On the most basic level, both Macbeth and Miss Havisham are the creators of their own doom. A situation is presented to both of them: the witches’ prophecy that Macbeth will be king; Miss Havisham’s being jilted by her fiancé. It is through their own responses to these situations that lead them to their deaths.
Macbeth is aided in his path to destruction by his wife, who continually goads him to take action to fulfill...
On the most basic level, both Macbeth and Miss Havisham are the creators of their own doom. A situation is presented to both of them: the witches’ prophecy that Macbeth will be king; Miss Havisham’s being jilted by her fiancé. It is through their own responses to these situations that lead them to their deaths.
Macbeth is aided in his path to destruction by his wife, who continually goads him to take action to fulfill the prophecy, though Macbeth considers the idea that it will come to pass even if he takes no action whatsoever. He knows the future, but he has decided how he will meet that future.
Miss Havisham has been humiliated in love, like many people before her. However, she decides to stop all time and sets about training Estella to exact her revenge on men, specifically on Pip. Her own prophecy about her death (being laid out on the table where her wedding supper still stands) is brought about, not directly by any action she takes, however. It is a result of an accident but is a side effect of her locking herself away in her chamber in the moldering rags of her wedding gown.
It is the downfall of both Macbeth and Miss Havisham through their fatal flaw: hubris. It is not through their circumstances but rather their responses to their circumstances that lead them to their doom.
No comments:
Post a Comment