Thank you for such a juicy answer. You examined Shakespeare’s writing in the context of the English Renaissance, something I would not have thought about myself since I lack the background knowledge. So thanks for doing that.

I’ll have to mull over faithlessness n get back to you. Am I right to assume that faithlessness refers to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth not believing that good things would come their way?

Reading your and @StillStackinAfterAllTheseYears’ responses made me realise one thing. Being Chinese, I grew up reading and listening to stories about how his entire family would be killed and beheaded if a subordinate deemed to be a threat dared to offer the emperor criticism or go against his orders, etc. I realised that these stories subconsciously conditioned me to the idea that we are never really sovereign individuals - we have roles to fulfill in the greater unit of our families. That’s why it was so puzzling for me to read that Macduff fled alone. Now I know that he wasn’t necessarily “abandoning” them, but rather, keeping them safe because he wouldn’t have expected Macbeth to go after them.