Macbeth: The symbol of the endless cycle of power corruption, Fleance

One detail in Macbeth that I find particularly interesting is the fate of Fleance. After escaping Macbeth’s murderers, he effectively disappears from the rest of the play. At first, this may seem insignificant, but I think his survival carries an important implication about the play’s view of power.

Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare presents power as something that can never be fully secured. Once Macbeth gains the throne, his ambition does not disappear. Instead, it grows stronger. He becomes increasingly obsessed with protecting his position and preventing threats to his rule. This obsession drives him to commit more acts of violence, creating a cycle in which the pursuit of power continually produces further bloodshed.

What makes Fleance’s survival significant is that it leaves this cycle unresolved. By the end of the play, most of the witches’ prophecies have come true. Macbeth becomes king, Birnam Wood appears to move toward Dunsinane, and Macduff turns out not to be “of woman born” in the ordinary sense. However, the prophecy that Banquo’s descendants will inherit the throne remains unfulfilled within the events of the play itself.

Instead of resolving this prophecy, Shakespeare leaves Fleance alive and allows him to vanish from the narrative. This suggests that the story does not truly end with Macbeth’s death. Although Malcolm restores order and becomes king, the audience is left aware that another future ruler may eventually emerge from Banquo’s line. In other words, one king has replaced another, but the struggle for succession and authority continues.

For this reason, I think Fleance functions as a symbol of the endless nature of political power. Macbeth’s downfall appears to bring closure, yet Fleance’s survival hints that ambition, competition, and the desire to dominate are forces that will continue long after the play ends. The final scenes therefore contain both hope and uncertainty: order is restored for now, but the cycle of power remains in motion.