Macbeth Act V Scene 1 Summary
Plot Summary / Story-line
At Dunsinane Castle, a doctor and a gentlewoman (Lady Macbeth's attendant) meet at night to discuss Lady Macbeth's disturbing behavior. The gentlewoman has summoned the doctor because she has witnessed Lady Macbeth sleepwalking for several nights but has refused to divulge what the queen says or does while in this trance state.
Suddenly, Lady Macbeth enters, holding a candle, apparently asleep. The doctor and gentlewoman watch in horror as she compulsively performs the gesture of washing her hands, muttering the famous words: "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" She speaks of blood that will not wash away, apparently reliving the murders of Duncan, Banquo, and Lady Macduff. She references the old man (Duncan) and his copious blood, expressing shock: "Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?" Lady Macbeth continues her sleepwalking soliloquy, seemingly reliving moments after Duncan's murder and the subsequent murders, hearing imaginary knocking and expressing her awareness of guilt that cannot be cleansed.
She leaves the stage, and the doctor turns to the gentlewoman, declaring that her condition is beyond medical remedy: "Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles." He advises that Lady Macbeth requires spiritual aid rather than physical medicine, and he expresses reluctance to speak of what he has witnessed, fearing for his own safety.
Commentary on Act V, Scene i
This psychologically devastating scene represents the complete psychological and moral breakdown of Lady Macbeth, whose iron will and ruthless ambition have finally fractured under the weight of accumulated guilt. The irony is profound and painful: the woman who declared that "a little water clears us of this deed" now cannot wash away imaginary blood that only she can perceive.
Her sleepwalking state suggests a dissociation from reality—she retreats into unconsciousness, the only realm where her rigid self-control fails. The compulsive hand-washing gesture represents a desperate attempt to expiate guilt through ritualistic action, yet she recognizes its futility: nothing will "wash it off." Her specific references to Duncan's blood reveal that despite her earlier psychological fortitude, she has been deeply traumatized by the murders she championed.
The line "Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?" suggests a moment of horrified recognition that Duncan was a human being, not merely an obstacle to power. Her mention of "the Thane of Fife" (Macduff) and her anxiety about "a woman there" indicates that she is also tormented by the murders she did not directly commit but shares responsibility for through her influence on Macbeth.
The doctor's declaration that "unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles" articulates the play's moral vision: the violation of natural order (regicide, the murder of innocents) produces supernatural and psychological consequences. Lady Macbeth's madness is not merely psychological; it is a manifestation of cosmic disorder. Her need for spiritual rather than medical healing suggests that her condition is moral and spiritual rather than physical. The doctor's fear and his refusal to speak openly further emphasize the corruption that Macbeth's tyranny has spread throughout Scotland—even a physician fears to speak truth in such a corrupted realm.