The mindset of the unequal genders in the past is thought to have influenced the way playwright William Shakespeare portrayed females in his plays. Shakespeare exemplified this in his revenge tragedy Hamlet, written in 1601 with one of the most significant characters, Gertrude. She is central to the plot due to her relationship with the main character, Hamlet, being his mother. However, not only is she the mother to the tragic hero Hamlet, she is also widow to his laid father, King Hamlet Senior, and also newly wed to Hamlets uncle, Claudius. In this tragic play, we witness not only the downfall of women of the play in general, but specifically the falling out of Gertrude as a mother to Hamlet, as a wife to the new King Claudius, and as a woman herself. Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark and has experienced significant life changes in the last few months. She buries her husband and has remarried her brother in law. This rapid transition to a new marriage does not bode well on her son, Hamlet. Hamlet discusses his distaste in this situation and reflects on this as he tries to overcome the grief of losing his father. Of course it does not sit well with grieving Hamlet that his mothers new marriage has created a lust-filled environment, and that Gertrude has portrayed herself as a very sexual character. At the beginning of the she play she also continuously takes Claudius’ side over Hamlets. An excerpt from Rebecca Smith’s A Heart Cleft in Twain: The Dilemma of Shakespeare’s Gertrude analyzes Hamlet’s first soliloquy in the first act where he voices his disgust for his mother and his shame for her and women in general. In Rebecca’s passage, she states that “Hamlet's violent emotions toward his mother are obvious from his first ... ... middle of paper ... ...her in order to obtain his wife (Gertrude) as well as the crown to the kingdom. William depicts the females in the play less than positively, and as a result, lead to their own demise. Through the play, Shakespeare illustrates the fallout Queen Gertrude creates for herself as a mother, a wife, and a woman herself through the sacrifice of her own happiness and wellbeing. Works Cited Bierman, David. “Women In Hamlet.” Frailty, Thy Name Is Woman. UCSC. 2004. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Don Mills, ON: Oxford UP, 2011 Smith, Rebecca. The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Champaign, IL: U of Illinois P, 1983
In “Hamlet” Claudius the King of Denmark kills his own brother King Hamlet. Queen Gertrude who is King Hamlet’s ex wife and Hamlet Prince Of Denmarks mother later goes on and gets remarried to Claudius which is extremely awkward. Hamlet is full of envy for his Uncle’s conniving character and disgusted in his mothers sexual desire. Gertrude completely loves Hamlet but she is a frail woman who seeks affection and status rather than integrity or truth. The ghost of King Hamlet calls her his “most seeming virtuous queen” he then tells Hamlet to “Leave her to Heaven, and to those thorns that in her bosom lodge to prick and sting her.” Indicating she has reason to be found at fault, that she is not innocent. Hamlet is awfully upset with his mother for marrying his uncle immediately without hesitation, and he rejects Ophelia a woman he previously “declared to love.” His words generally pinpoint his repulsion and mistrust of women in general. Although Claudius loves Gertrude dearly his logic behind marrying her was to benefit him in winning the throne away from Hamlet following the death of the king. As the play goes on Claudius’s fear of Hamlet’s madness leads him to an even higher state when Gertrude notifies him about Hamlet killing Polonius. Claudius does not mention Gertrude’s danger, but only he would of been in trouble had he been in the room...
Shakespeare has a way of writing Gertrude as a victim of her men (Claudius and the late king). Meaning that Shakespeare had Gertrude so she didn’t know that Claudius killed the king and was trying to kill Hamlet. Whereas Hamlet holds weakness against the women. Every chance he gets he is calling them out and putting them down mentally. Shakespeare portrays Gertrude as a victim. The evidence is at then end of the play Act 5, Scence 2 “ Gertrude, do not
Her innocence also leads to her virginal suicide, surrounded by feminine images of flowers and clothing throughout. Contrastingly, Gertrude is the other extreme of feminine nature, characterized by her own son, Hamlet, as the whore. Her suicide-like death, like Ophelia’s, reflects her feminine nature, and she holds onto her core femininity and values, but she is still subject to her fate as a woman. Hamlet throughout the play identifies with both opposites on the spectrum of femininity, but more so with the whoreish ways of his mother Gertrude. Thus, his suicide reflects this very nature too, as his demise is like that of his mother’s. Shakespeare suggests that perhaps it is by nature that women are fated to their docile, meaningless lives and that no matter their actions to defy or adhere to the guidelines of femininity, they are bound to the constraints of their biology. Hamlet characterizes the female characters in his life as the polar opposites of the symbol of the whore and the virgin, and ultimately himself identifies
Gertrude was Hamlet’s mother. She was a selfish and evil woman. She cheated on Hamlet’s father with Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. She married Claudius a month after her husband’s death. Gertrude wanted Hamlet to stop his grieving. She told Hamlet, “thou know’st ‘tis common, all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity” (I.2.72-73). When Hamlet was depressed and grieving, it reminded Gertrude of the terrible sin she had committed. She wanted Hamlet to be happy just so she could feel better about herself. Throughout the play Gertrude’s motives do not waiver; she looks out for her own well being.
With particular reference to Hamlet, feminist critics might explore the characters of Ophelia and Gertrude and how they challenge—or fail to challenge — the domination of male characters. Feminist critics would also be interested in exploring how the play expresses ideas about femininity that were common in Shakespeare's lifetime and how complicit Shakespeare is in Hamlet's personal misogyny. … Elaine Showalter's essay "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism" explores the difficulties, even embarrassments, that feminist critics have had in approaching Ophelia. The problem is that Ophelia has tended to be overshadowed by Hamlet, even by feminist critics, who then feel the need to liberate Ophelia from obscurity. However, even liberated Ophelia is problematic for she suggests some potentially troubling connections between femininity, female sexuality, and madness.
Gertrude has an obsessive need to keep her crown, and remain Queen of Denmark despite potentially sacrificing her relations with the ones who love her- but more specifically, her son. This desire, although unaware, heavily contributes to the plotted madness of Hamlet, and supports the theory of being a self-centred, and a weak individual. Within two months of her husband’s organized death, Queen Gertrude remarries to King Hamlet’s brother, Claudius. With very likely chances of Gertrude being a lover to Claudius while married to King Hamlet, she would have been certainly convinced to be a part of the plot of his murder- and therefore playing the role of a cold villainess. The ghost of Hamlet informs his son of what has taken place, and assigns him to “Revenge [their] foul and most unnatural murder... that
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, the females accept an inferior position by letting them be controlled by the male characters. An example of this is in Act 3 Scene 1, when Polonius and Claudius are about to spy on Hamlet, Claudius commands Gertrude to leave the room. Without any hesitation and protest, Gertrude responds by saying, “I shall obey” (3.1.37). When Gertrude uses the word “obey” she establishes her inferiority in her relationship with Claudius. By using such language Gertrude is putting herself below Claudius, in a master-to-servant type of relationship. Being the queen of Denmark and technically the rightful heir to the
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.
The role women played in Hamlet was complicated. Their distinct purpose as characters in the tragedy was to illustrate Hamlet’s warped view of women and give the audience an obvious understanding of Hamlets madness and distress. Hamlets strong unwavering judgment of women was caused by his mother. He had been delusional about women by Gertrude’s actions. He is consumed by the absurdity of his mother’s love for his uncle and is justified to feel disgust towards his mother, her actions and implications and in doing so provoked hamlet’s unforgivable treatment of all women as a whole. Although Hamlet gives off the illusion that Shakespeare is enormously disgusted by the female race Hamlet’s outlook doesn’t really reflect Shakespeare’s attitude of women.
In Hamlet, gender plays a huge role in the assumed capability of people. Queen Gertrude had to remarry instead of rule the kingdom by herself. If she wouldn’t have gotten remarried, it would have been likely that her kingdom would have been usurped by a chauvinist male ruler; who felt that women couldn’t rule a kingdom.
In Shakespeare’s dramatic works there is no room for the heroic or the strong woman, and therefore many of his plays can be perceived as being antifeminist. Often he portrays women as weak, mad, sexual, and as even witches. Hamlet is no exception. The only women in the play, Ophelia and Queen Gertrude, are given confined and limited roles. These roles are from a male-dominated viewpoint and only add focus to the male characters instead of incorporating the insight and the impact of the women as well.
Towards the end of the play, Hamlet becomes enraged and accuses his mother for marrying his uncle in such a short time after his father’s death. The incestuous relationship suggest that his mother might have been involved in her husband’s murder, which is more reason to kill Claudius. Gertrude is a loving figure that is unable to understand Hamlet’s delicate state. Her way of solving problems is by isolating those that confront her, instead of analyzing her own mistakes and owning up to them. When Hamlet walks into his mother’s bedroom, he kills Polonius who is hiding behind the arras, and compares the murder to his mother’s guilt. “A bloody deed! Almost as bad, good mother, / As kill a king, and marry with his brother” (3.4.28-29). The queen cannot handle and truth and tells Hamlet to stop speaking. “O Hamlet, speak no more: / Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul, / And there I see such black and grained spots / As will not leave their tinct” (3.4.89-92). It’s a similar reaction of guilt, like Claudius who didn’t want to continue seeing the murder play because he didn’t want to accept the reality of his crime. In another instance, the queen decides to send Hamlet to England to prevent another death. Here, her solution is cowardly and says a lot about her character. She is inclined to go for the easy way out, rather than finding a solution to the huge mess she’s caused. In this scene, the reader can apply Gertrude as the antithesis to Hamlet. Unlike Hamlet who considered ethical and an innocent young man, Gertrude is described as traitor, wicked woman, and an adulterate. Her lust and external pleasures have impacted her family greatly and those she governs over. She is a shallow woman who does not see the consequences of her decisions. Even though she is at the highest level of authority, she seems to lack the most important qualities of a royal ruler: integrity and
Throughout Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” women are used as method for men to get what they want. The men in Hamlet, either directly or indirectly continuously use women to acquire something from other men. The only two women in the entire play are Gertrude and Ophelia, who are consistently used by the current king, Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet. Ophelia is exploited by Polonius and the King (mainly together), and is also used by Hamlet. Gertrude is used by the King, as well as Polonius. In “Hamlet,” the women throughout the play are used as pawns for men to get what they want, mainly from the other men.
Gertrude influenced Hamlet significantly throughout the course of the play. Hamlet was very angered by his mother's remarriage. A few months after his father's death, Gertrude married Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. He was driven mad when his father's ghost appeared to him and revealed that Claudius was responsible for the death of Old Hamlet. Hamlet even termed the marriage as incest. Hamlet's fury is displayed when he throws his mother on the bed and says, "Frailty, thy name is woman" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). This shows his extent of anger because he makes a generalization that all women are weak. As a result of his mother's actions, Hamlet strives to seek revenge against Claudius for the death of his father. In order to marry Gertrude, Claudius kills his brother. Therefore, Gertrude is the driving factor for the whole setup of the play.