Throughout the play of Macbeth nemesis is shown through various forms mainly resulting in the deaths of most of the characters. The concept of what comes around goes around and of karma is very distinctly shown at various stages during the course of the play. King Duncan is first to encounter nemesis from his own gullibility and blindness which puts him in a couple of deadly situations. Lady Macbeth brings nemesis upon herself when she allows greed and her overwhelming desire for power to take over. Macbeth’s nemesis takes a while to come; it is the results of letting the prophecies go to his head and of allowing himself to get caught in this web of retribution because of power. Macbeth is a web of retribution of the actions of all of the characters. The idea of karma and what comes around goes around is a predominant theme throughout the novel.
King Duncan’s poor judgment of the Thane of Cawdor is the main cause of his downfall. The original Thane of Cawdor was a traitor who plotted to kill him, therefore Duncan had the Thane hung. Afterwards King Duncan made Macbeth his new Thane of Cawdor believing Macbeth was well trusted and would stay loyal. This is ironic considering just previously Duncan had called his original Thane of Cawdor “a gentleman on whom I built/ An absolute trust” and then continues to put this trust into Macbeth (I, iv, 12-3). King Duncan’s blindness is again seen as he arrives at Macbeth’s castle and is greeted by Lady Macbeth. He greets her as their “honoured hostess” and “Fair and noble hostess” (I, vi, 10/24). This shows his lack of ability to understand a person’s character when both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are plotting King Duncan’s murder.
In a way Lady Macbeth asks for what she gets when she asks to be filled “Of direst cruelty” and to “Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse” (I, v, 44/45). She wants to be heartless and full of evil and bitter thoughts in order to commit the crimes she does. She tells Macbeth not to think of...