What does this quote (from Act 2, scene 4, line 38) mean, and does it relate to the image pattern of clothing in Macbeth?"Lest our robes sit easier...

The line reads,

readability="9">

Well, may you see things well done there.
Adieu,

Lest our old robes sit easier than our
new!

This especially
important line occurs at the very end of Act 2, scene 4.  It is spoken by Macduff to
Ross.  In this conversation, we learn that Macbeth is soon to be crowned king of
Scotland at Scone. Macduff has decided not to see Macbeth crowned king, but instead to
return to his home.  He asks Ross to see the ceremony is carried out properly, and then
he uses the clothing metaphor to express his concern about the changes in leadership
that Scotland is undergoing.

Macduff is worried that the
new leadership (new robes) will not be as good as the former leadership ("old robes").
 From this seemingly innocent remark, we see that Macduff doubts Macbeth's ability to
rule Scotland effectively and that he may suspect Macbeth as having a role in Duncan's
assassination. Before this line, Macduff has answered each of Ross's questions literally
and objectively.  He tells Ross that the guards killed Duncan, that the kings' sons are
suspected of hiring the guards to do the deed, that Macbeth has already been named king
and is going to Scone to be crowned.  However, the couplet you refer to seems to stand
out, because for the first time Macduff expresses concern for the future of Scotland
under Macbeth's rule, and he uses figurative language to express this
concern.

This line is part of the clothing motif that runs
throughout the play. For instance,   Macbeth asked Ross
earlier

Why do
you dress me in borrowed
robes?

when Ross told him
that he had been given the new title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth wondered why he had
been given this title when the current Thane of Cawdor was still alive.  Macbeth did not
know that the former was soon to be executed as a traitor.  Macbeth, in fact, did borrow
the robes of this traitor in his assassination of Duncan.   Clothing is a metaphor for
roles, and it is an especially appropriate symbol since clothes, like roles, may or may
not fit. Macbeth could wear the robes of a traitor;  can he wear the robes of a
king?