Hamlet And The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time: Character Analysis

The actions of a mother figure has a significant impact on their child’s behavior and actions. This is evident in Hamlet and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. In both of these works of literature the writers express the women as the villains in the story. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude is a cold woman. Only months after the tragic death of her husband, Gertrude remarries Hamlet’s Uncle, Claudius. This action shows that Gertrude is not influenced by the grief of her child. In the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Judy has a difficult time dealing with her autistic son Christopher. She leaves Christopher and her husband behind to go to London and live with a man named Mr. Shears. Judy’s actions

This shows that Gertrude is very selfish and reluctant to the fact the Hamlet is depressed. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Judy has a difficult time raising Christopher. Judy gets overwhelmed and angry when Christopher acts out. Instead of learning how to deal with Christopher’s autism she lashes out at him and throws food. Although Christopher is unable to express emotion, it is clear that his mother’s rage frightens him because he screams or throws a tantrum. By leaving Christopher, Judy shows that she is unequipped with the necessities to raise a child with autism. Through different means the mothers both treat their sons poorly overall showing their

Gertrude and Judy both jeopardized their relationships with their sons by choosing their partner over them. In Hamlet, Gertrude gets remarried to Claudius shortly after King Hamlet dies. By getting married, Gertrude sacrifices her relationship with her son and Hamlet becomes even more depressed than before. Gertrude’s inexcusable behavior influences Hamlet in a negative way because he is unable to trust other women in his life, such as Ophelia. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Judy sacrifices her life with Christopher for a new life with Mr. Shears. In a letter given to Christopher, Judy writes; “And I think that was when I realized you and your father were probably better off if I wasn’t living in the house.” (Haddon 109). This abruptly affects their family in a negative way because Judy suddenly leaves and Christopher is lied to. Despite the fact that Judy leaves she still had Christopher’s best interests at heart. Gertrude does not assess the situation before she marries Hamlet’s uncle. Through disregarding their children’s needs the mothers both show that they are careless and