The Theme Of Trust In Hamlet, Claudius And Ophelia

     Gertrude as well is exploited by men throughout the play. Gertrude is seen as a prize to Claudius, a way for him to succeed to the thrown without having Hamlet take over. Although it is not doubted that he loves her, but he first uses her to get the kingship without question. Claudius has been wooing Gertrude even before the death of the king, which a reason for the “most wicked speed” in which they were married. (Act 1, scene 2. line 156) Gertrude is also used by Polonius, but more so she allows him to spy on her having a discussion with Hamlet. Polonius tells the Queen that Hamlet is coming to her private chambers and that she should have a discussion with him on his lately “unrestrained” acts. She replies to Polonius that she will “warrant” him, and “fear [her] not” for she is on his side. (Act 3 Scene 4 Lines 1-7) Gertrude however is not an unintelligent woman, so a reader would wonder why she would allow herself to be exploited by Claudius. Carolyn G. Heliburn agrees with Gertrude’s intelligence saying that her speeches are “not the mark of a dull and shallow woman.”

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.

Hamlet puts off avenging his father’s death because of his severe Oedipus complex. Hamlet did not kill Claudius until his mother had already died. This is a sign that Hamlet did not want to hurt his mother because of the sexual feelings he had for her. Hamlet felt that killing Claudius would hurt his mother too much, and he could not do that to her. Hamlet wants to save Gertrude form Claudius because of his feelings for her, his incestual feelings, not maternal ones. Subconsciously the queen knows the effect she has on her son. Gertrude tries to play off that fact that’s she knows about Hamlet’s feeling several times in the play. Gertrude is very fond of her son and wants to protect him however she can. This can be seen in the play, many times even up to when Gertrude is about to die. She tries to save Hamlet from drinking the poison himself. She also decided not to tell Claudius that Hamlet knows what Claudius has done.

Gertrude appears oblivious to the fact that Claudius killed King Hamlet to take over the crown and to have her. Her decision to marry her deceased husband’s brother had a lot of people questioning her sanity also. “The funeral baked meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables” (Shakespeare 17). Gertrude had gotten married so quick after the funeral of King Hamlet that the food from the funeral catered for the wedding. During the play that Hamlet produced to show people what Claudius had done, she was blind to the fact that it was actually Claudius that he was talking about. Due to Hamlet knowing the truth, Claudius has been trying to kill him.

Throughout “Hamlet,” woman’s place within the domestic sphere is carefully established through the relationship, and marriage, of Claudius and Gertrude. Gertrude, from the beginning when she marries Claudius immediately after Ole King Hamlet’s death, seems to need men in order to establish her own sense of self. Despite the fact that Gertrude seems to manage all right on her own, especially when put in a position that involves societal expectation (i.e. when beside Claudius as the Queen), she seems to still be unable to define her own sense of self. For instance, in Act I, Scene II, Gertrude makes a short comment about Hamlet’s travels, stating, “Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet, I pray thee stay with us, go not to Wittenberg.” While Hamlet also replies curtly, Claudius takes this instance to go into an eight-line speech regarding how “loving and fair” Gertrude’s response to Hamlet was; as if she needed immediate validation. Claudius, in this instance as well as throughout the overarching story-line, seems to jump to the occasion to speak for both himself and Gertrude; asserting himself as the “man in charge.” However, the one thing Gertrude does seem to be able to maintain is her ability to have her own thoughts and control over her own actions. While she does rely on the main male characters,

Before we make any conclusion regarding the character of Gertrude, we should understand the norms of the society in which she lives in. Established order of the society is maintained through the process of socialization. Petriarchy power structure of 16th century is well represented in Hamlet and judged as a mysterious character. Gertrude in Hamlet holds the political power within the traditional power structure and also has potentially has the power to collapse within that structure. Gertrude fails to represent the moral of society as a queen of the state by marrying Claudius, but she completely believes in the standards set for women by the society. She appreciates qualities like-youth, beauty and purity- in Ophelia:

In Act IV of Shakespeare's play titled Hamlet, King Claudius is shown to be extremely manipulative as he deceives numerous different characters throughout the play. Firstly, Claudius manipulates Gertrude by tricking her into thinking that he actually cares about Hamlet and his well-being. In the beginning of act IV, Claudius states, “His liberty is full of threats to all—To you yourself, to us, to everyone. Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answered? It will be laid to us, whose providence. Should have kept short, restrained and out of haunt, This mad young man. But so much was our love, We would not understand what was most fit, But, like the owner of a foul disease, To keep it from divulging, let it feed. Even on the pith of life. Where is he gone?” (IV. i. 12-21). Claudius proclaims that he will be held responsible for Hamlet’s actions. Despite the obviousness and the pathetically over-exaggerated speech, Gertrude falls for this and agrees to send Hamlet away to England for Hamlet’s own “protection”. Claudius does this because he wants Hamlet to be “accidentally” killed by the prince of England so that Hamlet is no longer a threat to Claudius. However, Gertrude obviously has no idea about any of this. This shows that Gertrude is pretty clueless when it comes to situations like this whereas Claudius is actually quite intelligent as he is able to trick Gertrude easily. Additionally, he manipulates Rosencrantz and Guildenstern by making them spy on Hamlet and lure him

Moreover, as mother to Hamlet, she acts largely as a reflection of the evils within Claudius. Much of the antagonism Hamlet directs towards her is, thus, aimed clearly at the elements of her that mirror Claudius: her lustfulness and corruption. In return, however, Gertrude offers Hamlet a level of motherly love and understanding. When she says "Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet. / I pray thee, stay with us, go not to Wittenberg," she quite clearly is expressing simple love and a desire to remain close to Hamlet. While Claudius is purely destructive towards Hamlet, Gertrude's ability to filter her lustfulness and corruption through her womanhood allows her to act, at least on some level, as a positive force on Hamlet.

Gertrude does not tell Claudius the truth about what happened between her and Hamlet. This shows that Gertrude is following Hamlet’s advice because she is choosing to remain silent on what Hamlet told her. Furthermore, Gertrude only reveals that Hamlet killed Polonius and not what Hamlet had advised her to do, which was to stay away from Claudius. Gertrude might be trying to follow Hamlet’s advice because of her sense of guilt.

In Hamlet, there arise questions of what is true or real and who can be trusted to share that truth. A particularly popular question is whether or not the ghost is real; however, this initial query raises the broader issue of trust in the narrative and trust in different characters that are presented on stage. Hamlet trusts the ghost and Horatio, Claudius trusts Polonius, but it does not seem that any of the men ever trust the two women in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia. So far as the audience sees, there seems to be no reason to suspect either woman of any wrongdoing or suspicious behavior. Yet, it seems that every opportunity these Hamlet, Claudius, and Polonius have to trust the women in their lives, they do not. The question

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. Gertrude was seduced by “that incestuous, that adulterate beast,/With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts” – Claudius himself – prior to his brother’s passing. “So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,/Will sate itself in a celestial bed,/And prey on garbage.” In the mind of Hamlet, this drastically reduces the goodness of womankind generally. Hamlet chooses to use an “antic disposition” to disguise his actions as he maneuvers to kill the one who poisoned his father in the garden. Wilkie and Hurt say that Shakespeare “is particularly fond of double-plotting.” (2156)

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

The fact that Gertrude is adverse to truth is not an argument. She lies to herself about the consequences of her actions, and she lies to those around her about the impact of her dishonesties. But it is important to understand that she lies to protect. She does not create elaborate fabrications with ill intent; she tells only small, white lies in order to keep herself and those close to her safe. She is forced to tell the King that Hamlet slayed Polonius, but nonetheless, she does what she can to help her son. She tells Claudius that Hamlet "weeps for what is done" when it is quite obvious he does not. On the surface, it could be difficult to comprehend why Hamlet, his father, and Claudius all had such a deep devoutness to Gertrude. But the

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

It is tempting to condemn Gertrude as evil, but it is probably more sensible to consider her as weak and inconstant. Hamlet's heartfelt line "Frailty, thy name is woman" sums up his view of her actions early in the play. Like many of Shakespeare's women characters, she is "sketched in" rather than drawn in detail. We know that she has a deep affection for her son, which is commented on by Claudius in Act 4 "The Queen, his mother, lives almost by his looks." and we may assume that she has not gone to Claudius's bed unwillingly, although there is a lack of evidence that she returns the King's obsession with her.