Shakespeare was, of course, not acquainted with the
psychiatric terms "Disssociative Identity Disorder" or "Multiple Personality Disorder,"
commonly called "split personality," but he must have been familiar with its symptoms in
the Elizabethan English population. Macbeth can be both a hero and a villain because he
acquires more than one identity. He is the loyal Thane of Glamis, and he inherits the
mantle of the treasonous Thane of Cawdor. As Cawdor he commits the murder of Duncan and
schemes against Malcolm and Donalbain; and as Cawdor he orders the murders of Banquo and
Fleance and later of Macduff’s wife and children. By inheriting Cawdor’s title, he has
also inherited his wicked character. Significantly, Macbeth says at the end of Act 2,
Scene 3:
To
know my deed ‘twere best not know
myself.
His trances, his
depression, and hallucinations are all symptoms of Dissociative Identity
Disorder.
Like Dr. Jekyll in Robert Louis Stevenson’s
story, Macbeth cannot cope with both identities. Becoming Thane of Cawdor leads directly
to his becoming King of Scotland, and this is far more than Macbeth can handle. His
misrule of his kingdom, which we only know of by report, sounds like the behavior of a
lunatic king.
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