Lady Macbeth

“It is an unearthly beauty that some in Wrybeard’s court call death-touched.”

Reid introduces her protagonist’s appearance, which has shaped Roscille’s life as a source of status but also fear. Reid depicts a society in which reputation is important, impacting Roscille’s sociopolitical position. Roscille has always associated her magic and beauty with suspicion and isolation: Her patriarchal environment has taught her that both are fundamentally bad, or at least dangerous (which, as threats to male power, they are). Reid also explores The Truth of Myth and Magic, introducing the idea of fate as a powerful force while simultaneously complicating it. Roscille has always been marked, but whether by society alone or a greater power is ambiguous. This sets up Roscille’s struggle to create her own destiny.

“In order to be seen as merciful, one must first be seen as powerful. There is no mercy that a sheep can show a wolf.”

Roscille observes the men plotting their war on Cawder and their strategy for winning local support through mercy after initial bloodshed. Reid creates a sense of an inherently violent world in which displaying dominance ensures respect and therefore survival. Whether it is possible to attain Agency in a Violent World in any nonviolent way thus emerges as a question. Reid uses animal imagery to underline the raw brutality of the struggle to survive and to suggest a binary division between fierce predator and helpless prey.

“‘I am more than a draughts tile,’ she says, her voice trembling. ‘I am the blood of the ermine, I am—’

‘You are whatever creature I make you,’ Wrybeard says.”

Roscille recalls objecting to her marriage to Macbeth by asserting her identity and humanity. She argues that she is not an inanimate piece in a board game but shares her father’s blood and cleverness, trying to emphasize their specific human connection and her unique traits and will. The fact that her father cuts her off shows he has no regard for her statements and does not see her as an equal human: He asserts that her identity derives from his narrative, developing the theme of The Origins of Individual Identity and Humanity. His use of the word “creature” echoes the animal symbolism used throughout the book and dehumanizes her further. Roscille remembers this specific statement a number of times later in the story, showing its deep impact on her, which she struggles to fight against.

“She looks down at her hands, as if she might see them stained, too. But they are white, cold as they have always been, which is almost more sickening, somehow.”

Roscille struggles with the knowledge that she has knowingly created violent conflict out of self-preservation, imagining spilled blood on her hands as a visual symbol of her guilt. This recurring image ties Roscille to Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, who is haunted by hallucinations of her bloodied hands. This emphasizes the traits and actions the two characters share: Both are traumatized by their participation in violence, though their motivations are different. Reid juxtaposes the image of blood against the cold and the color white to symbolize contrasting elements of Roscille’s character—e.g., her relative innocence at this point and her physical distance from the violence. However, coldness and pallor also suggest ruthlessness and detachment. To Roscille herself, these qualities also remind her of her otherworldliness; her sickened reaction shows that she is not reconciled to her supernatural qualities or her willingness to engage in violence to survive.

“Vengeance is not a wooden cup that empties. It is a jeweled chalice which endlessly spills over.”

Reid explores the vicious cycle of violence associated with revenge. The metaphor of a finite vessel versus one that constantly flows shows that vengeance is self-perpetuating, as it will always create a reciprocal desire for revenge. The image of a jeweled chalice rather than a wooden cup suggests that vengeance is an action that exceeds any practical purpose. Roscille relates this to stories of vengeance in which people kill the entire families of their enemies.

“Of all the ancient tales, this is the one Roscille has heard the most, for it speaks to man’s basest desire […] it is a very equalizing story, beloved by peasants and nobles both.”

Reid explores the power of myths and narrative, showing how stories can connect to people’s sense of themselves and their lives, in this case as wish-fulfillment. Roscille notes that this pre-Christian tale has survived cultural changes because it speaks to universal human experiences. Reid further suggests that narrative plays a role in both reflecting and shaping social and political realities: The story Roscille is thinking of not only shows the enduring power of those at the top of the hierarchy but also reinforces it by suggesting that only a monumental, supernatural, fated event can disrupt this order.

“If the serpent-woman Melusina had a mate, it would be such a creature, she thinks.”

Reid foreshadows Lisander’s other form as a serpent or dragon. She also foreshadows the romantic relationship between him and Roscille: Roscille has earlier compared herself to Melusina, so by imagining Lisander as Melusina’s partner, she implies she and Lisander would be a good couple. Reid further underscores this with her use of “she thinks,” highlighting that this view of Lisander is Roscille’s subjective perception and thus suggesting her attraction to him. This quotation also alludes to one of Lady Macbeth’s most famous lines in Shakespeare’s play, an instruction to Macbeth to “look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t” (I.V.420-421). Reid subverts this to suit her characters’ dynamics, as it is Lisander who is secretly a serpent, though like Shakespeare’s queen, Roscille connects to this part of his character. Melusina herself is a legendary female water spirit, connecting Roscille’s magic to the novel’s water symbolism.

“Right now, the center is a blank space, empty of all but breath and air.”

Reid uses the visual image of the central place at the table being empty to show that Duncane’s death has left a power vacuum. The idea of a “blank space” suggests a liminal moment full of potential, as the future is not decided. The imagery of “breath” and “air” creates a sense of suspension and anticipation, allowing the tension to build with the promise of action.

“The blood pools. It laps at the hem of her gown […] it is what every man says, when he first kills another: I did not know there would be so much.”

Reid’s heroine echoes Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth: “[W]ho would have thought the old man / to have had so much blood in him” (V.I.2163-2164). Both are shocked by the physical reality of murder, showing the momentousness of this action and the impact it has on the perpetrator. Reid’s image of a “pool” that “laps” at Roscille’s dress infuses the scene with body horror and gore. The uncontrollable flow of blood parallels the fact that Roscille herself is not in control but rather acting under Macbeth’s coercion.

“This is one of the only occasions when a man can weep without being shamed for it—when his crying is threaded with the promise of vengeance.”

Reid uses Evander’s character to explore the toxic masculinity that she places at the heart of her fictional medieval Scotland. She shows that the pressure to conform to an ideal of tough, powerful manliness prevents men from expressing their true emotions, as Evander can only express grief when this sentiment is also interpretable as a desire for revenge, thus promising his ability to commit violence. This quotation humanizes Evander and in doing so hints that the male characters may have inner lives that Roscille’s limited third-person narration cannot see. This scene also creates pathos around Duncane’s death, adding to Roscille’s guilt.

“This gesture of affection between husband and wife—there is nothing he could have done to surprise her more.”

Reid adds complexity to Macbeth’s character, as his behavior does not fit with Roscille’s impression of him. In showing Roscille’s surprise, Reid hints that her perspective is not wholly reliable: She does not know or understand Macbeth to the degree she thought, so some of her prior observations or assumptions may be inaccurate. In pulling Roscille into a public embrace at the scene of Duncane’s murder, Macbeth shows he is capable of expressing affection, though it is ambiguous whether this is a display of solidarity, an expression of control as he manhandles her, a ploy to appear shocked at Duncane’s death, or gratitude for her part in the murder. Roscille’s surprise also underscores that she is constantly unsettled, never able to get a handle on her surroundings and therefore always in possible danger.

“Roscille sees these men layered over one another, like the rings of a tree, more ancient closer to the center. She is surprised that she can still manage to glimpse this, cold creature that she has become.”

When Roscille looks at the chancellor, Duncane’s high Druide priest, she sees in her mind’s eye all the other “people” he has been, such as a farmer and monk. She comprehends that he has a complex history, including identity shifts and different roles. Though he is a minor character, this realization acknowledges his humanity and indicates that he has a story beyond his unnamed cameo in a narrative focused on Roscille. However, this moment also serves Roscille’s story: It hints to her and the reader that she is still connected to her humanity despite her feeling that ruthless self-preservation has made her a “cold creature.” Moreover, while Roscille has struggled with her sense of self amid the different roles she has had to perform, this observation underlines that such multiplicity is natural, like “the rings of a tree.”

“She scrubs harder, at first with the rag held between her thumb and forefinger, and then, when she reaches the broad planes of his chest, she spreads the rag beneath her open palm. Macbeth’s heart beats in steady thumps.”

This quotation shows Roscille engaged in domestic labor for the first time, highlighting her change of role and culture: As a duke’s daughter, she had not washed anything before. This action also symbolizes that she is complicit in Macbeth’s dirty work, coerced into supporting him. The description of his powerful physicality highlights the implicit threat of his corporal power, while the forced intimacy of washing foreshadows his rape of Roscille. However, this quotation also hints that Macbeth’s trust has offered Roscille access to his mortality, as suggested by her feeling his heart under her hand. Similarly, if the fact that he makes her wash him places her in the same role as the witches, water also symbolizes magic throughout the book, hinting that she will be able to use her magic against him.

“She must become an animal in order to survive it. As each blow lands, Roscille imagines that her body is not her body, that she is in fact a serpent-woman like the Melusin.”

Reid explores coping mechanisms for enduring traumatic experiences: Roscille detaches from her body to deal with the pain. Reid likewise uses the recurring image of an animal just trying to survive to show that this experience alienates Roscille from her humanity. However, the fact that Roscille also imagines herself as the serpentine Melusina, a water-nymph, shows that even in this moment she still has a sense of herself, as well as a connection to both her magic and Lisander. Reid’s description highlights the extremity of the pain Roscille is subjected to but also emphasizes her ability to survive it.

“His pupils are so black that she can see herself reflected within them, Her face, revealed at last.”

Black is a color with literary connotations of mystery and darkness, showing the danger and otherworldliness of Lisander’s secret form as a serpent. However, Roscille meets his gaze, showing she is not afraid of him and accepts him. Their eye contact highlights that their magic gives them a unique connection, as he is the only man who can look into her eyes safely. The fact that she sees her own face reflected emphasizes their shared experiences and also suggests that her connection to him allows her to recognize her own humanity.

“Never hunt with another man’s hounds […] and then with men who are not from your own clan, another mistake.”

Macbeth’s statement reflects the sociopolitical structure of his society, in which members of tightly knit clans strengthen their bonds through violent activities such as hunting, interdependent on one another for their safety: Macbeth was injured inadvertently by an outsider’s spear. This evokes the precarity of this environment, as he cannot truly trust anyone whom he does not know intimately or who may have loyalties elsewhere. That he says this to Roscille is an example of dramatic irony, as she is herself an outsider whom he now trusts but who is scheming to defeat him.

“In Breizh, to name a thing is to claim some power over it.”

Reid explores the idea, popular in folklore and religion across many cultures, that names have power. For instance, Roscille wins the witches’ help by speaking Gruoch’s name; however, unlike Macbeth, she is not aiming to control them. Instead, naming her acknowledges her individual identity. This reflects the wider significance of names throughout the book, as the way characters use them reflects their relationships and culture: When Lisander names Roscille in her native language, she feels a connection to him. Reid thus uses names, with their relationship to identity, to explore cultural dislocation—Roscille as she is alienated by her new surroundings, and Gruoch as she is reduced to the identity of “witch.”

“Perhaps her greatest mistake was trying to ape the power of mortal men.”

Roscille realizes that there are different types of power and that power is a nuanced, multifaceted concept. She has been living in a world in which sociopolitical power is wielded by men and exercised through violence and coercion. Roscille realizes she has been aiming to exercise this type of power but that it may not be available to her. Her schemes have elevated her to the status of queen, but this does not give her real power: Macbeth exercises physical and coercive control over her, as he has raped her and forced her to commit murder for him. Roscille now begins to understand that other types of power are available to her as a woman and as a supernatural being. Her decision to embrace these parts of herself by bonding with the witches and using her magic are what enable her to triumph.

“She feels, suddenly, that she has erred: not in her intellect or in her maneuvering, but erred as a Christian, as a soul promised, however obliquely, to heaven […] as if men do not do worse every day, and still believe themselves virtuous.”

Traditional religion does not play a large part in the book, as it is tangential to the magical elements, but here Reid emphasizes that Roscille was brought up in a Christian culture. She depicts a world in which folk myths and magic exist alongside Christianity and are sometimes intertwined with it, as with the Christianized Druides, which speaks to the complex history of organized religion interacting with other traditions and stories. Roscille’s moment of religious awareness reflects her conflicting emotions: She seeks revenge despite knowing it goes against her moral code. At the same time, she notes a gendered double standard in her society’s interpretation of religious rectitude, in which men can enact self-interested violence but women cannot.

“She is only halfway down the stairs when a blinding light cuts across her vision, obscuring everything, and in that empty space, memories flower up.”

Reid shows how being whipped has impacted Roscille mentally as well as physically. Returning to the site triggers a trauma response in Roscille that is powerful enough to physically affect her eyesight. Reid’s description of it “obscuring everything” shows how overwhelming the sensation is. The use of the word “flower” suggests these memories surface in a rapid, uncontrolled manner.

“Now he is Macbeth, King of Alba, but bereft of his right hand and unsteady on his left leg.”

Roscille realizes that despite her self-doubt, she has actually managed to weaken Macbeth: He has lost Banquho, and his leg is wounded because of her schemes. Though one of these blows is physical and the other sociopolitical, Reid parallels them by juxtaposing “right” and “left,” creating a sense that overall, Roscille has unbalanced Macbeth. Roscille notes his title, which she helped him to achieve, showing that he has gained one type of power through her aid, but this disguises other ways in which he has become weaker. This foreshadows her eventual triumph over him.

“Now she thinks war is as inevitable as weather. It has seasons, some redder than others.”

Roscille’s observation builds tension by suggesting that the narrative is building to an unavoidable violent conflict. Her comparison of war to “weather” shows its unpredictability and danger. The reference to seasons also reflects the historical reality that war generally occurred on a seasonal schedule in both the medieval and early modern periods. The idea that humanity is in a constant state of violence with ebbs and flows was famously argued by Hobbes in his Leviathan. Though this specific work was published after Shakespeare’s death, it was part of a broader discussion of the nature of human violence that Shakespeare’s plays interact with. Reid channels early modern discourse in her presentation of a society in which violence is constant and commonplace.

“Roscille reaches up and removes the cloak, letting it slide off her shoulders and puddle in the water. The small waves suck at the furs, drowning it.”

Roscille’s removal of the cloak represents her assertion of freedom from Macbeth’s control. He made her the cloak as part of a marital custom and by killing animals: Roscille symbolically divorces herself from the identity of his wife and from the violence this entailed. That it is consumed by the water, which is associated with the witches, reflects the fact that she is using her magic and her unity with other women to defeat him.