mikester

hi,

im writing a paper on Macbeth, and realized im in need of more textual evidence. im trying to explain that the person macbeth began as was a completely different person than who he ended his life as (because of the external influences...bla bla bla).

anyways, i thought that a psychological precedent could beef up this little argument a bit. so, im looking for any psychological condition that could either explain this type of slow transformation, or prove that it could never occur in a sane person.



does that even make sense?

Badfish

MacBeth hid behind his new identity because it set him free, it was like he was wearing a mask, and when you are wearing a mask you can do things that you couldn't do when you were yourself.

Kinda like football players, once the helmet goes on, it's ok to smack your teammates butt. But out of Uniform, the player probably wouldn't feel it was appropriate.

For some people, a mask can reduce inhibitions.

ieyeasu

Hrmmm...

I think that that is a hard thesis to prove. The way I read MacBeth, he is pushed toward giving in to the side of himself that always exists by the witches and L.Macbeth. Maybe you could do a piece about the failure of his ego to regulate his id?

In contrast to the esteemed individual above, I'd say that only after the murders does Macbeth reveal his true nature; the murdering, paranoid tyrant. I think that Shakey's point was that being human is restraining the murderous beast inside. Macbeth lost his ability to restrain, and in doing so, became unhuman.

mikester

great guys! those are some perfect suggestions (Freud, geez why didn't i think of him?), im gonna mull over how to include them.

thanks again!