Lady Macbeth Schizophrenia Analysis
Shakespeare is one such playwright who explored the possibility of some characters being mentally ill. In his play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is depicted as unstable and considerably insane. However, for this paper, I will seek to diagnose Macbeth with schizophrenia, which is a mental disorder characterized by the deterioration in one’s brain and personality as seen in a person feeling, conduct and thoughts. Beside these general character traits of a person suffering from schizophrenia, the diseases specifically results to incoherent conversations and hallucinations. All these elements of a schizophrenic are found in Lady Macbeth; hence, I assert that the Lady Macbeth is schizophrenic.
First, Lady Macbeth is detached from reality. For example,
when she is planning on how to get rid of Banquo she cannot help but see her hands as full of blood and that every attempt she makes to get rid of the blood does not yield any results. She says of how even the Arabic perfumes have failed in eliminating the blood. However, the blood is nonexistent; hence what Lady Macbeth is experiencing is the hallucination or being unable to differentiate the fantasy from the reality. The delusional thoughts of having blood in her hands that never went away no matter the amount of cleaning demonstrate that Lady Macbeth has schizophrenia. Additionally, Lady Macbeth is Schizophrenic in the way she is delusional upon receiving the message from Macbeth saying that Macbeth was the next Scotland’s king. Upon receiving the letter, she starts making a plot of the current king's death. According to Herschel Prins in the article, Did Lady Macbeth Have a Mind Diseases, “in scene 1.V.40-30 Lady Macbeth demonstrates that she is suffering from Schizophrenia in the way she summons the mythological spirits to her aid as she wanted more strength to take out Duncan” (131). Beside the plan for Duncan’s death, she is delusional and live in fantasies when she starts to visualize her husband as the king in Scene (1.V.15-20).
Besides experiencing hallucinations as a result of suffering from schizophrenia, Lady Macbeth in some scenes makes an incoherent speech. Lady Macbeth's speech in Scene V. 1. 31-35 seems to have no senses. One possibility of Lady Macbeth being schizophrenic is guilt. Lady Macbeth every effort are geared toward making her husband the king and has to ensure that every person who posed a risk, even if they are loyal and harmless, had to be taken care of. This results to the death of people such as Banquo and others. On the part of Macbeth, she is guilty of the evil she had to commit to ensuring her husband took over the throne. She says of how she was ashamed of having “to wear a heart so white” (II.2. 64) after framing the drunken attendant.
In conclusion, it is evident that Lady Macbeth is delusional and unable to differentiate the fantasy world from the real world. This is seen in the way she envisions her husband as the King as well as when she call upon nonexistent spirits to her aid. Additionally, Lady Macbeth has signs of Schizophrenia in the way she experiences hallucination such as when she see her hands as containing blood that no amount of cleaning could remove. However, her schizophrenic condition can be attributed to her effort to ensuring her husband becomes the next king and the resulting guilt.
First, Lady Macbeth is detached from reality. For example,
when she is planning on how to get rid of Banquo she cannot help but see her hands as full of blood and that every attempt she makes to get rid of the blood does not yield any results. She says of how even the Arabic perfumes have failed in eliminating the blood. However, the blood is nonexistent; hence what Lady Macbeth is experiencing is the hallucination or being unable to differentiate the fantasy from the reality. The delusional thoughts of having blood in her hands that never went away no matter the amount of cleaning demonstrate that Lady Macbeth has schizophrenia. Additionally, Lady Macbeth is Schizophrenic in the way she is delusional upon receiving the message from Macbeth saying that Macbeth was the next Scotland’s king. Upon receiving the letter, she starts making a plot of the current king's death. According to Herschel Prins in the article, Did Lady Macbeth Have a Mind Diseases, “in scene 1.V.40-30 Lady Macbeth demonstrates that she is suffering from Schizophrenia in the way she summons the mythological spirits to her aid as she wanted more strength to take out Duncan” (131). Beside the plan for Duncan’s death, she is delusional and live in fantasies when she starts to visualize her husband as the king in Scene (1.V.15-20).
Besides experiencing hallucinations as a result of suffering from schizophrenia, Lady Macbeth in some scenes makes an incoherent speech. Lady Macbeth's speech in Scene V. 1. 31-35 seems to have no senses. One possibility of Lady Macbeth being schizophrenic is guilt. Lady Macbeth every effort are geared toward making her husband the king and has to ensure that every person who posed a risk, even if they are loyal and harmless, had to be taken care of. This results to the death of people such as Banquo and others. On the part of Macbeth, she is guilty of the evil she had to commit to ensuring her husband took over the throne. She says of how she was ashamed of having “to wear a heart so white” (II.2. 64) after framing the drunken attendant.
In conclusion, it is evident that Lady Macbeth is delusional and unable to differentiate the fantasy world from the real world. This is seen in the way she envisions her husband as the King as well as when she call upon nonexistent spirits to her aid. Additionally, Lady Macbeth has signs of Schizophrenia in the way she experiences hallucination such as when she see her hands as containing blood that no amount of cleaning could remove. However, her schizophrenic condition can be attributed to her effort to ensuring her husband becomes the next king and the resulting guilt.