Macbeth: The Weird Sisters, Predestination, and the Pygmalion Effect

Witchcraft Pamphlet: 1591

Historical Background

Shakespeare's (1564-1616) works were written between mid 16th century and early 17th century. It is important to note the time period that his works were written in to not only help understand the context of a given play, but the significance of undertones of social and political criticism made by Shakespeare from his environment. That being said, it is important to note the shift between who ruled England at the time. King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England in 1603 after the death of Queen Elizabeth I. 

It has been documented that Shakespeare referenced the Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (Holinshed's Chronicles), a work that portrayed British history that was first published in 1577 and later in 1587, to write Macbeth and a few other works such as King Lear (University of Pittsburgh). Though, because King James was presumably though to be a descendent of Banquo, the relationship most likely altered and influenced Shakespeare's depiction of Banquo, although not historically accurate, as much of the play Macbeth. 

Macbeth is said to be written in 1606 and had qualities that pertained to the interests of Protestant King James such as the topic of Witches. The Tragedy of Macbeth has thematically sound aspects of Predestination - the argument between Free Will and Fate - all of which have been argued by scholars; however, I argue that Macbeth is a pre-mature product of the now known Pygmalion Effect. Though, in order to understand this particular lens and argument, let us explore a few concepts, ideas, and passages in regards to important aspects of Macbeth. 

Key words to understand: 

Predestination: The teaching, in Christian theology, that someone's destiny is predetermined by God (Wagnalls 2018). Note, someone's final destiny is what is predetermined, not the actions they take in between the gap in time. Now, understanding this, that the actions in between are one's free will, let's take a look at the next definition. 

Free Will: The power and ability to act voluntarily without the boundaries of fate; self-sufficiency, self-determination. There are no external conditions that hinder one's ability to choose and think for themselves. 

Fate: The power that predetermines series of events that are often seen as inevitable. 

Macbeth: The Weird Sisters, Predestination and the Pygmalion Effect

Allow me to condense the essence of Macbeth into one simple, all encompassing, definitive concept: Expectation Management. At its very core, the entire plot of Macbeth revolves around Macbeth's and, to a lesser but perhaps happier degree, Banquo's determination to meet the expectations that they believe have been placed upon them. 

Please draw your attention to Act I, Scene 3. 

This portion of the play is not only important because it demonstrates the character of Macbeth and Banquo, but also how the witches place great expectation on Macbeth. During their encounter, the witches say: 

First Witch: "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!"

Second Witch: "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!"

Third Witch: "All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!" (1.3.49).

Note how Macbeth changed his behavior to match the expectations placed on him. He was told that he would be king, not how. Shortly after this encounter, Angus and Ross enter and inform Macbeth that the king asked them to call him thane of Cawdor and to bring him over to him. Macbeth begins to question the prophecy on line 133. He states:

"This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, why hath it given me earnest of success, commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs, against the use of nature?" (1.3.133).

This quote is significant because no one had suggested to Macbeth that he should kill King Duncan to become King himself. Though, it is important to note that in predestination, the final destiny of someone is what is predetermined, not the actions in between. Macbeth is choosing to act on the expectations that were placed on him by the witches. I argue then, that the witches are a representation of Macbeth's desires. Shortly after the witches praise Macbeth with being thane of Cawdor, Macbeth states:

"Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more. By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis. But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman, and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence you owe the strange intelligence, or why upon this blasted heath you stop our way with such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you" (1.3.71). 

After these lines from Macbeth, the witches vanish. Macbeth's character shines through as demanding and wanting more. That being said, Banquo was curious about what the witches had to say about him, even though they were not there for him. The witches him that he is "lesser than Macbeth and greater. Not so happy, yet much happier" and how he will get kings but not be one himself - meaning his descendants will be king. Macbeth and Baquo are a classic example of people who are told they will succeed and people who are told they are not. 

The Pygmalion Effect

The Pygmalion Research of Rosenthal and Jacobson was based on an experiment at an elementary school. The children took "intelligence pre-tests" where Rosenthal and Jacobson chose names at random to report to the teacher as children of high potential. Though the teachers did not know it was chosen at random. Eight months later,  "they discovered that the randomly selected students scored a lot higher than the rest of the students"(Duquense University). So why is this important? It is known that positive expectations influence positive outcomes and negative expectations do the opposite.

This is relevant today through the academic career of students in regards to academic counselors. Students who are expected to succeed will act as someone who is worthy of succeeding and they will be pushed towards choosing actions that generally lead to success. That is an example of the Pygmalion Effect. Now, it is also important to note how that affect and distorts the world view of people. How did it affect Macbeth? How did it affect Banquo?

Please draw your attention to Act 3, Scene 3. 

Banquo was also given expectations, the expectation to be second to Macbeth, not be a King but that his descendants will be Kings. The expectations bestowed on Banquo also had an impact on him. Act 3, Scene 3 is when the murderers that Macbeth hired were going to kill Banquo. Although Banquo's murder happened within a line, it was very significant. The action is The murderers attack Banquo and then Banquo had one line: 

"O treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Though May's revenge - O slave!" (3.3.19). 

This line is often overlooked; however, I found it to be incredibly important. Banquo doesn't fight back. Even before this, when he realizes that Macbeth has been going out of his way to fulfill the prophecy, he did not try to stop Macbeth. The expectations for Banquo weren't very high compared to Macbeth and thus Banquo made no effort to be more or strive for more than he already was. Though during the line above, he told his son to run away. The witch's prophecy was that Banquo's descendants would become King and thus Banquo saved his son and made no effort to fight. This is the opposite of the high expectation bestowed on Macbeth. Students who are economically vulnerable or fall in the minority are not generally expected to succeed and therefore, have the mentality of not striving for higher education or have a lower perception of their talents. Think of the expectation of schools in Los Angeles versus the schools in Irvine. 

It is important to explore the question of "What if". What if the Witches did not make Macbeth believe he was going to be king. What if they did not tell Banquo that he would never surpass Macbeth? What if students did not have prejudiced expectations placed upon them? 

Works Cited:

Albright, Daniel. "The Witches and the Witch: Verdi's Macbeth." Cambridge Opera Journal, vol. 17, no. 3, 2005, pp. 225-252. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3878296. 

Brown, John. Spencer, Terence. “William Shakespeare.” Encyclopædia Britannica, inc, Oct. 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Shakespeare.

Daniel Albright. "The Witches and the Witch: Verdi's Macbeth." Cambridge Opera Journal, vol. 17, no. 3, 2005, p. 225. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjs&AN=edsjsr.3878296&site=eds-live. 

“Holinshed’s Chronicles, 1577.” British Library: Shakespeare & Renaissance collection items. 

https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/holinsheds-chronicles-1577

“Pygmalion Effect.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p.1;EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=funk&AN=py156350&site=eds-live.

 “Predestination.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p. 1; EBSCOhost, 

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspext?direct=true&db=funk&AN=pr127900&site=eds-live.