How important is Lady Macbeth's influence on her husband's decision to murder the king? How does this decision affect their relationship?.
The influence of Lady Macbeth on her husband's decision to murder the king is very important because if it wouldn't have been for Lady Macbeth, Macbeth wouldn't have killed Duncan.
When Lady Macbeth received Macbeth's letter she decided to help her husband to gain the crown so that Macbeth would become the king. She is the one who decides to kill Duncan because she felt that Macbeth was too nice and noble to do such a thing. She examined his character very carefully and decided to urge her husband to murder the king. When the messenger told her that the king was going to stay at the castle she finally decided that that was where he was going to be murdered. She told her husband to appear normal even while he planned to kill him. She begged him to let her under take everything because as it says in the text, " the king must be provided for". Macbeth seemed overwhelmed by his wife's directness and her advice to him to be devious.
When Duncan and Banquo arrived at the castle Lady Macbeth returned to her formality and leads them into the castle.
While Macbeth thought about what he was about to do (murder Duncan) carefully he decided not to do so. He told his wife, " we will proceed no further in this business ". His wife became hysterical; she did not agree with Macbeth and chastised him with the valour of her tongue. She called him a coward and insulted him in any way she could think of. She told him if he did not carry out the murder she would not love him.
After trying to convince him for a while she made him reverse his decisions when she told him that they wouldn't fail because they would make Duncan's chamberlains drunk and make it look like they had done it.
Lady Macbeth demonstrated he power over him by subjugating him completely. The assurtion that she would murder her own child if she had committed herself to Duncan's murder as Macbeth had done was particularly horrible and showed her strength of purpose.