Jealousy and Desire The story of Prince Oedipus is well known for following the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his own mother. Coincidently an author named Freud had stated that there are kids who actually grow up wishing to marry their parent of the opposite sex. Due to the story of Oedipus, Freud has named this fixation the Oedipus Complex. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet Prince of Denmark, this complex has actually been shown to appear in its protagonist, Hamlet. Throughout the entire play, Hamlet struggles with the desire to be the only lover of his mother, Queen Gertrude, and continuously questions the marriage with his uncle, now known as King Claudius. This causes him to become emotionally unstable about his feelings …show more content…
He begins to hold resentment towards not only his mother, but also onto Ophelia. Gertrude knows that Hamlet is upset about the marriage she even tell Claudius, “ I doubt it is no other but the main--His father’s death and our o’erhasty marriage.” (Act 2 Sc 2 ) She clearly admits to knowing that Hamlet holds her very dearly to his heart. Yet she still continues to upset him. It is because of this that Hamlet’s views of women begin to change. While speaking with Ophelia, he lets out phrases that can also pertain to Queen Gertrude, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me…” (Act 3 Sc 1 Lines 131-134) Here Hamlet is speaking to Ophelia but these words also describe the way he feels about his mother. With his Complex he knows that wanting more from his mom is not natural, that he is a sinner. For this reason he has killed a man over the emotions that he has for Gertrude. In Act 3 Sc 1 Hamlet is continuously shoving his inner rage of his mother out on the light hearted, sweet, Ophelia. The Prince tells Ophelia to head to a nunnery so that she is not surrounded by men and not bear sinners into the world. In Desire and the Interpretation of Desire in Hamlet, Lacan, Miller, and Hulbert all agreed that Hamlet’s views on women have changed ever since his mother married Claudius. These three authors stated, “Hamlet no longer treats Ophelia like a woman at all. She becomes in his eyes the child bearer to every sin, a future breeder of sinners, destined to succumb to every calumny.” (Lacan, Miller, Hulbert 22) The decisions that Gertrude has made have really affected Hamlet and how he see’s the world but all women in general. Going through the Oedipus Complex, Hamlet has an emotionally strong attachment to Gertrude and the feeling of betrayal has
The life of Hamlet is without a doubt very interesting, he suffers from unfortunate events in his time that are often major blows to his ego. His father dies while he’s away at college, Hamlet is next in line to be king until his “uncle-father” steals it from him; but it is to be known his “uncle-father” would not have stolen it if his “aunt-mother” hadn’t allowed it. It’s very apparent from the beginning of the play that he is very well obsessed with his mother and her doings. He harasses, humiliates, and abuses her because she has done such an unforgivable act by marrying Claudius. His thoughts and feelings towards his mother are very strong and well known, he even describes the odd pair as “little more than kin and less than kind.” That’s not all with Hamlet; his mother remarrying is just the tip of the iceberg so deeply rooted in the ocean of his emotions. His relationship with Ophelia is twisted, Hamlet goes through episodes of
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
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
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, women are oversexualized, and are given no role other than to be the item of a man’s desire. The promiscuity of the only two women in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, detracts from their power and integrity, and allows Hamlet a certain amount of control over them. Gertrude’s sexual lifestyle is often mentioned by her son, Hamlet, and Hamlet uses his knowledge of Gertrude’s sexuality as a means to criticize her. Ophelia’s sexuality initially appears to be controlled by Laertes and Polonius, and Hamlet takes advantage of the naive image that she is required to keep. However, in her later madness, Ophelia taints this image by revealing that her innocence is feigned. By exposing the sexual natures of both Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet strips these women of any influence they may have had, and damages their once-honourable names.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare focuses on the title character plotting vengeance against Claudius for his father's murder to capture the Danish crown. The new king is also Hamlet's uncle and now stepdad due to the marriage with his mother, Gertrude. Through a sequence of events, the protagonist eventually avenges his father, although both his mother and himself fall to a tragic fate as well. Throughout the course of the play, the relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude changes from strained to a disrespectful and mistrustful to a bittersweet ending.
When reading the text, one can comprehend that Ophelia is caught in the middle between two opposite sides. Her family (father and brother) believe that Hamlet is a womanizer rather then the philosopher that he is. They also believe that he will use her in order to achieve his own purposes, and that he would take her precious virginity only to discard it because he would never be her husband. But, Ophelia's heart mesmerized by Hamlets cunning linguistics is set on the fact that Hamlet truly loves her or loved her, even though he swears he never did. In the eye of her father and brother, she will always be a pure, wholesome girl, an eternal virgin in a sense, (due to a parents nature to always see their offspring as a child) they want her to ascend into her stereotypical role in life as a vessel of morality whose sole purpose of existence is to be a obedient wife and a committed mother. However, to Hamlet she is simply an object used to satisfy and fulfill his sexual needs. He also seems to hold her at a distant which suggests that he may...
The reader is left guessing on Hamlet’s true feelings for Ophelia through his various insults, sexual innuendos, and admitted desire. Hamlet’s claim, “God hath given you one face, and you / Make yourselves another.” (3.1.155-156) is laced with irony and hypocrisy given Hamlet’s own deception regarding true feelings. This proclamation comes at the end of a lengthy tirade against Ophelia and womankind in general for their conniving deceit leading men astray. The fact that Hamlet cannot see this duplicity in his very own actions shows the double standard he holds for females. Ophelia’s immediate reaction is one of shock and defense due to the aggressive nature of Hamlet’s attack. She calls out “O, woe is me!” (3.1.174) in distress to the ferocity of Hamlet and is unable to form a particularly coherent response akin to the ones seen against Laertes and Polonius. She does show her intelligence and rebellion from this assumption of power by Hamlet in her songs while Hamlet is gone. While many attribute her madness to the death of her father, a large portion of her instability should be attributed to Hamlet and his earlier actions. In her first introduction as insane she sings, “And I a maid at your window, / To be your Valentine. / Then up he rose and donned his clothes / And dropped the chamber door, / Let in the maid, that out a maid / Never departed more.” (4.5.55-60). Due to her references to sexuality and deceit the
Hamlet has the disillusion that women are frail after his mother’s rushed remarriage as shown by “Frailty, thy name is woman!” He also believes women do not have the power to reason. (“O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason.”) Ophelia has the power to change his view but her unexplained rejection of him only adds to Hamlet’s disillusion. The ghost’s revelation that Gertrude dishonored Hamlet’s father but also their marriage by the adultery with Claudius is contemplated by Hamlet until he goes into Ophelia’s room to look upon her. As Hamlet searches Ophelia’s face for some sign that might restore his faith in her, he instead believes her face shows guilt and thinks she is another false Gertrude.
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
When Hamlet runs into his mother one day while deep in thought about the whole situation, he questions his mother’s decision of why she married back so quickly, and why she chose his uncle, Claudius. ( cite conversation between Hamlet and Gertrude) (CITE I.ii.68) and (CITE I.ii.72). This conversation between Gertrude and Hamlet clearly shows that the death of King Hamlet bothered Gertrude very little and makes Hamlet question the motive behind the marriage. From that day on, Hamlet vowed to seek the real
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’s disillusionment with the women in his life, come from confusion as to where they’re allegiance lies. Firstly, Ophelia abruptly ends her relationship with Hamlet, simply because Polonius states that “[he] would not have you give words to Lord Hamlet”. Ophelia obeys her father by denying “his [Hamlet’s] access to me”, proving that her loyalty lies with her father. In addition to this, Ophelia outwardly lies to Hamlet during Polonius’ trap, stating that her father is “at home”. Hamlet’s reservations towards women can be seen when he says to Ophelia “if thou dost marry…marry...
Gertrude and Ophelia are manipulated and belittled. In their weak will, they end up betraying Hamlet. Observing their manipulation by other people, Hamlet is able to justify and go through with his actions. Despite Ophelia’s weak will, the male characters respond dramatically to her actions, proving that women indeed have a large impact in Hamlet. Her obedience is actually her downfall, because it allows the male characters to control and use her in their schemes.
Another significant female character is Ophelia, Hamlet's love. Hamlet's quest for revenge interferes with his relationship with Ophelia. There is much evidence to show that Hamlet loved her a great deal, but his pretense of madness drove her to her death. Ophelia drowned not knowing what was happening to her. This can be deduced by the fact that she flowed down the river singing and happy when in truth she was heartbroken. Ophelia was very much afraid when she saw Hamlet "with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd, Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). She described him as being "loosed out of hell" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). In addition to that he scared her when he left the room with his eyes still fixed on her. She is especially hurt when Hamlet tells her that he no longer loves her and that he is opposed to marriage. He advises her to go to a nunnery and avoid marriage if she can.