The Conscience of the Queen
William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is perhaps one of his most intriguing and scandalous pieces of work. One character who is liable for much of this excitement and outrage is Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude. To some readers and critics, Gertrude is conceived as an erratic, superficial and sensual woman. Others discern the Queen as an earnest, intellectual and sagacious woman whose tragic fault is her yearning for sexual satisfaction. Throughout the text, there are several legitimate arguments for both sides, but in the end, Hamlet seems to sum up the Queen’s true persona with the words “Frailty, thy name is woman”. Evidence of Gertrude’s true nature can be found in many instances through out the play such as encounters with Hamlet, other characters’ thoughts on her, and Gertrude’s conversations with several different people.
Gertrude’s first weakness, her lack of compassion, is shown early in the play when she urges Hamlet to cease mourning for his dead father. “Do not forever with thy vailèd lids seek for thy noble father in the dust. Thou know'st 'tis common. All that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity” (1.2 68-75). Gertrude tells Hamlet that he can’t spend his whole life with his eyes to the ground remembering his noble father and that it happens all the time, that what lives must die eventually. This is a perfect example of Gertrude’s shallowness. Instead of consoling her son, she advises him to move on from his deceased father. She demonstrates no grief about her husband’s death and no concern for her grieving son. In act two, Gertrude reveals that she thinks Hamlet’s strange behavior is because of his father’s death and her quick marriage. This is a perfect ex...
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...er what was happening, and finally, it took Claudius poisoning her to figure out what was right in front of her greedy eyes all along. The Queen deserved to die.
Perhaps the most truthful and noble line throughout the play was Hamlet’s description of his mother as “Frailty, thy name is woman”. While some argue that Gertrude is strong-minded and intelligent, it is obvious through her actions that she is in truth a shallow, flighty and sensual woman. Throughout the play she does not care or think about anybody but herself and is stupid enough to fail to see what is in front of her eyes all along. The frailty that Hamlet speaks of is the weakness his mother’s persona and morals. All through Hamlet, Gertrude shows a deficiency of rationality, consideration, good reasoning and strong ethics from the moment her husband dies, to the last seconds of her own life.
Immediately after her husband’s murder, Gertrude marries his brother in order to maintain her status as Queen of Denmark. If she were truly in love with King Hamlet, and was not with him to gain some sort of societal power, she would not have attempted to maintain said power by immediately marrying Claudius. Though one can argue that she married Claudius to appease the public, as her late husband was beloved by the populous, this claim simply does not hold up when one considers the hunger for power that plagues every character in Hamlet. Additionally, Gertrude’s attitudes regarding Hamlet’s grief arouse suspicion as to her true motives. As she tells him, “…/Do not forever with thy vailed lids/” (I.ii. 69-71.) She later continues, ”Seek for thy noble father in the dust/Thou know 'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,/Passing through nature to eternity” (I.ii. 72-74.) Though this can be written off as a mother simply being worried for her son’s well being, it seems as if there is some sort of deeper meaning to these words. As long as Hamlet is in mourning, the people of Denmark will hold the late King Hamlet in their memory, and may start to get suspicious as to why Gertrude “moved on” so quickly. Furthermore, her attempts to squander Hamlet’s grief are an obvious effort to conceal her true motives from the citizens of Denmark, and to maintain her current position of power. Through her
Gertrude is the epitome of weakness to Hamlet because of her foolish act of remarrying, which Hamlet views as a betrayal. It all can be traced back to the murder of his father. This grief Hamlet has worsens his relationship with Gertrude, which makes him feel as though she is letting the murder of her first husband go without mourning. In conversation with the ghost of his father, Hamlet declares, “O most pernicious woman!
Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad and harmful. After this scene she becomes aware that Hamlet isn't mad and starts trusting him as opposed to Claudius. This is exactly how Shakespeare has presented women throughout the play: they are easy to convince, very meek and become submissive to the men (as we can see Ophelia and her response to her father and brother). They are depicted as weak and inferior in comparison to the male figures, who control their lives. After the closet scene Gertrude keeps faith to her son and lies to her husband Claudius for Hamlet saying he killed Polonius in his madness:
Clearly, Hamlet’s concern for the Queen, his mother, is of genuine association to the death of King Hamlet. Within this solitary thought, Hamlet realizes the severity of his mother’s actions while also attempting to rationalize her mentality so that he may understand, and perhaps, cope with the untimely nature of the Queen’s marriage to Claudius. Understandably, Hamlet is disturbed. Gertrude causes such confusion in Hamlet that throughout the play, he constantly wonders how it could be possible that events would turn out the way they did.
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
Oddly, it appears that Gertrude possess more significance to Hamlet than one first anticipates. Her swift call to matrimony leads Hamlet into a spiraling quarry of depression and grieving. This mirrors the Oedipus complex. Gertrude sexually commits herself to Claudius causing Hamlet to feel a sense of jealousy and disappointment. In retaliation, he expresses his repressed desire of love through his unruly comments. He even goes as far as to say that the love is incestuous. Furthermore, in Act 3 scene 4, Hamlet confronts his mother directly in a closet. Addressing concern over her sexual actions, he exclaims “In the rank sweat of an enseamèd bed, / Stewed in corruption, honeying and making love / Over the nasty sty” (III.iv.104-106). Not only does this quote show that Hamlet disapproves his mother’s marriage, but also that he believes Claudius is a wicked criminal. Aligning with the Oedipus complex, Hamlet strangely obsesses over his mother’s love life while viewing his uncle in
After the death of Old Hamlet and Gertrude’s remarriage to Claudius, Hamlet feels extremely angry and bitter. “How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world!” (1.2.133-134). Due to the death of his father, he is already in a state of despair and the lack of sympathy that his mother has towards his sorrow does not aid him in recovering from this stage of grief. “Good Hamlet, cast thy knighted colour off, / And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark” (1.2.68-69). Hamlet is struggling to accept the fashion in which Gertrude is responding to the death of Old Hamlet; she seems quite content with her new life with Claudius, which is a difficult concept for him to accept as after the d...
Hamlet is one of the most controversial characters from all of the Shakespeare’s play. His character is strong and complicated, but his jealousy is what conduces him to hate women. He sees them as weak, frail, and untrustworthy. He treats Ophelia, the women he loves, unfair and with cruelty. Similarly, he blames his mother for marrying her dead husband’s brother, who is now the King of Denmark. Hamlet’s treatment for women stems from his mother’s impulsive marriage to his uncle who he hates and Ophelia choosing her father’s advice over him.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows a unique mother and son relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet. Stemming from the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet’s depiction of his mother signals a heinous relationship amongst the two. Hamlets and Gertrude relationship looks complicated, but Gertrude still considers Hamlet as her son. After the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius, her affection towards Hamlet is not encountered, excluding for when she questioned his dark demeanor, “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark” (I, II, 68-69). Initially in the plot, Hamlet realizes that his mother is completely oblivious and naïve to her relationship with King Hamlet. Her questioning Hamlet’s character indicates that she
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.
The relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude is strained at first. From the beginning of the play to act III, Hamlet is bitter with his mother. He feels this way because it has been less than four months since the death of his biological father, yet she is already remarried to Claudius. He feels his father is being betrayed from her lack of mourning. She tells her son to "cast thy nighted color off" (I.ii.68) and "all that lives must die" (I.ii.72). Clearly, she isn't grieving over her late husband's death and instead puts forth an optimistic attitude to her new husband and life. Gertrude's concern with Hamlet's odd behaviour after his encounter with Ophelia in act II scene i also shows the strain in their relationship. For example, she agrees with Claudius' words that "of Hamlet's transformation" (II.ii.5) and suggests Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy and find out the underlying cause of her son's problems. In addition to that, she consents Polonius to hide behind the tapestry in act III scene iv without Hamlet knowing. These two decisions suggest their inability to communicate. Instead, spying is required for Gertrude to find out about her son's inner mentality. The mother and ...
Portrayed as cunning or Janus-faced as is Claudius. Even though Hamlet lashes out at her
Gertrude's actions of marrying her husband's brother after this king was only "two months dead" (I.ii. 138) causes Hamlet's view on love to change. He noted that when Gertrude was with his father "he was so loving to [her]" and "she would hang on him" (I.ii. 140, 143). This is how Hamlet believed true, stable love was to be. But his mother's ability to marry so quickly after his father's death made Hamlet conclude that a woman's love is fickle and he states "frailty, thy name is woman" (I.ii. 146). By "frailty" Hamlet is not referring to a woman's physical abilities, but rather her emotional frailty and her ability to change so quickly after having, assumingly, loved so deeply. Thus Hamlet feels that Gertrude, not only betrayed his father, but also has betrayed the sanctity of love and marriage.
Compared to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Almereyda’s adaptation creates a new reading and highlights various elements more directly through a change in the characterization of Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. The movie advances her position as a woman, making her a commanding and prominent figure throughout. This new reading of Gertrude from the movie reflects the changes in societal views regarding women, due to varying time periods, progressing the position of Gertrude as a woman, and exploiting ideas of incest, misogyny, and