Weak_Power

Weak Power Some say the hero in a story—tragic or not—should be a strong minded man who can think for himself, be courageous, and make good things happen for other people. Ironically, the “hero” in the story Macbeth is none of the above. Macbeth is psychologically a very weak man. His weakness is shown mostly by how easily manipulated he is by others such as the witches, lady Macbeth, and by his psychological response to the crimes he has committed. It all starts with a short scene with the witches. The Witches are foul creatures. They will do anything to toy with Macbeth. Their Predictions are puzzling to Macbeth in the way that they tend to sound so great yet be slightly misleading. Upon first impression, the witches greet Macbeth with some rather appealing words. “All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis.” “…Cawdor.” “All hail, Macbeth, That shalt be king hereafter” –The witches (1.3.49-53). He becomes intrigued by what he is hearing and really takes it to heart. “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more.”- Macbeth (1.3.72). One may pick up the feeling from this that he may have low self-esteem issues—a weak quality in a thane. One would get this impression because Now that the idea that he could become king is planted in his head, it starts to take over his thoughts. He wants to believe nothing more than, that he will be all-powerful; even despite Banquo’s advice to not believe every word the witches say. “But ‘tis strange, and often times, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, to betray us in deepest consequence.”- Banquo (1.3.133-137). All he can think about now is: how can he become king' It seems murder would be the only option. “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is so fantastical.” –Macbeth (1.3.149-151). To go to such desperate lengths to become king after a prediction that could or could not be legitimate, one would say, requires a degree of desperation to build ones weak self up. After the murder of Duncan and the predictions come true, Macbeth returns to the witches for more prediction. This time, again the predictions sound rather pleasing but are still not perfectly clear. Macbeth begins to become more self centered and confident. When he is told: “for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” -Second Apparition (4.1.88-89), “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him” -Third Apparition (4.1.101-103). A rookie mistake, Macbeth takes the advice as absurd but true in a good way thinking most of it is impossible therefore he should be invincible. He set aside the negatives and left in the positives. One would argue a stronger-minded person would consider the possible negatives and set up any possible defense against them. Macbeth goes off of the witches’ advice as excellent all-mighty words and weak-mindedly does not think for himself, which would in turn lead him to his disastrous fate. Another lady who takes selfish advantage of Macbeth’s weak mind in a slightly different way is Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is like a backseat driver to Macbeth. Macbeth takes every bit of persuasion his wife uses to steer him into doing what she wants him to do. To tempt him into going through with murdering the king to become king, the technique that tends to work well for her is attacking his self esteem as a man. ”When you durst do it, then you were a man, and, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more than the man.”- Lady Macbeth (1.7.54-56) He goes against his own morals to do what Lady Macbeth tells him. “First, I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed.”- Macbeth (1.7.13-14). To fall into such peer pressure from a woman in the 17th century takes a very weak man because of the lack of respect women received in general. For him to obey her, it is obvious he has a very low self-esteem. If he were psychologically stronger, he could think for himself and do what he thinks is morally correct. As a thane—a high-ranked nobleman—one would assume he should be independent enough to lead a clan, but if he were weak enough to be manipulated and pushed over by lady Macbeth, one would suggest he would be a weak, under-qualified leader. After being persuaded to going through with the murder by his wife, a large cloud of guilt hovers over Macbeth. One would say Macbeth is not a suitable killer of the king, mentally. His weak mind cannot stand the guilt, which comes with killing a nobleman, let alone a great king. “To know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself. Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!”- Macbeth (2.2.89-91). If he could take it back he would. He is so full of guilt he cannot even go near Duncan’s chamber. Macbeth, focused on becoming king, also takes care of Banquo. Banquo was a “threat” because the witches predicted that descendants of him would become king. “Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!”- First witch (1.3.71). After having Banquo killed he feels so guilty he even sees the ghost of Banquo in his place at a banquet in the hall of the palace. One should think that he does not have the psychological capabilities to deal with the horrible things he has done and he does not have the strength to try and get what he wants legitimately. He was pushed into doing these tasks without thinking about what he was doing. He has shown he is incapable of thinking for himself and now suffers the consequences by not being able to deal with the new stress from what he has done. One could argue a strong-minded person is someone who is independent, can think for himself, does what is morally correct, does not let tragic events get the better of them or make them go mad. A Strong-minded man would also take in information and not believe it to all be truth. Macbeth fails to meet this criteria of a strong-minded man. He listened to the witches’ true predictions but did not stop to think about where the information was coming from and if it could be misleading in any way. He allowed Lady Macbeth to pressure him into doing thing he thought were unethical, and his inability to deal with the guilt deriving from his murderous actions. It is not hard to come to the conclusion that Macbeth is psychologically a very weak-minded man.