Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth: NO CONSCIENCE versus CONSCIENCE In the first two acts of the play, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a person without conscience. Upon learning from the messenger that King Duncan will be spending the evening in her castle, in act 1, scene 5, Lady Macbeth immediately says in a monologue that ¡§the raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under [her] battlements.¡¨ At this instant, it is clear that what Lady Macbeth …

…never be clean¡¨ contradicts with what she states earlier in the play: ¡§only a little water is needed to clear [them] from the deed.¡¨ Clearly, Lady Macbeth begins to gain conscience because she has transformed from one who feels guilt-free, to on who feels guilt. Consequently, any person who cannot distinguish the difference between right and wrong is without conscience; any person who regrets what one has done is with conscience, if not have fairness.