In Macbeth, Shakespeare utilizes several characters as foils for his protagonist, all of whom emphasize different aspects of Macbeth's personality.
An obvious foil for Macbeth is King Duncan, whose character traits serve to highlight Macbeth's inadequacy as a king. While Macbeth is a capable warrior who wins glory for himself through brave acts on the battlefield, Duncan never directly participates in violence, and war for him is a brutal necessity rather than a key aspect of his identity. While Duncan believes that the Scottish king should be a kind of royal gardener who helps his nation grow and prosper, Scotland "sinks beneath the yoke" under Macbeth's rule. With the exception of the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, all of Duncan's thanes trust and admire him, but Macbeth's thanes eventually grow suspicious of their king and turn against him. Finally, while Duncan is often described using holy imagery, several different characters compare Macbeth to Satan.
Banquo also acts as a foil to Macbeth. Both men are equally favored by Duncan, but while Macbeth allows his ambition to supersede his loyalty, Banquo reacts with caution to the Weird Sisters' prophecy and keeps his own ambition in check. His ability to restrain himself highlights the difference between his and Macbeth's perspectives on fate and free will. Banquo believes that fate, if it exists, is inevitable, so humans should not worry about it, while Macbeth believes that humans can both expedite and thwart fate through action. Banquo is also a foil to Macbeth because he has a son, which is a major source of envy for the childless Macbeth. Although Banquo dies without having won much glory for himself, his descendants eventually ascend to the throne of Scotland, while Macbeth becomes king in life but dies with no legacy.
Shakespeare also uses Macduff, the Thane of Fife, as a foil for Macbeth. Both men violate their kinship bonds in some way: Macbeth murders his cousin Duncan, and Macduff abandons his family when he flees to England. But while Macbeth severs kinship ties to achieve his own selfish purposes, Macduff acts out of loyalty to his country. Both men also forsake their marriage vows: Macduff leaves his wife behind in Scotland, and while Macbeth and his wife begin as devoted partners, as the play goes on, he ceases to confide in her. But while Macbeth shows little emotion when he learns that his wife has died, apathetically commenting only that "She should have died hereafter," Macduff reacts to news of his wife's death with a passionate display of grief. These reactions show that Macbeth and Macduff have different perspectives on manhood. In order to purge himself of vulnerability, Macbeth cuts himself off from emotion, while Macduff's grief is what strengthens his convictions.
Lady Macbeth is a highly complex character whose personality undergoes a substantial change between the beginning and ending of the play. In order to draw attention to different aspects of her personality, Shakespeare employs two different foils.
Lady Macbeth's most obvious foil is her own husband. Macbeth, a man, has greater social power than his wife and is able to win honor on the battlefield, while Lady Macbeth is relegated to the domestic sphere. Perhaps as a result of her more limited social role, Lady Macbeth is far more ambitious than her husband—while Macbeth requires convincing before he agrees to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth lets nothing stand in the way of her desire to become queen. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth also have vastly different perspectives on masculinity, as evidenced by their conversation in Act 1, Scene 7:
Macbeth: I dare do all that may become a man.
Who dares do more is none.
Lady Macbeth: What beast was ’t, then,
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man.
While Macbeth believes that loyalty and restraint are the most important aspects of manhood, Lady Macbeth defines manhood in terms of aggression. Macbeth is impressed by his wife's ruthlessness, which he views as a masculine trait:
Macbeth: Bring forth men-children only,
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males.
Interestingly, although Lady Macbeth has just proven herself to be more ferocious than her husband, Macbeth believes that her value lies not in indulging this part of her personality but in producing male children who share her temperament.
Another foil for Lady Macbeth is Lady Macduff, who, besides the Weird Sisters, is the play's only other notable female character. Both women are highly critical of the husbands, but their specific grievances are different. In Act 3, Scene 4, Lady Macbeth is disgusted by Macbeth's deranged behavior, which she views as shameful and unmanly:
Lady Macbeth: What, quite unmanned in folly?
Lady Macduff, by contrast, is resentful that her husband seems not to care about his family. In Act 4, Scene 2, she characterizes his abandonment as cowardly and unnatural:
Lady Macduff: He loves us not;
He wants the natural touch; for the poor wren,
The most diminutive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl.
And while Lady Macbeth's relationship with Macbeth continues to deteriorate, Lady Macduff's final act is a display of devotion to her husband:
Murderer: Where is your husband?
Lady Macduff: I hope in no place so unsanctified
Where such as thou mayst find him.
But despite their differences, the stories of both women end the same way. Lady Macduff, who remains at home with her children and does not interfere in the business of men, is nevertheless murdered because of her husband's actions:
Lady Macduff: I have done no harm. But I remember now
I am in this earthly world, where to do harm
Is often laudable, to do good sometime
Accounted dangerous folly. Why then, alas,
Do I put up that womanly defense
To say I have done no harm?
Meanwhile Lady Macbeth, who actively attempts to win herself more power in society, goes mad and dies. By giving both characters—one who fulfills a traditionally feminine role and another who does not—the same fate, Shakespeare demonstrates the helplessness of women in a patriarchal society.
Lady Macbeth is a highly complex character whose personality undergoes a substantial change between the beginning and ending of the play. In order to draw attention to different aspects of her personality, Shakespeare employs two different foils.
Lady Macbeth's most obvious foil is her own husband. Macbeth, a man, has greater social power than his wife and is able to win honor on the battlefield, while Lady Macbeth is relegated to the domestic sphere. Perhaps as a result of her more limited social role, Lady Macbeth is far more ambitious than her husband—while Macbeth requires convincing before he agrees to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth lets nothing stand in the way of her desire to become queen. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth also have vastly different perspectives on masculinity, as evidenced by their conversation in Act 1, Scene 7:
Macbeth: I dare do all that may become a man.
Who dares do more is none.
Lady Macbeth: What beast was ’t, then,
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man.
While Macbeth believes that loyalty and restraint are the most important aspects of manhood, Lady Macbeth defines manhood in terms of aggression. Macbeth is impressed by his wife's ruthlessness, which he views as a masculine trait:
Macbeth: Bring forth men-children only,
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males.
Interestingly, although Lady Macbeth has just proven herself to be more ferocious than her husband, Macbeth believes that her value lies not in indulging this part of her personality but in producing male children who share her temperament.
Another foil for Lady Macbeth is Lady Macduff, who, besides the Weird Sisters, is the play's only other notable female character. Both women are highly critical of the husbands, but their specific grievances are different. In Act 3, Scene 4, Lady Macbeth is disgusted by Macbeth's deranged behavior, which she views as shameful and unmanly:
Lady Macbeth: What, quite unmanned in folly?
Lady Macduff, by contrast, is resentful that her husband seems not to care about his family. In Act 4, Scene 2, she characterizes his abandonment as cowardly and unnatural:
Lady Macduff: He loves us not;
He wants the natural touch; for the poor wren,
The most diminutive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl.
And while Lady Macbeth's relationship with Macbeth continues to deteriorate, Lady Macduff's final act is a display of devotion to her husband:
Murderer: Where is your husband?
Lady Macduff: I hope in no place so unsanctified
Where such as thou mayst find him.
But despite their differences, the stories of both women end the same way. Lady Macduff, who remains at home with her children and does not interfere in the business of men, is nevertheless murdered because of her husband's actions:
Lady Macduff: I have done no harm. But I remember now
I am in this earthly world, where to do harm
Is often laudable, to do good sometime
Accounted dangerous folly. Why then, alas,
Do I put up that womanly defense
To say I have done no harm?
Meanwhile Lady Macbeth, who actively attempts to win herself more power in society, goes mad and dies. By giving both characters—one who fulfills a traditionally feminine role and another who does not—the same fate, Shakespeare demonstrates the helplessness of women in a patriarchal society.
Lady Macbeth is a highly complex character whose personality undergoes a substantial change between the beginning and ending of the play. In order to draw attention to different aspects of her personality, Shakespeare employs two different foils.
Lady Macbeth's most obvious foil is her own husband. Macbeth, a man, has greater social power than his wife and is able to win honor on the battlefield, while Lady Macbeth is relegated to the domestic sphere. Perhaps as a result of her more limited social role, Lady Macbeth is far more ambitious than her husband—while Macbeth requires convincing before he agrees to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth lets nothing stand in the way of her desire to become queen. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth also have vastly different perspectives on masculinity, as evidenced by their conversation in Act 1, Scene 7:
Macbeth: I dare do all that may become a man.
Who dares do more is none.
Lady Macbeth: What beast was ’t, then,
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man.
While Macbeth believes that loyalty and restraint are the most important aspects of manhood, Lady Macbeth defines manhood in terms of aggression. Macbeth is impressed by his wife's ruthlessness, which he views as a masculine trait:
Macbeth: Bring forth men-children only,
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males.
Interestingly, although Lady Macbeth has just proven herself to be more ferocious than her husband, Macbeth believes that her value lies not in indulging this part of her personality but in producing male children who share her temperament.
Another foil for Lady Macbeth is Lady Macduff, who, besides the Weird Sisters, is the play's only other notable female character. Both women are highly critical of the husbands, but their specific grievances are different. In Act 3, Scene 4, Lady Macbeth is disgusted by Macbeth's deranged behavior, which she views as shameful and unmanly:
Lady Macbeth: What, quite unmanned in folly?
Lady Macduff, by contrast, is resentful that her husband seems not to care about his family. In Act 4, Scene 2, she characterizes his abandonment as cowardly and unnatural:
Lady Macduff: He loves us not;
He wants the natural touch; for the poor wren,
The most diminutive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl.
And while Lady Macbeth's relationship with Macbeth continues to deteriorate, Lady Macduff's final act is a display of devotion to her husband:
Murderer: Where is your husband?
Lady Macduff: I hope in no place so unsanctified
Where such as thou mayst find him.
But despite their differences, the stories of both women end the same way. Lady Macduff, who remains at home with her children and does not interfere in the business of men, is nevertheless murdered because of her husband's actions:
Lady Macduff: I have done no harm. But I remember now
I am in this earthly world, where to do harm
Is often laudable, to do good sometime
Accounted dangerous folly. Why then, alas,
Do I put up that womanly defense
To say I have done no harm?
Meanwhile Lady Macbeth, who actively attempts to win herself more power in society, goes mad and dies. By giving both characters—one who fulfills a traditionally feminine role and another who does not—the same fate, Shakespeare demonstrates the helplessness of women in a patriarchal society.
