Lady Macbeth

The highest Druide priest, the chancellor, arrives from Duncane’s court to perform cruentation, a ritual that will make Fléance’s wound bleed in the presence of whoever inflicted it. In Roscille’s home court, this was deemed superstitious nonsense, but she believes the laws of nature work differently here. 

Fléance warns her to stay away from the hall, so she feigns distress at the idea and waits outside as all the locals are brought in. She wonders if the wound will bleed for natural reasons, condemning someone unlucky. She thinks that revenge is an ongoing vicious cycle. Though she was sent in the role of a passive bride, she wonders if she is an ermine like her father: clever and wily. She remembers seeking out a stable boy she was attracted to when she was 13; though nothing happened, they were found together, and her father killed him brutally, teaching her the lesson that she must play her role. She felt that the supernatural power of her eyes compelled the stable boy, and she knows she would be killed if this power were known.

Macbeth comes to her chamber, angry that the ritual did not work. He tightens her necklace.