Macbeth hesitates in the face of the crime. One push is missing, and he has a name: Lady Macbeth. The scene where she convinces her husband to kill a king is one of the most acute lessons ever written about how the people around us shape what we do.
The attack comes where it hurts
When her husband retreats, Lady Macbeth does not argue with reasons. She touches on his identity: she asks if his hope "got drunk and fell into a slumber", if he is afraid, what a man he is. Instead of discussing the act, she redefines who he is if he doesn't act. It's the most effective form of pressure: not "do this", but "you're nothing if you don't do it".
The inversion of values
The result is a moral shift. The crooked becomes straight: cowardice is called prudence, and crime is called courage. The entire play begins with the witches singing "the straight is crooked and the crooked is straight," and Lady Macbeth carries out this prophecy inside the house. When someone can change the names of things for you, they've already won half the battle.
Influence rarely invents our desire. It just gives us permission to act on what was already there.
Why the influence worked
Here is the point that the Nous likes to emphasize: Lady Macbeth's speech only works because the desire already existed in Macbeth. Banquo hears the same prophecy from the witches and no wife convinces him of anything, because there is nothing to unlock. The influence of others is a key, not a door. It opens what was already locked inside us.
The account also reaches those who influence
And there is a bitter justice in the play: the same Lady Macbeth who said that "a little water cleans up the act" ends up sleepwalking, rubbing her hands night after night. Whoever pushes also carries. The practical lesson is twofold: watch who you accept the definition of courage from, and remember that influencing someone to harm does not exempt anyone from blame.
Complete class
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, on video
The temptation scene and the fall of Lady Macbeth, analyzed in detail on the channel Nous on YouTube.
Watch the class on YouTubeFrequently asked questions
How does Lady Macbeth influence Macbeth?
She attacks where it hurts: his virility and courage. He calls his hesitation cowardice and his repressed desire weakness, reversing values until crime seems like the courageous act and waiting seems like weakness. Influence does not create Macbeth's desire, it unlocks it.
Is Lady Macbeth to blame for the crime?
It is the decisive influence, but not the cause. The desire was already in Macbeth; it provides the push and justification. That's why guilt destroys her too: she ends up sleepwalking, trying to wash blood from her hands that no one else sees.
What does Macbeth teach about the influence of people?
That the voices around us rarely invent what we want: they give permission. The play shows how rhetoric that inverts cowardice and courage can transform a temptation into a decision, and why we need to be careful about who we accept the definition of courage from.
Continue: The Anatomy of Fear in Macbeth · "Sound and fury, signifying nothing" · Why is Macbeth "the Scottish play"?