"Macbeth has many themes, such as ambition, loyalty and the supernatural. Today we'll be discussing to what extent Lady Macbeth is to blame for her husband's downfall."
Mr. Rivers clapped his hands and smiled at us.
"Time for feminism to flourish! We'll throw some ideas around and end the lesson with a debate."
His eyes scanned the room and rested on me. I looked down with an inaudible sigh. Mr. Rivers must've spoken to Mr. Langard about my low grades in English, which is why he had called Mum in for a meeting next week. I hoped he wouldn't say anything about me that would make Mum worry more.
"Holly, what do you think? Is Lady Macbeth the reason for Macbeth's fall?"
I swallowed hard and tried not to glare at Mr. Rivers as he sat back on his chair. Everyone turned to look at me, waiting for my answer. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the stares. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with Clara and Larissa in any of my classes except for IT. At least they weren't here, I told myself.
"I don't think she is to blame," I answered meekly.
Mr. Rivers nodded encouragingly and I resisted the urge to glare at him.
"Why not? She's the one who, 'led him on', as you guys would say. She supported Macbeth, even gave him the idea of how to kill King Duncan! How can you say she's completely free of blame? Can you support your statement?"
I swallowed and glanced at my messy notes. I was supposed to rewrite them a while ago but I had too many essays to finish, so I never got around to it.
"Well, Macbeth was approached by Witches at the start of the play, before Lady Macbeth is even introduced, so the idea of becoming King is already planted in Macbeth's mind. His ambition to get the throne is what makes his wife crazy, which is why she then leads him on."
"But she could've stopped him, no? Murder is a sin, and when Shakespeare was writing this, Heaven and Hell were very real. People would've likened Lady Macbeth to the devil, and having sold her soul in exchange for worldly gain."
"If Shakespeare is blaming Lady Macbeth, then it's like Adam and Eve all over again. The serpent tempted Eve in the Bible, but in Macbeth, the serpent is represented by the Witches and Macbeth is the one who is tempted with a vision of the future."
Mr. Rivers nodded appreciatively and smiled.
"A very good point Holly."
"But I think everyone is accountable for their own actions, just because Lady Macbeth supported Macbeth in killing the King, doesn't mean that he had to. He chose to, because of the Witches prophecy. So he alone is accountable for the murder, not Lady Macbeth. If the Witches hadn't told Macbeth about the future, he most likely would never have thought about becoming King."
"Excellent argument, well done! As Holly said, in the eyes of the law, Macbeth is guilty as he is the one who committed the crime. So, can the blame be fully put on Lady Macbeth? Do you think the..."
My face flushed and I pretended to take notes. I stayed quiet during the debate, only handing my notes to the group I was in. The lesson finished quicker than I expected, and we were dismissed for break. As I gathered my things, Mr. Rivers came over to my desk.
"You made good points, well done today Holly."
I smiled awkwardly and mumbled a thank you. He still wasn't in my good books.
"If you write like that in your coursework essay, you'll be easily aiming for an A. If you need help with essay structure, come to my office at lunch and we'll discuss it. You have potential Holly, and I want you to do well."
Mr. Rivers had a sincere look on his face. I guess this was his indirect apology for talking about me to Mr. Langard.
"I will, thank you Mr. Rivers."
"You're welcome Holly, how are you getting on with the Frankenstein essay?"
I laughed nervously and Mr. Rivers sat down on the table opposite me. There was no way I was getting out of this.
"To be honest, I don't understand how to write the similarities between Victor and the monster. I'm stuck."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, the question is asking more about the relationship between the two, do they eventually become similar? You could talk about the themes of the book, fire is an interesting one to explore, and then compare the two characters."
"But the monster's experience with a flame shows the dual nature of fire, guidance in the form of light, and pain if touched without caution. How does Victor experience fire? I can't find anything to compare."
"Ah, but Victor speaks of science being like a light, quite similar to the light of a fire. He uses science to banish the darkness of secrets. Also, think about the origins of fire. The Greek god Prometheus was said to have given humans the knowledge of fire, and was punished severely for doing so. Victor—"
"Is like a modern Prometheus! And he is also punished, but unlike the gift of fire, his knowledge of creating life still remains a secret."
Mr. Rivers smiled and crossed his arms.
"Exactly, and there you have a great opening for your essay! Think of what lies beneath the surface, beyond the standard meaning. Stories have roots, and each root leads to a new meaning. Sometimes you uncover something very different to what you were expecting."
I thanked Mr. Rivers and left the classroom thinking of how Victor and the monster both felt a sense of isolation. Victor's inability to reveal the monster's existence forced him to keep secrets, and with that came an increasing sense of his own isolation. The monster was isolated from the very beginning, being rejected by society. He didn't even have a name.
Sighing, I made my way to Psychology class. It was my last lesson for the day, I had all free periods afterwards. Usually I would spend them in library and go home at the end of the full school day, but today I wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Hopefully, I'd be long gone before Clara and Larissa could find me.
Miss Lorna's voice droned on and I contemplated falling asleep. She was just going over the same topic of attachment for our Psychology coursework, but her monotone voice was really hard to keep track of. I stared at her orange skirt and wondered if she liked the colour, or if she'd developed an attachment to it during childhood.
"There are still ten minutes left until the bell, but I'll let you guys leave early. Email me if you have any questions about the work, and make sure you've read pages 60 and 67. See you all tomorrow."
The deadline for my IT coursework was tomorrow. I made a mental note to finish it the moment I got home. Only one day left till Friday, I celebrated internally. Fridays were pretty empty for me, I only had a double lesson of IT in the morning. The only downside was being stuck with Larissa for two hours. Thankfully, Clara chose Business instead of IT, so I only had to deal with one of them .
I jogged out of the classroom and power-walked out of the school building. My heart flipped as I walked past the entrance doors where Kai had led me in from. Had that really happened? I shook my head in disbelief. Maybe Joshua would know more about Kai. I had a feeling he wasn't as cold-blooded as everyone made him out to be. There was more to Kai than the stories I'd heard.
I reached home within twenty minutes of speed walking and felt my ankle starting to ache. It protested as I climbed up the stairs to the apartment and limped up to the door. I should've taken the bus. As I stepped inside and put my bag down, I noticed that the lights hadn't been switched on, and the curtains were still drawn.
"Mum?"
There was no answer.
I peered into the living room and my heart thudded with fear as I saw a shape in the corner of the room, perched on the armrest. I took a step forward slowly, trying to calm myself. The yellow patterned duvet was from our bed. It was Mum, it had to be.
"Mum," I whispered the word like a weapon, and put a hand on where I thought her shoulder would be. A low moan emanated from the duvet and Mum toppled over, falling to the floor. I jumped back in reflex.
"Mum, are you okay?"
She didn't respond and I bent down by her side. Mum was wrapped up in our duvet and looked scared. I pulled her up into a sitting position and checked her pulse. My fingers felt wet and I gasped as I saw several cuts on Mum's arm. Fear ran through me as I realised that if someone had attacked her, they could still be in the apartment.
"Who did this to your arm? What happened Mum? Are you okay?"
Her eyes were unfocused and I shook her slightly. She wet her lips with her tongue before speaking.
"You're home early Holly."
Her voice didn't sound right. It was hollow.
I inhaled sharply and held her shoulders tight.
"Mum. What. Happened. Are you okay?"
The last time I saw her like this, was three years ago. She had stayed on the sofa for two days and Joshua had to force her to eat. But I'd never seen any wounds on her before. I quickly checked her other arm and it felt bumpy, as if it were embossed.
Scars.
I blinked back tears. Mum's mental health had gotten a lot worse. Joshua and I had begged her to see a counsellor last time, but she refused and insisted she was fine. We couldn't fight her.
I stared at Mum's pale face and she pulled me in for a hug. Her thin fingers combed through my hair, and I felt like crying even more. Moving her hands gently, I got up to draw the curtains back so natural light could illuminate the room. Guilt assaulted my core as I turned around to see Mum sitting on the floor like a discarded toy. I wiped my tears away and sat behind her, plaiting her dark hair into a single braid.
I directed her to the sofa before going to the kitchen to get some bandages, and made her some tea. What do I do? I hastily dialled a call to Joshua. It went straight to voicemail. He was probably still in lesson. I didn't want to leave him a message and worry him, especially when he had to work straight after school. Joshua's shift would end at six so he'd be home soon enough.
I put the steaming mug of tea on the table in front of Mum, and curled up next to her. My eyes felt heavy and I allowed sleep to overtake me.
My phone buzzed and I woke up with a yawn. School email. I sighed and checked the time. It was nine o'clock. I carefully moved off of Mum and went upstairs to find Joshua. He probably saw us sleeping and didn't want to wake us.
The rooms were empty. His shift should've ended hours ago. Even if he was doing extra hours, the Cafe closed at eight. Where was he? I called Joshua's phone, but he didn't answer. Undeterred, I tried three more times, but no answer. Panic rose in my chest and I struggled to contain my fear. Calling the police might make things worse, as Joshua was already involved in illegal things. Who could I call?
Dad.
I ran to my room and grabbed Mum's phone from the bedside table. There were two missed calls from Aunt Rosie, and I thought about calling her instead. But truthfully, I didn't like her, even though she was Mum's sister. She didn't feel like family.
I typed 'Dalvin', in the contacts, but nothing came up. Feeling confused, I checked her outgoing calls and apart from Aunt Rosie, 'Leander' filled the list. Of course! Mum wouldn't put Dad's number under his surname. I pressed the call button with shaky hands and held my breath.
The bells stopped and the call connected.
"Dad?" My voice cracked and I pressed my lips together, in an effort to conceal the sobs that shook my body.
"Oh, hey there Holly-bear, how are you? How's Josh?"
I let the tears fall.
What do you think about the Macbeth and Frankenstein discussions?
Thank you for reading this chapter lovely people! <3 Please leave a comment with your thoughts to help me out! Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed it :)
A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for ~ William G.T. Shedd