In the quote “And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty”,
Lady Macbeth is saying that she wants to be filled with evil. In the context
surrounding this quote, she relays the idea that she wants to be as evil as man
and to feel no remorse. She is ready to take on all of the evils in the world
in order for her husband to achieve success and become King. She has not a doubt in her mind that she is willing
to trade all of her womanly attributes to the evil ones of a man. I find this
extremely interesting because during this time period, women were portrayed as
delicate, kind, and weak. These adjectives in no way embody the characteristics
of Lady Macbeth. Her character does not follow the average portrayal of women
during this time period. In her mind, there are not visions of flowers and
puppies but rather visions of murderous acts and cruelty. She desires to be a
figure of evil, which is quite unusual for this time period. Lady Macbeth is a
character that I find very intriguing and I am looking forward to seeing how she
develops as the plot continues.
