Macbeth
Misleading Appearance and Dissappointing Reality Renoir once said that "Reality is always magic." I think this holds true for the main characters of William Shakespear's "Macbeth" in that their persistent subterfuge draws people astray from their deceitful reality. In the case of the appearances of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, things are not what they appear to be. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are prime examples that things are not always as they seem, and upholding such facades can be detrimental to their surroundings. In private, Lady Macbeth encourages and almost demands that her husband commit terrible acts. In public, however, she shows a sweet, concerned, naive face. Macbeth appears to be a noble servant to his country who is merely fulfilling duties, when in reality he is taking extreme measures to increase his own power; betraying the trust of those around him as he goes. Lady Macbeth and her husband suffer greatly as a result of the guilt and complications their perfidy Lady Macbeth's character is a perfect embodiment of the contrast between appearance and reality. This is most apparent in her manipulation of her husband. She instructs him to, "Look
After Macbeth reaches his goal of becoming king, which he thought would bring him satisfaction, the new title only brings more complications. Lady Macbeth neglected her true feelings and the burden of keeping up their royal, innocent appearance combined with her repressed guilt eventually drove her mad. Macbeth was also fake when he killed King Duncan's guards after the King was discovered murdered. With each lie and act of treachery, more complications and problems arose. However, Lady Macbeth seems to be quite power hungry and ambitious herself as she would show no remorse when Macbeth went on to kill Duncan. Much like Pip in Charles Dicken's novel, "Great Expectations", Macbeth and his wife strive for a noble goal but reach it through devious tactics. He is plagued by fear and tells his wife that they will have to, "eat [their] meal in fear, and sleep in the affliction of these terrible dreams that shake [them] nightly: better to be with the dead, whom [they], to gain [their] peace, have sent to peace, then on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy. Once Lady Macbeth meets her goal and becomes Queen, she works very hard to keep up the proper appearance for royalty. When Macbeth has crisis of conscience, she tells him to, "sleek o'er your rugged looks; be bright and jovial among your guests tonight. " Macbeth knew he had done something wrong and he felt guilty, but he was trapped by his own obligations to his wife, his new title, and his own desire for power. Aware of the scrutiny she and her husband were under, she wanted to emanate innocence and stability.
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