In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Gertrude is a woman who is also a queen that harms no one but the terrible comprehension to the situation at hand greatly affect the outcome of events. Out of the two female characters in Hamlet, Gertrude and Ophelia, are not self-confident. The actions of Gertrude will indefinitely lead up to the demise of her and some other characters in the play.
The readers first see that in Act 1, Scene 2 the poor judgment of her character is her biggest flaw. A regular mother to a grieving child should know that a child needs their mother to get pass this terrible event and Gertrude does not notice how insensitive she is being to Hamlet. She should of known that remarrying so quickly to the dead man's brother would embarrass Hamlet because it is considered to be incestuous to marry the immediate family of the dead. Then there is Hamlet's jealousy to consider as he is going to want the attention of his mother more than ever.
Gertrude isn't on par with what her son is feeling to see why he would be angry at the current situation. He expresses this thought with his first soliloquy:
O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! (I.ii 156-157)
Gertrude is seen as a loving mother, yet she can't tell how her own son is feeling towards the entire situation. She also tells Hamlet that "it is common for all men to die", however this person that has died isn't a "common" man but he is Hamlet's own father. So it is completely justified to grieve like Hamlet did. She also shows no awareness to how the sudden death of his father is tormenting Hamlet on the inside, so she isn't going to think deeply about King Hamlet's death or put any thought into what Hamlet is thinking.
Another ex...
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...s love for each were still there. During Hamlet's sarcastic conversation with Ophelia, Gertrude wants to believe that the love is still there. "The belief at the bottom of her heart was that the world is a place constructed simply that people may be happy in it in a good-humored sensual fashion" (Bradley, p. 141). This being another example that reality escapes Gertrude thought process.
In conclusion the last scene in the play shows Gertrude's two sides. As a mother, she means well and does have concern for her son but her poor judgment became a major cause of the tragedy. If Gertrude had been a more logical kind of person, many of the deaths might not have happened.
Works Cited
Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York, 1965.
Cohen, Michael. "Hamlet" in My Mind's Eye. Athens (Georgia), 1980
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/critical.html
These questions prove that Gertrude is much more complex than the reader thinks initially. However, her character in the play is an enigma, shallow in depth. Gertrude seems to put on a facade of ignorance. She must protect her own interests.
Furthermore, in Act I, Scene 2, Gertrude asks Hamlet, “Why seems it so particular with thee?” Since death is common to all, she asks, why does Hamlet seem to be making such a particular fuss about his father’s death? He replies, “Seems Madam?
At times it seems that Gertrude does not know or pretends not to know why Hamlet is so angry with her and with Claudius ('What have I done, that thou dar'st wag thy tongue/ In noise so rude against me?'). At other times she seems to know exactly what is troubling him ('His father's death and our o'er-hasty marriage', II.2.57). But Hamlet, too, does not come clean directly. He does not confront her with the murder, but rather sets out 'to wring her heart' (III.4.35), and plays upon her emotions rather than on her reason. Instead, he shows her two pictures, and compares at great length his father with his uncle (55 ff.). In this long speech, the son touches on many matters so delicate that critics can be forgiven for detecting more than a whiff oedipal sentiment in Hamlet himself. He plays on his mother's sense of shame, even bringing her eroticism or lack of it into play, and culminating in a vision of his mother making love in a bed stained with semen - not a pretty sight:
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, shows strong prejudice against woman especially with such characters of Ophelia and Gertrude. Shakespeare created an interesting character with Gertrude; he created a character that sits in the middle of all the conflict and appears to not partake in much of it. However Gertrude does seem intent in defusing it at every possible chance she receives. Gertrude is a central figure in the play. She appears a great deal but doesn’t say much – implying mystery and creating an interesting uncertainty in the audience. Hamlet spends a lot of time dwelling on her marriage to Claudius and Shakespeare leaves many questions unanswered with Gertrude such as did she have an affair with Claudius behind old hamlets back? Why does she drink the poisoned wine that is intended for her son? Does she know it is poisoned? Gertrude is the mother of Hamlet and although they do not have a typical mother son relationship she does love him. Queen Gertrude is often interpreted by many as an adulterate, incestuous woman. Catherine Belsey states that typical interpretations of Hamlet maintain: ‘Gertrude a slut; and Shakespeare a patriarchal bard’ (Belsey,1997:34). Gertrude’s actions throughout the play could be read to show her to be a very passive character, far from a strong independent woman. This is shown with her obedience to Claudius, three times during the play, Gertrude is told to leave and each times she complies without hesitation. In Act 1, scene 2 Claudius says to Gertrude, ‘Madam, come’ (122). Then again, Act 3, scene 1, Claudius says to her, ‘Sweet Gertrude, leave us .’ (28), she complies with ; ‘I shall obey you’ (37). And finally, in Act 4, scene 1, Claudius say, ‘O Gertrude, come away!’ (28). This obedience that Gertrude ...
Hamlet’s relationship with his mother Gertrude is one of mostly rage, hatred, and possibly jealousy that could have been from loving her in a romantic sense. Hamlet finds out that Gertrude marries his father’s brother soon after his father’s death and goes in a fury. He yells at her and he calls her an incestuous beast. Whether or not this is from hatred for Claudius, Gertrude, or even out of jealousy are all cases that can be very well argued. The fluctuating emotions that Hamlet shows throughout is what makes the play so easy to relate to as a human and also what makes the possibility of there being multiple interpretations on how he really feels. Gertrude is also a strange character in that it seems as
Hamlet possesses an uncomfortable obsession with his mother’s sexuality. For this reason, Hamlet’s soliloquies provide most of the audience’s information about Gertrude’s sexual activities. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet refers to the relationship between Gertrude and Claudius when he exclaims, “Within a month…She married. O, most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (I, ii, 153-157). In saying this, Hamlet displays how hastily Gertrude has abandoned the late King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father, such that she has already married Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. In addition, Hamlet acknowledges that Gertrude and Claudius have quickly developed a very sexual relationship. Despite the very recent death of her husband, Gertrude is unable to control her sexual desires, and she remarries less than two months after King Hamlet’s funeral.
In conclusion, Hamlet and Gertrude's relationship change from strained to disrespectful and mistrustful and end in a bittersweet manner. In the beginning, Hamlet is bitter at her mother for her betrayal to the late King Hamlet. The need for Gertrude to send spies to find out her son's mentally shows further strain in the relationship. In act III scene iv, he shows Gertrude disrespect by threatening her and insulting her. On the mother's part, she mistrusts her son and thinks he's treacherous and insane. Finally, in act V scene v, the mother realizes that her son is right all along and calls out to him with love before she dies. Unfortunately, throughout the loops and turns, the sweet moment does not last as both fall to death.
middle of paper ... ... Gertrude betrays Hamlet as a mother, she does not believe in him or trust him, she goes behind his back and blocks out Hamlet and his feelings and marries Claudius which really hurts Hamlet. Gertrude as a wife and mother, hurts the people she most loved, her family. The Shakespearean play of Hamlet captures the audience with many suspenseful and devastating themes, including betrayal. Some of the most loved characters get betrayed by those who they thought loved them most.
There are many ways that Hamlet and his mother express their feelings for each other. In the beginning, they show tenderness and overwhelming love towards each other. It is Gertrude’s actions that bring out the anger in Hamlet. He cannot understand how his mother could be so disrespectful by remarrying so quickly. Although he honors his mother, he cannot do this upon learning of her engagement.
In many of his plays, especially tragedies, William Shakespeare examines the relationships people have with one another. Of these relationships, he is particularly interested in those between family members, above all, those between parents and their children. In his play Hamlet, Shakespeare examines Prince Hamlet's relationships with his dead father, mother and step-father. His relationship with Gertrude, one of the only two women in the play, provides Hamlet with a deep sense of anger and pain. Hamlet feels that Gertrude has betrayed his father by marrying with his brother. Throughout the play, he is consumed with avenging his father's death and all the mistreatment the former King had suffered and still suffers after his life is over. Gertrude adds to the dead King's tarnished memory by not mourning and instead rejoicing in her new marriage. Hamlet is thus extremely angry with Gertrude and expresses this anger towards her directly and indirectly through his words, both to himself and to other characters.
To begin, Gertrude is presented in differing manners throughout Hamlet the play versus Hamlet (2000) the film. In Shakespeare’s play, she originally is cast as a woman who has power due to her husband, but sits as a trophy wife. Craving power, safety, and comfort, she depends on men for her position and control. Seeming to have poor judgment, she never expresses self-reflection throughout the play and just seems to be a bit oblivious to everything, ultimately resulting in her death as an unaware victim of a game she ensnared herself
In the play “Hamlet,” Gertrude and Ophelia share similarities and they are also contrasting characters. Gertrude, the mother of Hamlet, is a loving, honorable, protective mother. Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest, is young, foolish, and underestimated. One of the main stances, to which they both contrast, is their love for Hamlet.
Hamlet doles Gertrude a rather bruising blow for a mother to take, saying she has “Stew’d in corruption,” (Act 3, scene 4, p.74) “In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed” (Act 3, scene 4, p.74). Hamlet punishes Gertrude with his words so severely the ghost eventually appears again to command Hamlet to “step between [Gertrude] and her fighting soul” (Act 3, scene 4, p. 75) because he has taken the slander further than condoned, even for her unfaithfulness toward her dead husband. Not only has Hamlet disregarded his queen, but he has also unceremoniously disrespected his mother as an elder and as his parent when, as his parent, she has only ever looked out for his well being. At the first sign of his madness and possible unhappiness, Gertrude called in the cavalry, sending for Guildenstern and Rosencrantz “instantly to visit/ [her] too much changed son” Gertrude (Act 2, scene 2, p.34) rather than allow Hamlet to suffer a second longer. Regardless of Gertrude’s insignificant wrong doings, Claudius has performed many worse: murder, incest, and conspiring murder all for a crown and alleged love; yet, Hamlet has done worse. Hamlet blatantly hates Claudius for the deeds he has committed, justifiably angry perhaps, but Hamlet goes so far as to refrain from killing Claudius while praying
...course, ultimately infuriates and intensifies his urge for revenge. Because of Gertrude’s refusal to acknowledge her sins, Hamlet becomes even more personally motivated to kill Claudius for revenge. Queen Gertrude, though ignorant, has a huge impact on the play because her betrayal and abandonment motivates Hamlet to get revenge.
How Gertrude can marry the brother, and murderer of her deceased husband beats me! How she got re-married so quickly after the death, and without even consulting with her son Hamlet just proves how much of an ugly person she really is. "Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables."( I;ii; 180-181). What beats me is how even after Hamlet told his mother that Claudius was responsible for his fathers death, she still decided to stay with him. Which is absolute proof of how self centred she is, and how much her son means to her. "A bloody deed almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king, and marry his brother."( III;iv;29-30). Hamlet, now having no blood family left to lean on, finds himself feeling very alone. But cannot see his downfall coming.