Guide Mentor

The Three Witches

The weird sisters and Lady Macbeth are often thought of as egging Macbeth on towards fulfilling his evil thoughts. Until he meets the witches, we've only heard of him as a hero, but after his meeting, he's already telling us about his horrible "imaginings" to murder the King. Agents of darkness themselves, the witches can be seen as leading Macbeth down the path of evil. It's important to note here that when Hecate, goddess of the witches, chides the sisters for acting without her, she says Macbeth has his own ends, not theirs, in mind. Things like this indicate that maybe Macbeth only needed a crutch to act on what was already brewing in his twisted mind.

Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth's influence as a guide in Macbeth's life is clearer than that of the witches: when Macbeth does some ruminating on killing Duncan and decides, "We'll go no further in this business," the Lady convinces him in about 50 lines that the King must be killed. Macbeth appears to borrow Lady Macbeth's "undaunted mettle" to get the courage to go through with the murder of Duncan. Like any mentor or guide, Lady Macbeth can only go with him so far before she stops being useful. Macbeth's first murder is definitely accomplished with her aid, but as he gains experience, he becomes so hardened to cruel acts that her aid is unneeded. Once Macbeth is established as a tyrannical character without remorse, not even her death can shake him.