To what extent is Lady Macbeth an ideal wife? Discuss with close reference to the text. Throughout Shakespeare's play of Macbeth we are exposed to the society of thirteenth century Scotland and the different roles and status of this time. Accordingly, we are revealed to Macbeth's climb to the throne, and are consequently revealed to the different qualities of his wife, Lady Macbeth. Various attributes of her character enable us to perceive her as a …showed first 75 words of 941 total…

…showed last 75 words of 941 total…to be a bad wife. From our first encounter with Lady Macbeth, we can see that she was a merciless and unforgiving wife to Macbeth, unless it suited herself. With many examples from the text, her ruthlessness, vulnerability and ambition have most certainly been depicted to us as her true qualities; these given qualities make her most difficult to understand. Thus in this manner, we are ensured that Lady Macbeth was not an ideal wife.