The French pilot who became the famous author of The
Prince, Antoine Saint-Exupery, wrote, "etre homme, etre
reponsable." {To be man is to be responsible]. That is, man himself must be
responsible for his own existence. In one of his soliloquies, Macbeth admits to this
axiom of St. Exupery within himself when he reflects upon his desire to give credence to
the predictions of the three sisters. As he struggles with his conscience which
recognizes the evil in his consideration of murdering Duncan, his kinsman and his king
who possesses virtues, Macbeth, instead, gives way to his "Vaulting ambition, which
o'erleap itself/And falls on th'other--" (1.7.27-28)
And,
yet, he still has some misgivings; for these, Lady Macbeth chides
him,
...Art thou
afeard
To be the same in think own act and
valor
As thou art in desire? Woulds thou have
that
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of
life,
And live a coward in think own
esteem,
Letting "I dare not " wait upon "I
would,"
Like the poor cat in' th' adage?
(1.7.43-49)
While Lady
Macbeth embarrasses Macbeth in questioning his bravery and manhood, she does encourage
him to commit the heinous acts he does. However, as a man with his own conscience,
Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his own actions, and, by his own admission, his
"vaulting ambition" overrides his conscience. Even his wife points this out when she
says, "Are you afraid to be the same man that you wished to be?" in lines
43-44.
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