She recognizes that she has been poisoned by her last drink. She does not think much of her subjects, and worries that Ophelia’s madness may make them suspicious. She does not at first know Ophelia, and is frightened of her madness, but is devastated by her death, since she had hoped the girl might marry Hamlet once she heard of her son’s love for her. She is brave, willing to physically restrain Laertes from attacking Claudius, but cannot fight back against Hamlet’s verbal assaults. Despite what Hamlet considers her great age (she is at least 44), she still enjoys the physical pleasures of marriage. She is convinced that Hamlet is mad, and hopes to cure him, but can find no way to do so. Like Hamlet, she finds Polonius’s orotund speeches tedious. She loves her son deeply, insisting on keeping him by her, though she is not as well-aware of his friendships as she thinks. She married her brother-in-law quickly after her husband’s death, but has mostly repressed whatever feelings of guilt she has for doing so. While Hamlet is motivated to avenge his father’s death by Gertrude’s action, he is uncertain about whether it his completely his mother’s fault as seen by him trusting his mother.Gertrude is the widow of Old Hamlet and the present wife of Claudius, Hamlet’s mother, and the Queen. Hamlet’s dislike of his mother’s relationship with Claudius is very clear however. The relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet is never made completely clear during the play. Also Hamlets change in mind to trust his mother shows his indecisive character, which develops through the play.
This fuels Hamlet’s anger toward Claudius even more. This shows that Gertrude is not on Hamlet’s side but on Claudius’s side. Even then his mother does not believe him and thinks he is crazy.
Hamlet decides that he is not going to confront his mother at the beginning of the play, after he sees Claudius feeling guilty about his murder Hamlet chooses to confront his mother and tell her the truth because he trusts her. The weakness of women is a social bias of Shakespearean plays. This is a reflection of his view toward his mother as apparent by Hamlet’s remark about his mother’s relationship with Claudius.Īt first Hamlet is not sure about why his mother married Claudius, but he quickly decides that the decision his mother made was based on women’s weak mind. At the beginning of the play he sees Ophelia as a pure woman, but his view changes over time. These comments however are fueled by his anger toward his mother. He usually makes those comments to Ophelia, for example when he tells her to go to the “nunnery”. Hamlet makes social comment about women that are negative in nature. Through the play, Hamlet works toward accomplishing that goal driven by discomfort toward Gertrude’s relation with Claudius. But at that point, the Ghost of King Hamlet appears to give him an ultimate purpose of avenging his death. Here Hamlet reveals his discomfort with his mother’s relationship which leads to his wanting to get revenge.
In act one of the play, Hamlet says, “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”(1. He expresses his disagreement by complaining about Gertrude marrying Claudius within two month of his father’s death. As the play starts, Hamlet is disappointed with his mother’s marriage to Claudius. However, Gertrudes duties as a queen are unclear: she has authority, but to what purpose Her new husband makes important. Hamlet’s view of society, especially women, is also shaped by his mother’s decisions, thus developing his character Hamlets character is shown as indecisive when he decides to confront his mother. Hamlet is motivated to avenge by the ghost after he is upset when Gertrude marries Claudius. In the Shakespearean play Hamlet, the conflict between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude, is parallel to the main conflict of the story.