Lady Macbeth: power in disguiseMany times, whether in history or literature, there have been substantial demonstrations of the acquisition of power, but very few on the part of women. The aspiration for power has also been presented in a negative light due to its consistent association with corruption. But is it really power that leads to corruption or is there another factor? As John Steinbeck said: “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts. Perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” In Shakespeare's Macbeth, displays of ambition push the protagonists to acquire power that they in turn fear losing. This fear inevitably leads to the destruction of each character. However, all that has been said, it is up to the interpretation of the reader or audience to truly understand what Shakespeare meant. It is obvious that Shakespeare sees the destruction that ambition and power can cause, but very often we assume that it is happening through Macbeth, when in reality it is Lady Macbeth. Most of the audience focuses solely on Macbeth after the first act, but fails to realize that the play would be nothing without Lady Macbeth's obsession with power. The evil that resides in Lady Macbeth knows that her beloved husband is “too full of the milk of human kindness.” The play opens with three witches sneering about Macbeth, the great Scottish general who returns victorious from a war between Scotland and England. Norway. The Scottish king Duncan decides to confer the title of traitor Cawdor on the heroic Macbeth. Macbeth and another general known as Banquo come across the three witches. The witches predict that Macbeth will one day become king, receive the title of Thane of Cawdor and that Banquo's children will be parents... middle of paper ... and generous principles and all feminine feelings. In pursuit of her goal she is cruel, treacherous, and daring” (Jameson 362). Jameson's interpretation and explanation of Lady Macbeth is similar to my ideology of Lady Macbeth. Our take on how she initially entrusted her husband with the role of a kind and genuine wife as a means to achieve the desired power. However, the wickedness of his crime of instigating Duncan's murder is never discussed. This is simply forgotten, even forgiven, throughout the play. This leads me to believe that this is why people don't recognize its true power. Lady Macbeth is the king of her marriage and Macbeth is just a pawn under her control. It seems to me that Shakespeare used Macbeth to show the destruction caused by ambition and power, while simultaneously using Lady Macbeth to depict true power at its peak..