Scene Summary
Within the castle, Lady Macbeth questions a servant if Banquo has left yet, and she learns that he has. Ordering them to bring Macbeth to her, she contemplates whether it is worth getting what you desire while wracked with anxiety because of it. Macbeth enters, and Lady Macbeth asks why he is always alone with thoughts of dead men long buried. Macbeth claims he would rather be dead than be consumed by the endless nightmares plaguing him, saying at least the men he killed are at peace. He thinks of Duncan, and how nothing can hurt him anymore because they had hurt him so much by betraying him in life.
Lady Macbeth comforts her husband, asking him to relax and appear happy amongst his guests tonight. He agrees and asks her to treat Banquo with extra care tonight, as he is their biggest threat at the moment. Frustrated, she asks him to stop speaking that way, but he claims his mind is “full of scorpions” while Banquo and Fleance still live. She comforts him once again saying they can’t live forever, to which Macbeth responds in agreement, remarking that before nightfall, something dreadful is to be done. When asking what he has planned, he stops her, stating it would be better for it to be done successfully before he tells her what it is. He turns to the night sky and calls for it to “tear that great bond which keeps me pale” before asking his wife to walk with him to the feast.
Scene Analysis
This is another intimate scene between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, revealing much about the journeys their respective characters are to take, contributing to the theme of guilt prevalent throughout the play. Macbeth’s troubled mind returns from Act 2 as he struggles to feel comfortable in his position of power. Though Shakespeare has granted him such a position within the plot, he allows Macbeth to feel vulnerable and unsure of his position. Contextually, Macbeth (being a male in a patriarchal society) should feel comfortable in his position and poised to take rule. Yet Macbeth is a much more complex character than the archetypal king, and displays a confusing mix of guilt and paranoia within this scene. His quote of “full of scorpions is my mind” seemingly indicates to the audience that he feels guilty about some of his actions and the ‘stinging’ memories of such wrongdoing plagues his sleep. The motif of sleep within the play is prominent; the admission of not being able to comfortably rest is an implicit sign of guilt, as in the final act Lady Macbeth is shown to sleepwalk and vaguely admit her crimes. The honesty of such guilt is something audiences may still question, however; is Macbeth truly guilty and remorseful, or paranoid about being found out? In the context of this scene, it appears to be more of the latter, as though Lady Macbeth specifically mentions Duncan, it appears Macbeth is troubled by Banquo, Fleance, and their respective connections to the witches’ initial prophecy.
He specifically tells her that it is Banquo whom he considers a “scorpion.” If we assume a belief in the supernatural, as Macbeth does, it is clear why Banquo is a threat, as if all the witches told was true, then Macbeth would leave no heir to continue his line of kings. Though unjust in his actions, Macbeth’s paranoia is justifiable but ironically it is his wife’s soothing words that shift his paranoia into pure obsession.
Throughout the play up until this point, Lady Macbeth has been portrayed as the text’s pure villain, encouraging and manipulating Macbeth to murder Duncan. She went as far to shame him and defy her role of a noble lady to see such goals completed.
Yet throughout the third act, with only a small moment in the next scene, she is softer with Macbeth and rather than manipulate her husband, she comforts him, a role expected of a noble woman. This shift in her character is interesting as while she reverts to a position of passivity and comfort, Macbeth rises to one of action and darkness. Her soothing line of “But in them nature’s copy isn’t eternal,” referencing that Banquo and Fleance cannot live forever, seems to give Macbeth confidence in his plot to murder them. In a dark reflection of earlier scenes, it is now Macbeth who actively schemes to advance his position while his wife remains in the dark.
