Lady Macbeth Damned Spot – From the Kitchen Sink

by Chandrika R Krishnan
In 2020, The Chrysanthemum  Chronicles ran a contest on the theme Shakespeare Heroine Resurrected.
I chose Lady Macbeth ( Act 5- scene 1) because she is one of the most memorable of Shakespeare’s heroines. I particularly liked the dialogue when she says, “Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh!”
The call was at the peak of the pandemic when women all over seemed to be permanently at the kitchen sink; I decided to attempt a humourous way to recreate the monologue. I am sharing it now for holidays does come with full kitchen sinks.
Lady Macbeth Damned Spot – From the Kitchen Sink

Out, cursed stain! out, I say!–One…two days to now  ..two hundred days!

The Vim Bar* doesn’t do much to the,

turmeric stained sauce pan.

Why am I the only one to scrub?

Reducing my hand to sand paper.

 

’Tis your time to do’t.–

The kitchen sink is always full and

to hell with you  all….

Who wants to be either fed or pampered?

What we need is a helping hand in the absence of a maid;

Whose services this pandemic has brought to an end!

Who would have thought the Kitchen sink,

would do an ‘akshaya patra*?’

Always having dishes in them even before you pat

your back to have cleared them this once!

 

Here’s the smell of vim still: all the moisturizing lotion

will not take away the stain of dishwasher from

The lines of the hand that hasn’t had a manicure for months!

Oh, oh, oh!

 

 

The girl in me had a life: where is she now?–

What, will I never be away from the kitchen?–No more

my family, no more…I have had enough slaving over the stove or

hanging over the sink.

As of now, you all are pitching in!

 

Lend your hand; look not so

pale.

I tell you yet again, our life as we know them is buried; it

cannot come out till the vaccine is found.

To kitchen, to kitchen! there’s clamour for food again:

come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s

needs to be done has to be done.–To kitchen, to kitchen, to Kitchen!

 

This was published way back in 2020 in the brilliant magazine Chrysanthemum Chronicles for Shakespeare Heroine resurrected.

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
in collaboration with Bohemian Bibliophile.

Loading

Don’t miss the posts!

We don’t spam! Please make sure to verify subscription via email.

You may also like

14 comments

Romila October 2, 2025 - 4:09 pm

The way you’ve flipped Lady Macbeth’s guilt into the daily grind of kitchen chores is brilliant and that “Vim Bar” line made me laugh and wince all at once. You captured how the pandemic turned homes into pressure cookers, forcing so many to scrub and carry roles far beyond what one ever signed up for.

Reply
Preeti Chauhan October 4, 2025 - 6:46 pm

Pitching in we all must and at all times. By the way – Who would have thought the Kitchen sink,

would do an ‘akshaya patra*?’ was just gold !!

Reply
ambica gulati October 5, 2025 - 12:25 pm

You had me smiling so wide that my mouth could have fallen off! Lovely take and so good to know it was published. “Here’s the smell of vim still: all the moisturizing lotion, will not take away the stain of dishwasher from The lines of the hand that hasn’t had a manicure for months!” This is so true! Happens every time we clean something,

Reply
Mayuri Sharrma October 5, 2025 - 7:39 pm

This may have been written in 2020, but it still holds true – and I guess it always will. Kudos to your imagination, for giving it this brilliant twist!

Reply
Suchita Agarwal October 6, 2025 - 11:42 am

Wow, this was so creative and I loved the way you have used Lady Macbeth’s speech.

Reply
Harjeet Kaur October 6, 2025 - 1:26 pm

I loved this satire on Macbeth. To kitchen, to kitchen, reminds me of the rhyme..To market to market :p
My mom, when we were young, never let us wash clothes, saying our hands would get rough with the detergent. At that time, we did the dishes with ash, so our hands were fine with doing dishes.

Reply
Meetali Kutty October 6, 2025 - 5:36 pm

Okay, this is genius! Taking Lady Macbeth’s iconic “damned spot” and putting it in a kitchen sink? The domesticity of it all, but with that same deep psychological drama – it’s giving high art meets my own Monday morning coffee stain stress. Love it!

Reply
Samata October 6, 2025 - 10:46 pm

Oh My God you just nailed it …. You are just fantastic… what an imagination with the sink to shape it into a wonderful piece. Lady Macbeth…. how you got such a brilliant Idea… I am reading it after dinner and when I look at my sink…. I cant control my smile.

Reply
Sindhu October 8, 2025 - 9:38 am

I absolutely love this weave of imagination. Macbeth was one of my favourites

Reply
Manali Desai October 8, 2025 - 2:03 pm

Love this witty satirical take. It made me chuckle and also relate. But at the same time I felt grateful too because at my home during the pandemic, everyone pitched in in every little task.

Reply
Reubenna Dutta October 8, 2025 - 6:23 pm

This was so witty and a clever take on Lady Macbeth. Every bit of it is relatable, and yet the comparison to LM makes it even more delightful.

Reply
Kanchan Singh October 8, 2025 - 11:00 pm

Absolutely brilliant! I love how you’ve humorously resurrected Lady Macbeth in a pandemic-era kitchen, blending Shakespearean drama with everyday domestic chaos

Reply
Varsh October 8, 2025 - 11:43 pm

Lady Macbeth would faint knowing how her lines have transformed to navigate the kitchen sink ordeal! This was crisp and very witty indeed. Vim too found a place for itself in this recreation.

Reply
Janaki Srinivasan October 9, 2025 - 11:43 am

Brilliant recreation, Chandrika. Period. Loved it!

Reply

Leave a Comment