In the play "Macbeth," William Shakespeare depicts a thane and his wife who viciously become heads of political power in Scotland through foul behavior and foolish decisions. Throughout the play the couple's personalities change, and diminishes not only their relationship, but their political power as well. There is a vast array of reasons as to why Macbeth falls from power, but the deterioration of their marriage plays an important role. This essay will discuss the reasons as to why the Macbeth's relationship crumbled and how it plays an important role in their political instability. .
The Macbeths' relationship mirrors their political power in many ways, and with any good marriage or kingship, you need to have trust. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth trusted his wife as he did anything she said even if he didn't want to. Furthermore, Duncan alongside his army all trusted Macbeth as he said, "He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust" (Macbeth,I,iv,13-14). However, as the play progressed, Macbeth began to slowly lose trust in his wife, and the people of Scotland began to lose trust in him. Upon the first visit with the witches, the Macbeths' marriage was great, as there was no sign of trust issues, but due to Macbeth's flaw of vaulting ambition, he began to trust the witches, and rely on the weird sisters more so than Lady Macbeth. This mirrors his political power as Macbeth was a brave soldier for whom his counterparts would die, but once again the witches changed that, as he killed Duncan to make the prophecies come true. Macbeth became King but trust was lost, and his fellow soldiers became suspicious of him, even his fellow commander Banquo feared, "Thou play'dst most foully for't" (III,i,3). When Macbeth began to trust the witches and not even converse with his wife, Macbeth started to lose the trust of his nation, dooming him for failure.
