# Lady Macduff — Macbeth character guide

> Lady Macduff in Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Poor bird, Poor prattler, Lady Macduff Ay, Lady Macduff Why, Lady Macduff Whither, Lady Macduff Sirrah, Lady Macduff Wisdom

**First appearance:** 0000-macbeth

## Snapshot

Abandoned in Fife while her husband flees to England, Macduff's sharp-tongued wife trades barbs with her clever son and refuses to call fear wisdom.

## Who they are

She is the lady of Macduff's castle, left behind with her children when her husband slips away to England, and she reads his flight as betrayal rather than prudence. Her scene with her witty son — sparring over traitors, birds, and fathers — shows a woman whose fierce maternal love is matched by a refusal to be comforted by easy answers. Her insistence that Macduff 'loves us not' sharpens the play's question of what a man owes his family when his country is at stake, and her household becomes the moral counterweight to Macbeth's court.

## Relationships

### [Malcolm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/macbeth_se/characters/malcolm)

_social_

Lady Macduff is the wife of Malcolm's ally, but she has no direct relationship with Malcolm herself.

### [Banquo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/macbeth_se/characters/banquo)

_social_

Banquo and Lady Macduff are both noble figures in Scotland, but they have no known direct interaction in the play.

### [Malcolm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/macbeth_se/characters/malcolm)

_social_

Lady Macduff is the wife of Malcolm's ally, but she has no direct relationship with Malcolm herself.

## In the story

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/macbeth_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-ii)

Expresses anger and confusion over her husband's flight, feeling abandoned and questioning his loyalty.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/macbeth_se/characters/lady_macduff
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/macbeth_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/macbeth_se/characters