How is Lady Macbeth connected to the Great Chain of Being?

The Great Chain of Being was a belief system in the Elizabethan era according to which the world was seen as a type of chain, with God at the top of that chain. The order of that chain was well-established, and it had to be respected. For instance, royals were placed below the angels, but above common people. Therefore, royals were thought to be more important than ordinary citizens. If one was to change their...

The Great Chain of Being was a belief system in the Elizabethan era according to which the world was seen as a type of chain, with God at the top of that chain. The order of that chain was well-established, and it had to be respected. For instance, royals were placed below the angels, but above common people. Therefore, royals were thought to be more important than ordinary citizens. If one was to change their place on the chain, one was to commit an immeasurable sin and would create chaos in the world. So, plotting against a monarch and overthrowing him/her would be a dreadful sin and would plunge the whole world into chaos.

In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth demonstrates a desire to break this Chain of Being by inciting her husband, Macbeth, to kill Duncan, the king of Scotland. Macbeth is Duncan's most loyal subject and killing him would be a sin against humanity. On the previously mentioned chain, he is below the king, so he should support him and protect him, not murder him. Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in Macbeth's plan to kill Duncan. She is the one who tells him to act like a man and follow through with his plan to murder the king.

Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are both to blame for creating chaos in the world around them. The outside world displays the chaos that follows after Duncan is murdered:

 The night has been unruly: where we lay,
 Our chimneys were blown down; and, as they say,
 Lamentings heard i' the air; strange screams of death,
 And prophesying with accents terrible
 Of dire combustion and confused events
 New hatch'd to the woeful time: the obscure bird
 Clamour'd the livelong night: some say, the earth
 Was feverous and did shake.

In addition to the chaos created in the outside world, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are to blame for throwing themselves into their own chaos and imminent death at the end of the play. After Macbeth's death, the natural order of things is restored.