Mtllors andtexts
TheWitches:agentsof evil?
IeN JouNsroN
Studiesin Shakespeare:
Shakespeare's
tragedies,Cevinnrocn UNrvsnsrrv PRnss,zoor
No discussion of Macbeth would be satisfactorywhich
did not make some attempt to deal with its most famous
symbols: the coven of witches whose interactions with
Macbeth play such a vital role in his thinking about his
own life, both before and after the murder of Duncan.
Banquo and Macbeth recognize them as something
supernatural, part of the landscapeSffi not fully human
inhabitants of it. They have malicious intentions and
prophetic powers. A"d #$ they are not active agentsin
the sensethat they do anything other than talk and offer
visions and potions. $# what are we to make of them?
A good place to begin is treating them as vital poetic
symbols in the play, essentialmanifestations of the moral
atmosphere of Macbeth's world. The most obvious
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interpretationof the witchesis to seethem asmanifestationsof evil in the world. They
existto tempt and torment people,to challengetheir faith in themselves
and their
society.Theywork on Macbethby equivocation,that is,by ambiguouspromisesof some
future state.Thesepromisescometrue, ft${$not in the way that the victim originally
believed.The witchesffi maketheir appealto Macbeth'sand Banquo'sdesirèto control
their own future,to direct it towardssomedesirableends.Banquo'simportancein the
play stems,in largeparf,from his differentresponseto thesewitches.Like Macbeth,he is
stronglytempted,,ffi$h. doesnot let his desiresoutweighhis moral caution.Macbeth
cannotact on this awareness
his desires(kept aliveby his activeimaginationand
his wife'surging) constantlyintrude upon his moral sensibilities.
The witches,in other words,appealto what Macbethwantsto believe.They say
nothing ab*o-ut
killing Duncan.In that sense,they cannotbe the origin of the ideaof the
murder.mffi, thesewitchesexistasconstantremindersof the poientialfor evil in the
human imagination.They haveno particularabodeand might pop up anywhere,
momentarily,readyto incite an eternaldesirefor evil in the human imagination,the evil
which arisesfrom a desireto violateour fellowhuman beingsin order tó shapethe
world to our own deepemotionalneeds.It's important to note that the witchesarenot
dealtwith in this play.By the end,Macbethhasbeendefeatedand killed,ffi the witches
arestill around.somewhere.
The witchesthus existasa permanentthreat,not only to particularindividualsbut
alsoto the human community.They exerttheir effectthrough the deepestdesiresof
human beingsto setasidetheir sharedsenseof communalvalues,andthey deceivethose
who listento them with equivocatingpromises:they punish thosewhom they
successfully
tempt by giving them what they want,by living up to their promises,only to
revealjust how empty and self-destructive
life becomesfor thosewho surrenderto their
egocentricdesires.
3. Answer the following questions.
'1.
What are the main featuresof the witches?
2, How do Banquoand Macbethreactto them?
3. Are the witches responsiblefor Duncan'smurded
4. Do the witchestempt onlv individuals?