From the moment we are introduced to Lady Macbeth in Act I Macbeth’s devotion to his wife is clear. They are almost two halves of a single identity. They have no separate ambitions. They support and love one another. They suffer together.

Prior to Duncan’s murder Macbeth is almost subordinate to his wife. She knows her husband's weakness, how he scruples 'to catch the nearest way' to the object he desires; and she sets herself without a trace of doubt or conflict to counteract this weakness.

Yet as the play progresses Macbeth ceases to require his wife's encouragement. As he sinks further into the depths of depravity the two become utterly isolated from one another. Macbeth’s diminished affection is bitterly evident in his reaction to her death, “She should have died hereafter”.