman to achieve so in that era. There were only
two ways for a woman with such ambition, either to marry a man who belongs to a higher
social class or wealthy, or to marry someone who can move up the ladder to achieve that
power and control(Sisson). This way, she could fulfill her desire, move up in society and
gather more validation. Living in a male-dominated society, she wanted a husband who can
be used to gain power as he can become king while she will be the queen. One may argue that
this was due to her misogynistic notions but analyses also suggest that her awareness can be
counted as her strength as well. She was also capable of dominating and manipulating
Macbeth using pondering, harsh words and cruelty as necessary. Macbeth was also ambitious
in life and was capable of doing sin for personal gain even though he started out as a
nobleman with morals. Lady Macbeth used it for her benefit and always addressed him as
‘Thane of Cawdor’ to remind him of his royal titles. Macbeth also wanted to be the king at
some point which made it easier for the lady to pester him into fulfilling his desire by any

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means(Uddin & Sultana). She was arguably in the marriage to make progress in the social
hierarchy. At one point when she realized Duncan might be a threat to Macbeth’s kingship,
she assaulted his manhood:
“…I have given suck, and know
How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dashed the brains out…”
This is a fine example of her manipulation by using her womanhood to insult him and make it
seem superior to his manhood. She left no stone unturned to make the prophecy of Three
Witches come true, the prophecy of Macbeth’s kingship. She even turned to witchcraft and
the spirits to beg them and eliminate every cent of feminine virtues which may prevent her
from making every possible attempt for personal gain. When Macbeth revealed her true plan
of murdering Banquo, her true nature came out in plain sight. Guilt and conscience seemed to
not exist in her anymore. She even soothed her husband by saying “A little water cleans us
of this deed”. But her vulnerability and morality came into existence right after Macbeth
slaughtered his best friend Macduff and his family. Her own words came back to haunt her
eventually (Chelliah). While she once deluded herself of washing off her sins by mere water,
her conscience broker her delusions and her demons consumed her mind. She started off
being one of the strongest and most ambitious characters in the play, but by the end, she was
the weakest of them all. In the end, her guilt preyed on her like a ruthless disease. She always
attempted to hide her vulnerability but succumbing to the guilt she could bear the mental
anguish anymore. While her husband was away battling in the field, she allegedly killed

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herself to be relieved of the pain. She died being loyal to her ambition and her husband like a
true tragic hero.

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Works Cited
Chelliah, S. "Shakespeare Views Mind as a Domain of Intense Tragic Sensibility and
Potentiality." Language in India 19.5 (2019).
King, Emma. "Furious: Myth, Gender, and the Origins of Lady Macbeth." (2019).
Liebler, Naomi, ed. The Female Tragic Hero in English Renaissance Drama. Springer, 2016.
Sisson, Charles Jasper. Shakespeare's tragic justice. Routledge, 2017.
Uddin, Mohammad Jashim, and Mst Sultana. "Patriarchal Dominance in Shakespeare's
Macbeth: Viewing from A Feminist Perspectives." ASA University Review 11.2
(2017).