The doctor tells the audience that the scene in which Macduff stabs his wife is one of the most important scenes in the play because it marks the end of the relationship between Macduff and his wife. Macduff asks the doctor if he has come up with a "trigger" for Macduff's breakdown. The doctor replies that he has, and Macduff says that he will fight until his bones are "hacked" . He then asks about the doctor's patient, and the doctor responds that the patient had never been dressed in his wife's clothing before. The word "patient" indicates that the distance between the husband and wife has been severed.