Hamlet’s terrible relationship with women is clearly seen all throughout the play. But the relationship between Hamlet and his mother Gertrude is one of mostly anger and resentment. Hamlet is angry at his mom for remarrying so quickly and not taking the proper time to heal over his father’s death which causes a huge amount of resentment. After his father’s death he stated, “Frailty, thy name is woman!” in regards to his mother’s emotional state. When Gertrude was married to King Hamlet, it seemed as though they really loved each other and Hamlet looked up to that but after the king's death and how quick she changed, Hamlet can’t help but feel that she betrayed not only him and his father but also their marriage and how sacred it was supposed to be. When she married Claudius, she ruined the relationship between her and her son and seems to continually choose Claudius over her own son. When Hamlet confronts his mother about the murder of his father, he scolds her for the marriage to his uncle saying she is only in it because of the sex.
“O shame! where is thy blush? Rebellious hell,
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When Laertes and Claudius plot together to kill Hamlet, Claudius poisons the wine using a pearl as a backup plan in case the sword doesn’t work. Either Gertrude knew this or she was just really thirsty as when she went to take a drink, Claudius had told her not to only for her to say, “I will, my lord; I pray you, pardon me". In the end, she warned Hamlet of the poisoned wine when she took her own life and this gave him the courage to finally kill Claudius. Unfortunately, they all die in the
Hamlet has also idealized his mother, and it seems like that they have had a close relationship before this incident. Hamlet really loved his mother, and I think he put her on a pedestal. In the play, this delusion that he has about his mother's character is quickly shattered. She, "within a month" (1,2,145) marries Hamlet's uncle who has for some odd reason become king after Hamlet's father's death. Hamlet is sickened and disillusioned by his mother's behavior saying things like "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt" (1,2,129) and "frailty, thy name is woman"(1,2,146). But the realization that he has about his mother also ties into the realization that he has about his father and ultimately
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.
When the sword fighting begins they hope that there is blood drawn so that the poison will go into Hamlet and kill him. He tries to poison him during the dual. He begins to confess his love for Ophelia to him, but in the meantime, Gertrude drinks the poison and dies. Laertes then wounds Hamlet, but the idea of poisoning him does not work. Laertes then stabs himself with his sword that is soaked in poisoned. When Laertes tells Hamlet that Claudius is the reason for the queen’s death, he then stabs himself to death with the poison that came off of the blade. Hamlet then immediately dies along with Claudius. Horatio will then fulfill his wishes and tell Hamlet’s
Although she tells Hamlet this there is nothing to suggest that she has any guilty knowledge about the late King’s death or that she, herself, is missing him and grieving as well. There is no solid evidence in the beginning to suggest that she really loves Claudius, but this changes through out the play. This is shown when Laertes comes to attack Claudius. At first Gertrude restrains him, saying “calmly, good Laertes” then she goes on to defend Claudius by revealing that it was not the king that killed Polonious “ But not by him” Act 4, Scene 5. It is evident that she depends on Claudius.
Due to Hamlet’s psychological state, he felt confused and betrayed by his mother. His mother marrying his dead father’s brother opened gates to his madness. To Hamlet’s mind, women represent frailty; they are weak and regard them as an embodiment of weakness. He referred to his mother as a morally and spiritually weak woman as her incestuous inconstancy drove her to remarry immediately after her husband’s death and that she committed a sin. The most notable frailty of Gertrude seems to be that, whether by nature or nurture, she cannot exist without men. He recorded saying that Gertrude, “a little month or ere those shoes were old, with which she followed mo poor father’s body” (1.2.147-148). She needs a man as her guide to her perception
There was an unbreakable bond between mother and son that was completely destroyed when a mother married her husband’s brother. Gertrude and Hamlet are not as close as it seems. Hamlet’s feelings had changed towards his mother after she betrayed his father. Hamlet shows his true colors for his mother when he says,
Throughout William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet with the same types of behaviors and frustrations in humans that Sigmund Freud saw at a much later date. When the relationship between Hamlet and his mother is analyzed Freud's oedipal complex theory comes to mind. The oedipal complex is a theory created by Freud that states that "The child takes both of its parents, and more particularly one of them, as the object of its erotic wishes."(51) Because of this desire to be with the parent of the opposite sex, a rivalry is formed with the parent of the same sex. In the play, Hamlet shows great hostility toward his uncle Claudius because his mother's remarriage to him. Hamlet sees his mother's remarriage as disgusting
Queen Gertrude is the mother to Hamlet, widow to the late King, and new wife to King Claudius as shown within the first act of Hamlet. Following her marriage to King Claudius, her relationship with her son Hamlet becomes strained. Queen Gertrude symbolizes much of what is considered to be a negative aspect of womanhood. To Hamlet, Queen Gertrude is a failure of a woman. Through his dialogue, it is presented that Hamlet desires a woman and mother to be concerned for her family and place tradition above all else. When Hamlet’s mother makes a decision outside of that realm and marries King Claudius, Hamlet strives to berate her for her choices. Through
Gertrude is first introduced in the Act-I, scene-ii. We can see that she is trying to calm down Hamlet over the loss of his father. Her concern over him continues into the next acts. She is a loving mother also. We can see that at Ophelia’s burial, she displays her former hope that the young woman might have wedded her son: ‘‘I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife’’ (V .i).
Hamlet's rant to persuade her that Claudius is a bad man and the murderer of his father depicts his disrespect to his mother. For instance, he tells her, "You go not till I set you up a glass / Where you may see the inmost part of you." (III.iv.20-21) He is threatening his own mother! Later, he addresses her as "thou wretched, rash, intruding fool" (III.iv.32) Even though Gertrude's lust for Claudius aggravates him, Hamlet fails to show even the most fundamental respect to his superior. The relationship is full of disloyalty and distrust from Gertrude's part. First, she appeases, "Be thou assured... I have no life to breathe what thou hast said to me." (III.iv.201-203) It is assumed that she will listen to Hamlet and stay away from Claudius. However, in the next act, she displays her true loyalty to her husband, telling him that Hamlet is "in this brainish apprehension kills / The unseen good old man." (IV.I.12-13) This is partially contributed by her observations of her son talking to a ghost that she doesn't see. Polonius' death causes her to think Hamlet is dangerous, further driving the two apart. Her distrust to her son harms him by further solidifying Claudius' plan to execute him in England because the king sees him as a threat to the throne who is capable of killing. In the end, Hamlet and Gertrude's relationship take a bittersweet ending.
Gertrude never seems to get in the middle of Hamlet and Claudius' disputes, so many tend to assume that she is involved in King Hamlet's murder. However, there is an abundance of in-text evidence that suggests she is very innocent and oblivious to Claudius' plots throughout the play. Most of this evidence supporting that Gertrude has nothing to do with King Hamlet's sudden death. From the start, Gertrude comes off as a very clueless and almost blind character to the things happening around her. She mourns for the death of the man she loved, but with her country in mind does what she thinks is best. Sadly, while doing so, she involves herself in a dispute that turns deadly.
As Hamlet says, ?Frailty thy name is woman?, her actions cause Hamlet to curse women all together. In the first Act, Claudius and Gertrude question Hamlet?s depression. They push Hamlet to accept his father?s death and move on with his life. Hamlet hides his feelings about his mother and the king. He should have admitted his hatred for their marriage. While Hamlet is holding back his feelings, he becomes more angered at their attempts to calm him. Gertrude is also aware of Hamlet?s feelings for Ophelia and uses this as an excuse for Hamlet?s madness. Hamlet has plenty of time to confess the cause of his madness and that?s what he should have done. Instead, Hamlet allows his mother to think he is madly in love rather than tell the truth. After Hamlet delivers his play and sees guilt in his uncle, Gertrude sends for Hamlet. Instead of hurting his mother, he insists on her to tell him the truth. It would have been easier to just go ahead and hurt Gertrude. Also, Hamlet should have acted more swiftly on this, then her confession could have taken place earlier in the play. This could save him from a great deal of pain and leave his thoughts for other problems.
She married. “O, most wicked speed, / to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets! / It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue” (i.ii. Lines 161-164 Shakespeare). Hamlet greatly disapproves of his mother and uncles positive attitudes towards his beloved father’s death. Hamlet is outraged that “but two months dead—nay, not so much, not two. / So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr. / So loving to my mother” (i.ii. Lines 142-144 Shakespeare).The hasty marriage between Claudius and Gertrude hurts Hamlet deeply and is only one of many things that Hamlet must battle between his thoughts and his instincts. Part of the reason Hamlet is so melancholy is his mother's marriage and throughout the play he is forced to deal with the feelings that have arisen from the conflict he is in. In a way, confronting his mother provides Hamlet with a way to vent his anger and let loose some of the rage he has held in. The conflict that he had with Gertrude and Claudius is mainly projected upon Gertrude because Hamlet is more focused on dealing with murdering Claudius to avenge his father than he is angry and disgusted by Claudius’ incest marriage he is in with
He acidly snaps at Gertrude, "Mother, you have my father much offended" (Hamlet, III, iv, 13). It is not that his mother is a woman that haunts and maddens Hamlet, but the fact that she chooses Claudius over himself. He believes that she does not actually love Claudius, but was merely seduced or tricked, and he cries out in anguish:
Gertrude knew about the plan to kill the King. Claudius wanted to become King, but the only way that could happen, the current King, would have to be dead. Hamlet’s family and everyone else were very religious. Marrying within the family was very frowned upon, especially in royal families. Because Gertrude was very religious, she would never marry incestuously. For Claudius to become the new King, he would have to marry the Queen, Gertrude. The quick marriage to Gertrude after the Kings death shows that Gertrude was really cheating on her husband before he was murdered.