RALPH: Welcome back, everyone. I'd like to welcome to the show, Lady Macduff, wife of Macduff, Thane of Fife, and their son. Thank you so much for joining us. I know this is a stressful time. 

LADY MACDUFF: Stressful? That's your word for it? 

RALPH: Well, yes. And just to remind our audience, Macbeth's reign as King of Scotland has spiraled into chaos. And as a result, Macduff, your husband, has fled the country for England. 

LADY MACDUFF: What do you mean as a result? He hasn't done anything wrong, so why would he leave like that? 

RALPH: Well, yes. So that's where we find you, at home. Your husband has fled the country. And another thane, Ross, is trying to, well, help you think about it in the right way. 

LADY MACDUFF: Oh, is that right? And what does he say? 

RALPH: Oh. Well, he starts by saying that you need to be a little patient. 

LADY MACDUFF: Patient? Was my husband patient? 

RALPH: Hm. Got a good point there. 

LADY MACDUFF: It was crazy for him to leave the country. He hadn't done anything that would make him a traitor, and now his fear has made him one. 

RALPH: I see. So even though he hasn't done anything to make him a traitor to Macbeth, his fear of Macbeth has driven him to flee the country, which then makes him a traitor. But as Ross says, maybe it was a good move, not because of his fear, but because it's the best strategy in this situation. 

LADY MACDUFF: Best strategy, Ralph? To abandon his wife, his children, his home, and his position in society, and leave them all in a place where he himself won't stay in? 

RALPH: I'm sorry. I'm just telling you what Ross says. But it does sound like—well, it sounds like it's selfish, isn't it? 

LADY MACDUFF: That's because he doesn't love us. He lacks that natural instinct that all animals have to protect their kind. Even a small bird, Ralph, a tiny wren, will fight an owl to protect the young ones in her nest. 

RALPH: Well, so you call it a lack of instinct to protect. But it sounds like you're calling him a coward. It's something we've talked about before on this show, the question of what makes a man. Is it more manly for your husband to protect himself against Macbeth, or is he more of a man if he holds his ground to protect his family? 

LADY MACDUFF: Call it what you want. Macduff has shown he's all fear and no love. And you can't call it wisdom when what you're doing goes against all reason. What does Ross say to that? 

RALPH: Oh, well, let's see. He thinks you should try to calm down a little. And he defends your husband, calling Macduff noble, wise, judicious. And he says that your husband knows better than you do what troubled times these are. 

LADY MACDUFF: Troubled times, huh? That's the excuse? 

RALPH: Well, he says he can't really go into the specifics right now. But he tells you that it's difficult and confusing to know the right thing to do when being true to your country and being true to your king aren't necessarily the same thing. As he puts it, it's a bit like floating on a wild and violent sea. And then Ross says that he needs to get going, but he'll be back soon. As he's leaving, he tells you that things can't possibly get any worse, so that you should expect that they'll get better soon. And he wishes his blessings on you, young man, calling you his pretty cousin. 

LADY MACDUFF: Look at him. Technically, he has a father, and yet he is fatherless. 

RALPH: Well, I think you're getting to Ross a little bit. Just before he leaves, he confesses that he's getting emotional. And he doesn't want to disgrace himself by crying in front of you. And he doesn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. So I guess that's part of the man code, no crying, and especially not in front of women. 

LADY MACDUFF: So he's left? 

RALPH: Yes. Ross has left. 

LADY MACDUFF: So young man, your father's dead. 

RALPH: Wait, what? Dead? 

LADY MACDUFF: He's dead to me. What are you going to do now? How will you live? 

SON: Like birds do, I guess. 

LADY MACDUFF: You're going to eat worms and flies? 

SON: No, I mean I'll get by with what I can find. That's what birds do. 

LADY MACDUFF: Well, I feel sorry for you, little bird. You have no idea the traps people will set for you. 

SON: Nobody wants to trap a poor little bird like me. And anyway, I know Dad's not dead, no matter what you say. 

LADY MACDUFF: I'm telling you he's dead. What are you going to do for a father? 

SON: What are you going to do for a husband? 

LADY MACDUFF: Husbands are a dime a dozen. 

SON: Well, if you buy any, then you're just going to have to sell them again, because you already have one. 

LADY MACDUFF: You're as clever as you could be for how old you are. 

RALPH: Yes, and how old is your son, exactly? 

SON: Mom, is Dad a traitor? 

LADY MACDUFF: Yes, he was. 

SON: What's a traitor? 

LADY MACDUFF: A traitor? Someone who swears an oath and breaks it or doesn't mean it when they swear. 

SON: So anyone who swears and doesn't mean it is a traitor? 

LADY MACDUFF: Everyone who does that is a traitor and should be killed. 

SON: All of them should be killed? Everyone who makes a promise and breaks it? 

LADY MACDUFF: Every one of them. 

SON: So who are the people who are going to kill the liars? 

LADY MACDUFF: The honest people. The people who keep their promises. 

SON: Well, then, the liars are fools. 

LADY MACDUFF: Why is that? 

SON: Because there are a lot more liars in the world than honest people. So the liars should just go and beat up honest people and kill them first. 

RALPH: Sadly, I think your son has a point there. I mean about how there seems to be more liars than honest people in the world. 

LADY MACDUFF: And he's avoiding my question. What do you plan to do for a father? 

SON: Well, if Dad really were dead, then you'd be crying. Or if he were dead and you're not sad, that means you'll get married again soon. And then I'd have a new father. 

LADY MACDUFF: Oh, my goodness. Where did you learn to be such a talker? 

RALPH: I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's at this point that a messenger shows up to talk to you, lady. 

LADY MACDUFF: And? 

RALPH: Well, let's see here. He says he doesn't know you, but he has reason to believe you're in terrible danger. Oh my. And if you would take advice from a lowly stranger, he says, you should take your children and leave immediately. He says he knows it's horrible to scare you like this, but it would be even more cruel not to warn you. And danger is very close. He adds that it would be dangerous for him to stay any longer, and he rushes off. I'm not really supposed to interfere, but it sounds like you should get going. 

LADY MACDUFF: Where, Ralph? Where would I go? I haven't hurt anybody. But I guess that's not the world we live in, is it? 

RALPH: You mean a world where just being good can protect you from bad things. 

LADY MACDUFF: It's quite the opposite, Ralph. Doing harm will get you praise, and doing good is sometimes considered a crazy, dangerous thing to do. So if I know that, why do I put up that womanly defense to say I have done no harm? 

RALPH: Well, I don't know if you need to call it womanly. I think this is a problem faced by all human beings. 

LADY MACDUFF: What's that? Somebody is here. 

RALPH: Is there? Oh, yes. Let's see. Oh. Oh dear. I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but a couple of, well, unsavory men have entered your house. 

SON: Unsavory? What does that mean? 

RALPH: Well, they look a little dangerous. And they have cuts in their ears, which means they've been punished before. They're criminals. One of them asks where your husband is. 

LADY MACDUFF: Tell him that I hope my husband is in the kind of place where low lifes like those two can't find him. 

RALPH: And then he calls Macduff a traitor. 

SON: He's lying, the shag-eared villain. 

RALPH: And then—I'm so sorry. I just—I have to report what's happening. 

LADY MACDUFF: Tell us. 

RALPH: Well, he calls you the son of a traitor. And then, well, he stabs you. 

SON: He's killed me, mother. Run away, please. 

RALPH: I think that's a good idea. 

LADY MACDUFF: Murder. 

RALPH: Well, it is a tragedy, after all. We knew that it was going to get tough at some point. What could Macbeth possibly be thinking? When he murdered Duncan, at least he had something to gain. And with Banquo, he was trying to protect himself from fate. But this?