MacBeth
In The Tragedy of MacBeth, Lady MacBeth has strong id characteristics, and is not well balanced because her superego is severely out-weighed by her id. The id, superego, and ego are the
3 parts of a person’s psychological make up, accoring to Freudian psychology. Freud explained that the id is the part of the personality that demands basic needs and fulfillment, the selfish
characteristics.
The id tries to attain fulfillment through such things like sex, money, power, etc. Lady MacBeth is a perfect example of this because although she might feel guilty about it later, her id gets the best of her. She wants more power, and will do anything to get it. Being thane of Glamis and Cawdor is not enough for her, she wants to be the queen too.Another part of the psychological make up is the superego, the force that is supposed to “cancel out” the id in a balanced person. The superego is the selfless force inside that does things
for others, and sometimes shows guilt.
One’s conscience is them feeling their superego inside. Her superego is almost non-existent, but it is evident at one point in the play. The only time that it is
shown is when she can’t actually kill King Duncan herself because he looks too much like her father. She said, “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done it.”
The fact that Lady MacBeth does not have a balance eventually leads to her downfall. The id, ego, and superego are supposed to be at balance in a peron, but in Lady MacBeth’s case, the id completely makes up her entire character.
One main idea from the play is “Blood gets blood,” and no character does it describe better than Lady MacBeth. Her tragic flaw is her need for power, and the means she will take to get it.
