LADY MACBETH: He that’s coming
Must be provided for: and you shall put
This night’s great business into my dispatch;
Which shall to all our nights and days to come
Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.
MACBETH: We will speak further.
LADY MACBETH: Only look up clear;
To alter favour ever is to fear:
Leave all the rest to me.
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. In this scene Lady Macbeth is presented as the main villain of the play. When she tells her husband that King Duncan must be “provided for,” she is not talking about the hospitality they intend to lavish on their guest. Instead she has something more sinister in mind. She uses the euphemism “this night’s great business” to refer to the unspeakable act of the assassination of the King. When Macbeth appears to hesitate – “We will speak further” – his wife shuts this down quickly. She has the last word, instructing him to stay calm, not to show any fear, and leave all the rest to her. She effectively emasculates him in this scene. It is clear that Lady Macbeth holds the power and wears the pants in this relationship.