Du « Délire à deux » : une lecture de Macbeth

Abstract

ObjectivesThe objective of our study is to propose an original reading of Macbeth, of the circumstances that triggered Macbeth's murderous frenzy (parricide and an accumulation of crimes), and in particular of the very singular nature of the couple, which we consider can be captured as a sort of shared delusion or “délire à deux”. MethodologyA selective review of the literature across time gives insight into the “pathological” dimension of Macbeth and the fundamental, central role played by Lady Macbeth in the tragedy. Following this review of the literature, we explore the logical progress of events, in a historical approach to what we refer to as “délire à deux” (Ch. Lasègue, J. Falret) – a shared madness or delusion, and the elements justifying the application of this concept to the Macbeth couple. The references of classic psychiatry, and also references to S. Freud, J. Lacan and other authors, contribute to this view. ResultsOur reading of Macbeth enables us to take account of the elements that trigger Macbeth's madness, elements that are necessary, but not sufficient, to explain his decompensation. The role played here by his wife, Lady Macbeth, appears as determining, because she is Macbeth's goad and instigator. The couple is not an ordinary couple, nor even merely a couple complicit in a crime, as in certain news items. Macbeth cannot be explained by ambition alone, nor the quest for power alone. The two protagonists in this criminal couple do not exist one without the other. They appear inseparable, one cannot be envisaged without the other, they form One. Thus the hypothesis of shared delusion seems to us to cast light – probably only partially – on the functioning of this couple, and on the logical sequence of events in this tragedy. DiscussionThe article provides the opportunity to return to the notion of “délire à deux”, with a possible distinction in relation to “simultaneous” delusion (E. Régis). The discussion also looks at what sustains Macbeth until the fateful meeting with the “three weird sisters”. Here we envisage the imaginary identification/compensation of the warrior, brave and heroic in the battlefield, and consider what gives phallic value to sterile Macbeth, whose wife never stops repeating to him that he is not a man. ConclusionAlthough it is the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, and also – seemingly – the simplest in the unwinding of events or in its theme, Macbeth is in fact a very complex play. The hypothesis of the “délire à deux” seems to us to provide a relevant perspective on this black, bloody tragedy, where the mist envelops both the landscape and the souls of its heroes.