brave (Freud 223). She callously asks for her womanliness to be sacrificed so that she will be able to carry out her murderous intentions:Come, you spiritsThat tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,...................................................................Come to my woman’s breasts,And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers. (I. v. 39-40, 46-7)In the harsh words of Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy, she substitutes ambition for her repressed sexual complex. Her strong-willed speech makes her appear to be very courageous when, in actuality, she is suppressing her genuine underlying cowardice (Coriat 219). Consciously, she believes in her volition; however, her unconscious complexes are the factors that determine her behavior (Coriat 222).As the time of the murder approaches, Macbeth begins to waver about implementing the plan. The domineering Lady Macbeth goads him on to his damnation as she calls him a coward and shows that she is fearless (Jameson 191). Her horrific words convince Macbeth that he must be a man and keep his word:I have given suck, and knowHow tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me:I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as youHave done to this. (I. vii. 54-59)Here Lady Macbeth’s repressed sexual complex for a child is sublimated into ambition and strength. On the surface, she steels herself against emotional harm, but subconsciously, this abhorrent woman is deeply sorrowful about her childlessness (Coriat 220).As Lady Macbeth waits for Macbeth to return from the cataclysmic deed, she divulges that she is not as daring as she appears by saying: “That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; / What hath quenched them hath given me fire” (II. ii. 1-2). Her cowardice is illustrated by her need for alcohol to enable her to act out her wishes. That pusillanimity r...
