Lady Macbeth

while sleepwalking, discloses her terrible deeds. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare Macbeth]

References in classic literature ?

The Manager always played BANQUO himself, his Wife my LADY MACBETH. I did the THREE WITCHES and Philander acted ALL THE REST.

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Siddons in Lady Macbeth and ordered that horses might be put to her carriage.

Hearing these decisive and terrible words, Lady Macbeth, who had been waiting for a sign of weakness or vacillation on the part of her son-in-law, rose and, with a scared look, left the library.

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"What, you talk of debaucheries, Madame Messalina, Lady Macbeth! Either I misunderstand you or you are very shameless!"

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Thus Richard III., for instance, was marvellously served by his conscience after the putting away of the two children of Edward IV.; in fact, he could say, `These two children of a cruel and persecuting king, who have inherited the vices of their father, which I alone could perceive in their juvenile propensities -- these two children are impediments in my way of promoting the happiness of the English people, whose unhappiness they (the children) would infallibly have caused.' Thus was Lady Macbeth served by her conscience, when she sought to give her son, and not her husband

Ah, maternal love is a great virtue, a powerful motive -- so powerful that it excuses a multitude of things, even if, after Duncan's death, Lady Macbeth had been at all pricked by her conscience."

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The more I found out about the real story, the more indignant I became for both of them, but particularly on Lady Macbeth's behalf.

The Lady and the revamp: Writer reboots Mrs Macbeth claiming the Bard did her no favours; Novelist bids to repair the reputation of Shakespeare's royal wife who has become a watchword for ruthless, blood-soaked ambition

The Shakespearean version of this idea came in the soliloquy from Lady Macbeth which describes criminality as a gendered phenomenon:

MACBETH AND CRIMINOLOGY

Picture: ANDREW AB Lady Macbeth and her husband conspire against the King

REVIEW: THEATRE; Macbeth

First Duncan, a guest at his castle, is murdered by Macbeth in his bed and Lady Macbeth wipes his blood on to the servants, who are also murdered by Macbeth, he claims in revenge for the King's murder.

An energetic telling of ultimate tale of treachery; MIKE KELLY shares his impressions after seeing the Macbeth of Rufus Norris

Later, when Lady Macbeth becomes mentally unbalanced as a result of her complicity in Duncan's murder, she too [in the sleep-walking scene] sees blood on her hand and even smells it:

THE IMAGERY OF BLOOD IN MACBETH AND HASSAN

However, the theatrical results, according to her evidence, bore good fruit (especially for interpreting Lady Macbeth), though her take on Beatrice as "an old maid" (something becoming ever more prevalent in our time) is idiosyncratic, if not downright wrong.

Harriet Walter. Brutus and Other Heroines: Playing Shakespeare's Roles for Women

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