Hilary Clinton and Lady Macbeth: Ambitious relation

Is Ambition the key to power?

The classic Shakespearean play “Macbeth” resonates many themes and concepts that relate to modern times. Today, readers will be able to relate concepts, such as ‘Ambition’ which is still represented in some of today’s most famous and important people. One of these people is Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of former President of the United States, Bill Clinton. Evidence has revealed that the senator for New York shows close similarities to the character Lady Macbeth from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a strong ambitious woman that accomplishes many tasks purely for her own needs. Is Hilary blinded by her own ambition for the presidency? Will she exceed her own limits to achieve her goal? Mrs. Clinton recent nomination for the 2008 US presidency is “outrageous!” says Peggy Noonan, RNC advisor. “The focus of Hillary Clinton’s ambition is not her country, but for herself…”

Parallel to Lady Macbeth, Mrs. Clinton has the ambition for power in both political and personal ways. Currently running for the United States presidency, Hilary has shown much evidence of self ambition rather than for her country which closely relates to Lady Macbeth. In the play, Lady Macbeth selfishly encouraged her husband to bid the disruption of the natural order and steal the crown of Scotland through murder and lies. “What cannot you and I perform upon the unguarded Duncan? What not put upon His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell?” 7

Clinton has expressed interest in the 2008 U.S. presidential race. No woman has ever been nominated for the Presidency in the American History. She has an established national image that makes her possible candidacy in 2008 a popular and controversial topic among media, internet websites, and the public at large.

Hilary has noted that, “Probably my worst quality is that I get very passionate about what I think is right.” Among many non-political/ political experts, it is believed that Hilary has been Plannin for the presidency approached even before former US president Bill Clinton was elected; her marriage to Mr. Clinton was believed used for a political gain towards herself. Hilary is known for her political ambition to many but yet there are still people who support her, on a recent survey, 40 percent of Democrats favoured Clinton for the nomination. “I’d be shocked if she didn’t run,” said Chuck Todd, editor of the nation’s Journal political news digest Hotline.

Similarities can be seen with Lady Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. When she first appeared, she is already plotting King Duncan’s murder, encouraging her husband against his own will to steal the throne of Scotland so she can become Queen with royalty. She is also stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband; she seems fully aware of this and knows that she will have to push Macbeth into committing the murder for their benefit but mostly her own. “…I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this.”

At one point, she wishes that she were not a woman so that she could initiate the murder herself. “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty.” This theme of the relationship between genders is the key to Lady Macbeth’s character which Mrs. Clinton also shows; although not murderous their intentions and ambition to plot to gain power can be compared.

Woman like Lady Macbeth, the play implies, can be as ambitious and cruel as men, through manipulation to further the supposedly male ambition or political power. An example is when Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband with remarkable effectiveness, overruling all his objections when he disagrees to murder. She repeatedly questions his manhood until he feels that he must commit murder to prove himself. “What beast was it then that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man…” She appears to be controlling Macbeth with eambitions ways to force her husband to do things he doesn’t want.

A connection between Lady Macbeth and Hilary is that they both receive royalty as Queen and First Lady after an accomplishment established by their husbands. Using their marriage to their advantage, their ambitious progress is very noticeable. From start to finish, Lady Macbeth continuously shows ambitious elements; she steadies her husband’s nerves immediately after the crime has been done, acknowledging very clearly that she will be given royalty. Parallel to Hilary, her achievements are similar as promoted from Arkansas’s First Lady to the First Lady of the United States. Furthermore, the most important reason of her nomination of presidency is because of her husband, again she uses her husband like Lady Macbeth to her advantage.

Numerous people believed Mrs. Clinton to be Lady Macbeth because her marriage made and used solely for political gain as Lady Macbeth used the fact that her husband is able to steal the throne for her through the corruption and murderous lies. Through the representations of ambition these texts give audiences an idea of an ambitious person’s mind. Both women reveal their own personal self ambition for power through their actions.

Shakespeare’s themes and concepts are fundamental to humanity as he displays the concept of ambition which still reflects on modern day people, a woman who will uses lies and deception to gain power for her own personal self. Lady Macbeth is equivalent to Mrs. Clinton is because his actions throughout the play represents a woman hunger for power and will practically do anything to achieve it, even planning the murder of the your country’s king. Shakespeare shows the actions that an ambitious person will do and will harm those around them for their ambition for power.

“In the aftermath of September 11, and as the 9/11 Commission report so aptly demonstrates, it is clear that our intelligence system is not working the way that it should.”