Symbols All's Well Mona Awad

The Scottish Play: Symbol Analysis in All's Well

What Is the Scottish Play?

In Mona Awad’s All’s Well, “the Scottish Play” is the superstitious in-theater euphemism for Macbeth. Throughout the novel, Macbeth functions as a rival production, a curse, and a foil to Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well. The term is used repeatedly by characters—students, faculty, and Miranda herself—to invoke the tragedy without speaking its name, a tradition meant to ward off bad luck. But for Miranda, the superstition has collapsed: she reflects that once she fell “from grace, aka the stage, as Lady M herself,” she learned that verbal tricks do not protect you because “it hears you all the same” (Chapter 6). The Scottish Play thus becomes a vessel for Miranda’s trauma, her lost career, and the mutiny threatening her authority.

Recurrence and Shifting Meaning

The symbol appears early in Chapter 2, when the students demand they perform “the Scottish Play” instead of All’s Well. Trevor speaks for the group: “We were all wondering, actually, if it wouldn’t be too late to change?” The play is presented as a crowd-pleaser compared to the problematic, less-staged All’s Well. For the students, Macbeth represents excitement, blood, witches, and a familiar narrative—everything they believe All’s Well lacks.

In Chapter 6, Hugo unveils a model of his set design: a bleak forest with three witches and a pained man with a sword. Miranda immediately recognizes it as Macbeth and experiences a surge of physical pain. Hugo assumes the dean has informed her of the change, and Miranda feels her authority slip away. Here, the Scottish Play symbolizes institutional betrayal and the erasure of Miranda’s artistic vision.

Chapter 9 deepens the symbol: The three mysterious men (the Weird Brethren) quote Macbeth directly—“Double, double toil and trouble”—while discussing Miranda’s forced production. They call Macbeth “a black play” and imply that the students will “murder it.” Their manipulation reframes the Scottish Play as a tool of psychological torture, a dark mirror of Miranda’s own pain.

Later, in Chapter 10, Grace sends a photo of a script titled “The Scottish Play” in Garamond font, triggering Miranda’s rage. She storms to rehearsal, physically wrests the script from Briana, and reasserts control. The symbol has shifted from a mutinous demand to a stolen object, then to a reclaimed prize. By Chapter 21, Miranda lies to Grace that she is directing “an updated Macbeth” to explain her strange behavior—using the title as a cover for her dealings with the three men.

The climax occurs in Chapter 29, when Miranda, during curtain call, misquotes lines from Macbeth, confusing the play with her own lived reality. The Scottish Play has moved from external threat to internal possession, blurring the boundary between theater and madness.

Character Connections

  • Miranda Fitch: For Miranda, the Scottish Play is intimately tied to her fall. She was once Lady Macbeth on stage, and that performance ended her career. The play’s themes of guilt, ambition, and descent into darkness parallel her own chronic pain and psychological unraveling. She fights to keep All’s Well alive partly because Macbeth represents her worst memory.

  • The Students: Briana, Trevor, and the others see Macbeth as an exciting, prestigious choice. Their push for the switch reflects disrespect for Miranda’s authority and their ignorance of her trauma. Briana’s role as Lady Macbeth would crown her rebellion.

  • The Weird Brethren: The three businessmen are closely associated with Macbeth. They quote it, mock its melodrama, and offer to remove the obstacle of the forced production. Their intervention allows Miranda to continue All’s Well, but at a mystical cost. They embody the play’s supernatural forces.

  • Grace: Miranda’s friend is a skeptic; she dismisses theatrical superstition. Yet she shudders when Miranda casually says “Macbeth” in Chapter 21, revealing that even she is not immune to the taboo.

Thematic Links

The Scottish Play symbol connects to several themes in the novel:

  • Performance and Authenticity: Macbeth is a tragedy of performed kingship and hidden guilt. Miranda, too, must perform authority while hiding her pain. The students’ demand to perform Macbeth forces Miranda to confront the gap between her director persona and her broken body.

  • Power and Control: The battle over which play to produce is a power struggle. Miranda’s refusal to switch to the Scottish Play is an assertion of control over her domain, and later the dean’s donation gives her victory. But the three men’s manipulation suggests her power is borrowed.

  • Chronic Pain and Medical Gaslighting: The Scottish Play is a source of psychic pain. Miranda’s physical agony intensifies when she sees Hugo’s Macbeth model or hears the title. The play’s curse mirrors the curse of her unending pain, which doctors dismiss as “nothing to cut.”

  • Transformation and Rebirth: Macbeth ends in destruction; All’s Well ends in reconciliation. Miranda’s stubborn attachment to the latter suggests her hope for transformation. Yet the intrusion of the Scottish Play forces her to reckon with her own darkness, leading to a final ambiguous rebirth.

  • Guilt and Redemption: Miranda’s guilt over her past failure as Lady Macbeth and her treatment of students is embodied by the play. Her misquotes in Chapter 29 reveal that she cannot escape that guilt until she falls—literally—and is forgiven by Grace.

Study Questions

1. Why do the students want to perform the Scottish Play instead of All’s Well?
The students view Macbeth as more dramatic, with witches, murder, and a clear tragic arc. They find All’s Well problematic because its heroine pursues a man who rejects her, and they believe the Scottish Play will be more rewarding to perform. Their demand also expresses rebellion against Miranda’s direction and her perceived weakness.

2. How does the meaning of the Scottish Play change for Miranda after her encounter with the three men in Chapter 9?
Before the encounter, the Scottish Play is a threat to her production and a reminder of her failed career. After the men quote “Double, double toil and trouble” and call it a “black play,” it becomes a symbol of external forces manipulating her pain. They use the play’s language to frame her suffering as something that can be moved from body to body, linking the Scottish Play to her bodily experience.

3. In what way does the Scottish Play reappear at the novel’s climax during the curtain call of All’s Well?
In Chapter 29, Miranda, still believing the performance continues, misquotes lines from Macbeth: she mistakes the actors’ congratulations for cues and speaks as if she is still in that tragedy. This shows that the Scottish Play has psychologically overtaken her, blurring the line between the two works and between reality and performance.

4. What role does theatrical superstition (the curse of the name) play in the novel’s treatment of the Scottish Play?
The superstition—that speaking “Macbeth” in a theater brings bad luck—appears several times. Characters use euphemisms like “the Scottish Play,” “Mackers,” or simply avoid the word. Miranda notes that she no longer believes in the curse after her fall as Lady Macbeth. Yet the novel implies that the curse is real: when characters speak the name, bad events follow (e.g., the mutiny, Miranda’s pain spike). The superstition reinforces the idea that language has power, and the Scottish Play carries a dark magic that cannot be escaped.