The Character of Gertrude in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay

The nature of Shakespeare’s plays, with its notable lack of stage directions, gives way to multiple different interpretations of the characters, plot, and even of the purpose of the play itself. The character of Gertrude is no exception. Gertrude’s character and motives, being left ambiguous, have been interpreted in many different ways in various productions of Hamlet. Was she implicit in the death of King Hamlet, or was she merely a clueless bystander? Did she drink the poison as an act of motherly self-sacrifice, or was it an accidental tragedy? Zefferelli’s Hamlet (1990) and Almereyda’s Hamlet (2000) provide two different interpretations on Gertrude’s characterization. In particular, there exist substantial differences in their renditions of Gertrude’s death—while Almereyda portrays her death as a noble suicide, Zefferelli paints her death as a by-product of her unceasing lust for pleasure. Furthermore, in that scene, we also notice a difference in Hamlet’s attitude towards Gertrude. By analyzing these points along with other scenes within the context of the entire film, we manage to develop an understanding of Almereyda’s and Zefferelli’s view on Gertrude and how use that to develop the tragic conclusion of the final scene.

Overall, we can conclude that Gertrude is a complicated character but her most revealed characteristics are self-serving and scheming. Most of the time she doesn’t seem to truly love Hamlet but towards the end of the play we can catch glimpses of her motherly love and instincts coming out. This is apparent especially when talking to Ophelia. She loves the attention that she receives from Claudius. She takes every opportunity she can find to keep that attention fixated upon her. Many times through the play she acts very self-centered and more concerned for herself then for those around her. While we may not know if she was involved with her late husband’s murder we are told that she feels guilty by both the ghost of Old Hamlet as well as herself.

Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Hamlet is described by a wide margin as very complex and appealing. Appealing facets of the characters are that many of them are flawed. However, Shakespeare developed these characters to grow dramatically or insignificantly throughout the course of the novel. Gertrude is a character that grows insignificantly throughout the novel. Gertrude’s sudden decision to marry, her maternal care toward her son, and ignoring her son Hamlet leads to her downfall. Gertrude’s failure to realize her maternal flaws causes great upset to Hamlet and affects Hamlet’s character.

"Frailty thy name is woman (1.2.145-147)!," exclaimed in a soliloquy, best describes how Hamlet feels about his mother.  The literal definition of frailty is weakness; especially moral weakness.  It is this moral weakness that Hamlet feels his mother possesses.  In a way to compensate for this, Hamlet maintains somewhat of a curious temperament.  He is "proud, revengeful, and ambitious (3.1.123-126)".  Hamlet also exposes some religious convictions that he has.  After committing his first murder, in the presence of his mother, he begs repentance.  This notion of knowing right and wrong dismisses any notion of insanity in my view.  It is also in act 3 where Hamlet unveils any mystery pertaining to the true nature of Claudius rise to the throne.  This conversation causes introspection by Gertrude: "O'Hamlet speak to me no more.  Thou turnst my eyes into my very soul, And I see such black and grained spots As will not leave their tinct. (3.4.88-91)."  After concluding this conversation the queen promises to keep what she has been told a secret.  Ultimately, displaying more of the motherly bond toward her son, rather than the responsibility to her husband:  "Be thou assur'd if words be made of breath and breath of life, I have no life to breathe What though has said to me (3.4.198-200)."

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.

Shakespeare develops Hamlet's character in relaton to other characters. In this play, Shakespeare develops Hamlet in relation with his Claudius, Gertrude, and his Father throughout Act 1.2. This soliloquy is important to Hamlet's character because it gives a reason for his severe depression. Shakespeare uses weariness, despair, nausea and loathing to create more significant emotions. Hamlet and his mother have a very conflicting relationship, Shakespeare establishes this throughout the soliloquy shows that he's extremely upset with the way his mother mourned his father.

In the Introduction to Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, David Bevington analyzes the dissimilarity: “Characters also serve as foils to one another as well as to Hamlet. Gertrude wishfully sees in Ophelia the blushing bride of Hamlet, innocently free from the compromises and surrenders which Gertrude has never mastered the strength to escape” (9).

At the outset of the drama, Hamlet’s mother is apparently disturbed by her son’s appearance in solemn black at the gathering of the court, and she requests of him:

When the ghost talks privately to Hamlet, he learns not only about the murder of his father, but also about the unfaithfulness and adultery of his mother, “the human truth” (Abrams 467). Gunnar Bokland in “Hamlet” describes Gertrude’s moral descent during the course of Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, is guilty of adultery. With this knowledge, Hamlet treats Ophelia like she is responsible for all the sins of his mother. He does not see that they are two different individuals who are not accountable for each others wrongdoings

When the ghost talks privately to Hamlet, he learns not only about the murder of his father, but also about the unfaithfulness and adultery of his mother, “the human truth” (Abrams 467). Philip Edwards’ “The Ghost:

Usually in a playwright, one of the author's objectives is to keep the viewer or reader confused or disconcerted about certain events in the plot. Certain characters in a play or story that have concocted covert schemes to perhaps murder or frame somebody, may have confusing effects on the viewer. Depending on the way the plan was developed in the plot the viewer may have to stop and ask themselves; who was involved; who was killed or framed; what events actually transpired; and what events happened after the murder. The viewer/reader is always trying to understand the events that have just recently taken place, or events that will take

Although written over 400 hundred years ago, Hamlet remains a puzzling and complex play, partially due to the ambiguous Queen Gertrude. The Queen is a puzzling character as her motives are unclear and readers question her intentions throughout the play. Townsend and Pace in "The Many Faces Of Gertrude: Opening And Closing Possibilities In Classroom Talk" view her “as a simple-minded, shallow woman...who has no self beyond a sexual one” while Harmonie Loberg in "Queen Gertrude: Monarch, Mother, Murderer" sees Gertrude as murderess who “is responsible for the death of Ophelia.” Although Gertrude seems innocent of the death of King Hamlet, Graf believes “Gertrude is considered to be guilty not by her own actions or words but by the words of two key characters, Hamlet and the Ghost;” these two characters suggest that the Queen is “sensuous and disloyal,” even if not openly aware of her first husband’s murder (Graf). These contrasting views of Queen Gertrude reveal the many possible answers to readers who question whether Queen Gertrude’s words and actions are genuine or self-serving. Queen Gertrude, although a fairly minor character, is a primary example of dramatic irony in the play as she is evidently unaware of the murder of her first husband and her new husband’s plot to eliminate her son. Her seeming disloyalty in marrying Claudius less than two months after King Hamlet’s death, her seemingly willful naivete at those who conspire against Hamlet, and her apparent tendency to

    The Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet features two ladies who are very unlike in character. Queen Gertrude, denounced by the ghost as faithless to King Hamlet, is pictured as evil by many, while Ophelia is seen as pure and obedient and full of good virtues. Let’s explore these two unlike people.

William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet (1603), was written in a time period in which society was dramatically different than it is today. For the most part, women had subservient roles and were treated as the weaker, lesser gender. Given the contrast in behavior that was considered acceptable, modern day readers struggle to understand the natural feelings of the characters and may have difficulty relating to them. The Tragedy of Hamlet dives into the base of human philosophy, submerged in the emotions and sensitivity of the main character, Hamlet, while he struggles with a devastating point in his life. Due to her subconscious foolishness and innocence paired with unjust social expectations, Gertrude cannot individually be labeled