Malcolm refers to Macbeth and his wife as “this dead butcher and his fiend-like Queen.”

Both characters mentioned in this quotation are dead by the end of the play. Their deaths are both a result of their scheming to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth killed herself because of her guilt. Macbeth was killed by Macduff as he had had his family slain.
In Act One, Scene Five, Lady Macbeth is reading the letter that her husband had sent her concerning the witches’ prophecies. She is very much excited about the prospect of Macbeth becoming King. She is so caught up in the thought that she begins to think of killing Duncan in order to get Macbeth the kingship. Even though there is no way to condone killing the King, she is only thinking of what is best for Macbeth himself. At this point, she has no intention of killing anyone else apart from the King. Lady Macbeth thinks that once they have committed this one crime, the whole matter will be over and Macbeth will be King. Although this kind of action cannot be allowed, this was the only murder she intended to occur. In the RSC version of the play, Lady Macbeth seemed to be happy and sly as she read the letter, so they are trying to convey her as a plotting and evil woman. In this case, the murder itself is quite fiendish of Lady Macbeth, but the reason behind it is not, as she only wants the best for her husband.

Lady Macbeth then calls spirits to enter her and take away her conscience so she may be able to do the deed. She is calling evil spirits to help her perform an evil action. “Come you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,” In Polanski’s version of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth calls upon the spirits while she catches Duncan arriving at the castle. However, in the RSC production, she is sitting on her own and is very scared of the spirits and, at one point during the call, she stands up and screams. She is subjecting herself to this all for her husband, Macbeth. The fact that she is calling on evil spirits to help her do an evil thing is very fiend-like as she is specifically calling evil to do evil.

We can see that Lady Macbeth has a lot of respect for her husband as she hails him as he arrives to her. “Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor, Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter,” Lady Macbeth is also determined to have this murder carried out and seems to have it planned out in a way. She tells Macbeth to “Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under’t.” This quotation shows just how evil and deceitful Lady Macbeth is in planning the murder. She wants Macbeth to trick Duncan by acting innocently like a flower looks, but really be planning the murder in your mind as he does this. This particular event, I think, is fiendish of her and rather evil.

When Duncan arrives to stay at their castle, Lady Macbeth speaks nicely to Duncan and is very deceitful. In a way, she is following her own words by speaking nicely on the outside but secretly plotting to kill him. In Polanski’s video, she actually dances with Duncan which is quite an evil thing to do on her part. This is hypocritical of her, and, in doing this, she is actually following her own plan, by looking innocent, but planning the murder in her mind. This is an evil thing to do, as she is playing with Duncan before he is killed. When Macbeth is weighing up whether it is actually a good idea to go through with the murder, Lady Macbeth comes to talk to him. She then convinces him to do the deed. She mocks him into doing it by saying that he is not a man if he can’t do this. “When you durst do it, then you were a man;” Lady Macbeth is also very confident that the whole thing will run smoothly and doesn’t think failing is even a possibility. Macbeth-“If we should fail?”
Lady Macbeth- “We fail?” So, as we can see, the murder probably would not have taken place, if it weren’t for Lady Macbeth.

As the murder is taking place, she is very edgy and it seems as if she wasn’t as confident as she portrayed herself to be. She, we find out, cannot bring herself to do the murder herself, as Duncan reminds her of her on father, which shows some conscience, a non-fiendish quality. Her edginess is shown in her very short answers (mostly one word) when talking to Macbeth. Yet, she still thinks that it was a good idea to this as Macbeth says that it is a sorry sight and she says “A foolish thought , to say a sorry sight.” Lady Macbeth thinks that it is shameful to be afraid of going back to the murder scene. She also thinks that by washing there hands of the blood they are cleaning themselves of this deed. “A little water clears us of this deed.”

When people begin hearing of the murder, Macduff thinks that a woman like her should not even hear of such a thing. This is ironic as she was the one that actually caused it. Lady Macbeth is deceptively innocent in this part of the play. When Macbeth is talking to everyone, she faints. In the Polanski version and the actual play, I think that the faint was more of a diversion tactic, to make everyone look at her and, more importantly, away from her husband, who may give them away, which is deceptive and wicked. However, in the RSC version, I think the faint is real, as she realises the full extent of what Macbeth has done. This, is not fiend-like at all, but is a very human quality.

As we go through the play, we see that Lady Macbeth’s position has changed greatly. She now has to ask a servant to see her husband, Macbeth. It also seems that she is showing signs of regret. She says- “Nought’s had, all’s spent,” She also tries to convince Macbeth not to worry about the matter any more. “Things without all remedy
Should be without regard: what’s done is done.” We begin to feel sorry for her, and the fact that she show regret is not fiend-like at all.

We see again that Macbeth is growing further apart from his wife as he felt it unnecessary to tell his wife of the killing of Banquo. In the banquet, Lady Macbeth has to take over her husband’s role when he breaks down after seeing the ghost. It is she who saves them from being found out. Lady Macbeth would be very shocked at this point, as she didn’t know what was going on. She hurries everyone out quickly before Macbeth gives them away. “My Lord is often thus,
And hath been from his youth.” In the RSC version, it seems that Lady Macbeth comes in in a bad mood. She does not look happy at all and she only does look happy when she is talked to, and even then, it is fake in the RSC version. Lady Macbeth seems to suddenly realise that Macbeth has killed Banquo when he is talking of why he isn’t at the banquet. She looks horrified, which a fiend or someone evil surely wouldn’t do. At one point, she actually has to put her hand over Macbeth’s mouth to stop him giving too much away. By the end of the scene, after Macbeth’s convulsions, she is on the floor, weeping bitterly about what her husband has done. We see her suffering, which is a human quality and not a fiend’s.

There is an extra part added in the Polanski video involving Lady Macbeth. It occurs after the apparitions scene and we see her waking up suddenly and looking at her hand. There is a speck of blood on it which then suddenly disappears. This is yet another sign of her guilt but it also emphasises her exclusion from Macbeth’s life. This also brings out what Macbeth said- “Macbeth does murder sleep.....Macbeth shall sleep no more.” Her guilt is not fiendish, as she regrets the evil she has done.

The full extent of Lady Macbeth’s guilt is shown in the sleepwalking scene. In her sleepwalking, she shows, if unconsciously, just how much guilt she actually has built up inside her. She is so guilty that it appears as though she does the same routine every night. “It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus washing her hands.” She seems obsessed with getting every last drop of blood off her hands. “Out damned spot, I say!” She speaks again and again of getting the blood off her hands. “...all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” In this case fiend is much too strong a word, as she is clearly showing remorse, something which a fiend would not do as they would not have any sort of conscience. In Polanski’s adaptation, we see Lady Macbeth in this scene completely naked. I think that this brings out just how vulnerable and weak she actually is. We feel sorry for her as we see this, as she has to be led away to bed by the doctor, who shows little sympathy for her. In the RSC version, she is whimpering as she sleepwalks, and has an obsession with rubbing her hands. “Out damned spot, out I say!” At one point, she actually puts them in her mouth. This is the complete opposite of the banquet scene, as she is losing control, and not taking it.

The final and most emphatic show of her grief and regret is when she commits suicide. We wouldn’t actually see her killing herself in the play, but it fairly obvious what has happened when we hear her screaming from somewhere off stage. This is ironic, as it turns out that the only person she killed in the whole play was actually herself. Her grief comes to a head and at the end of her life, she is clearly human-like, as it is her remorse that drives her to kill herself.

I think that to call Lady Macbeth a fiend would be wrong as she has many qualities that a fiend would not. First of all, she feels guilt and regret as the play gets further on. She also doesn’t like any of the murders that occur after Duncan’s. In the RSC version, I think that they tried to portray her as more evil. She is dressed in black whereas in Polanski’s version she is dressed in lighter clothing. Some people go as far as to call Lady Macbeth the fourth witch. I think this is wrong and also that to call her a fiend is wrong for the reasons above and it is clear that she has a conscience. In conclusion, I think that Malcolm’s judgement of Lady Macbeth was slightly wrong. Yes, she did organise the murder of his father, but it is clear that she regrets her actions, and doesn’t really do anything wrong for the rest of the play.