The Relationship Between Lobeth And Underwoods In Macbeth
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The Underwoods and the Macbeths
Many critics have claimed that “The relationship between Claire and Francis is straight out of Macbeth”. This is especially when considering that the Underwoods, just like the Macbeths, collaborates to conspire for the highest seat of power. Upon closer inspection, the initial character portrayal of Claire is virtually identical with Lady Macbeth, with The Telegraph even referring Claire as “a power-dressed Lady Macbeth”. When Francis got passed over for the position of Secretary of State he was promised, his wife, after receiving the news, instead of comforting him, Claire says disappointedly “You’re better than this, Francis”, exasperating him into drafting vicious plans of revenge. Lady Macbeth also behaves…show more content… While on the surface the Macbeths and Underwoods shows no remorse and seemingly lacks any encompassment of conscience, their guilt is actually deliberately illustrated to audiences on multiple occasions. This is evident in how, after assisting in murdering King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is gradually consumed by guilt, eventually driving her insane. The doctor even asserted that “More needs she the divine than the physician.”, translating that a priest is better suited to cure Lady Macbeth instead of a doctor, symbolizing that she is psychologically haunted by her own treacherous acts. While in House of Cards, Claire’s guilt did not result in such disastrous consequences, audiences can clearly recognize moments when Claire is contemplating on her wrongdoings. After visiting a rape victim who became suicidal after Claire exploited her, the first Lady Patricia actually reassures her “You’re a good person, Claire.”, illustrating Claire’s skillfulness in manipulation as everyone is oblivious to her ruthless side. Instead of celebrating her success in deception, Claire actually breaks into a hysterical laugh that turned to sobbing. This signifies that despite her masterful initiatives to aid Francis to power, Claire, in spite of appearance, inherently dislike the selfish pursuit of power and feels the pressure of guilt. This is also evident in a multitude of situations, such as her outburst of emotion as the Russian President is prosecuting a gay rights activist which forced him to commit suicide. Through saying “shame on you” to the Russian president in front of the media, Claire fails to, in Francis’ words “Keep her mouth shut no matter what you're feeling.”, effectively ruining diplomatic relations because her conscience disallows her to stay silent about the