His flight was madness: when our actions do not, / Our fears do make us traitors.
Act IV, Scene 2 · Lady Macduff
Context
Lady Macduff is speaking to Ross about her husband Macduff's decision to flee Scotland, leaving his family behind. She interprets his departure as cowardice rather than prudence.
Analysis
Lady Macduff's statement "our fears do make us traitors" contains a bitter irony: she means that running away in fear labels one a traitor, yet under Macbeth's regime the opposite is true—staying loyal to one's conscience actually creates the appearance of treason. The line shows how tyranny distorts moral language itself, turning fear into guilt and loyalty into suspicion.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Macbeth's tyranny corrupts not just actions but the very vocabulary of morality—Lady Macduff's complaint about 'traitors' reveals how impossible it has become to judge right from wrong when the state itself is criminal.