English 002 Essay

English 102

Kronbeck

December 8, 2014

Gertrude, a Dynamic Character Who Deserves Sympathy

As the well-known saying states that “There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand’s people’s eyes.” An audience can find conflicting personality traits in every character in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which represents both the good and evil sides of human nature. The prince of Denmark, Hamlet, learns from his dead father’s spirit that Hamlet’s uncle Claudius poisoned his own brother and seized the throne of Denmark as well as Hamlet’s mother—Queen Gertrude. Shocked by Claudius’ deceit and treachery, Hamlet feels disappointed and disgusted about his mother’s betrayal of her late husband and obedience to Claudius. Meanwhile, Claudius uses Gertrude to spy on her own son and figure out the reason of Hamlet’s madness. After quarreling with Hamlet, Gertrude’s heart is totally broken by her son’s disrespectful words but also begins to realize that her love for Hamlet is far more than position, wealth, and Claudius’ trust. In the end, Claudius arranges a duel for Hamlet and Laertes whose father was killed by Hamlet. However, Gertrude mistakenly drinks the poisoned wine prepared for Hamlet and uses her last breath to protect her son from Claudius’ wicked plot before dying. Although Queen Gertrude seems unsympathetic due to her disloyalty to Hamlet and obedience to Claudius, the audience only gets to know her from Hamlet’s viewpoint. Ultimately, she is indeed unfairly treated and deserves sympathy because of her final brave resistance to Claudius, which is fueled by her mother love for Hamlet.

The initial unsympathetic impression that readers have of Gertrude is because of her disloyalty to Hamlet’s father by hastily remarrying to Claudius and disloyalty to Hamlet by lack of support when he mourns for his father. Her numbness and seeming lack of concern for her late husband sends a chill to Hamlet’s heart. As Janet Adelman states in the book Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays, Hamlet to The Tempest, Gertrude “[puts] an intolerable strain on Hamlet by making him the only repository of his father’s image, the only agent of differentiation in a court that seems all too willing to accept the new king in place of the old,” (13). He is the only one who is still mourning his father’s death, while it seems that she even does not care as shown by quickly replacing her late husband by Claudius. However, Claudius is such an evil man, who has nothing to compare with his father in Hamlet’s perspective, which makes Hamlet wonder that his mother is just a frail woman who is easily attracted and moved by wealth and flattery. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy, he complains about Gertrude’s remarriage directly: “Why she, even she— / O God! A beast, that wants discourse of reason, / have mourn’d longer—married with my uncle” (I.ii.149-51). It is clear that beyond the death of Hamlet’s father, his mother’s quick and improper marriage to her late husband’s brother makes him more upset. Hamlet is not able to figure out why his mother can easily get over the grief of losing husband when saying that “a beast” would have more humanity than she does. Gertrude’s apparent hypocrisy as she changes from grieving so deeply for her late husband to being quickly seduced by the new king disappoints and disgusts Hamlet. He gets very angry with his mother when she tries to comfort him and calm him down by asking Hamlet: “Why seems it so particular with thee?” (I.ii.75). Gertrude uses only one casual pronoun “it” to refer to the significant death of King Hamlet, which makes her son heartbrokenly argue with the queen that his grief for his father is real and strong but not only “seems”. The prince feels so lonely since even his mother does not understand and share his sadness of losing father. Therefore, with Hamlet’s powerful and sincere love for his father, it is natural for readers to sympathize with him and consider Gertrude as an incompetent mother and a disloyal wife.

On the contrary, it is quite unfair to accuse Gertrude of her apathy only based on Hamlet’s unilateral viewpoints since she seldom conveys her emotions. Richard Levin notes in his article “Gertrude’s Elusive Libido and Shakespeare’s Unreliable Narrators” that “Unfortunately for her, Gertrude is the victim of a bad press…since she and her libido are constructed for us by the two men who have grievances against her and so must be considered hostile and therefore unreliable witnesses, while she herself is given no opportunity to testify on her own behalf” (323). Hamlet’s principal objection to his mother’s hasty remarriage is because he has idealized his parents’ relationship. No one cares about Gertrude’s viewpoints of her two marriages, and even Hamlet blames his mother mercilessly for her quick and unseemly remarriage without attempting to understand her real thoughts:

You cannot call [the feeling you have for Claudius] love; for at your age

The hey-day in the blood is tame, it’s humble,

And waits upon the judgement: and what judgement

Would step from this to this”. (III.iv.69-72)

Because of their mother-son relationship, it is particularly hard for Hamlet to accept Gertrude’s betrayal to his father. He selfishly claims that marrying to Claudius is too immature and irrational and could not be out of love. For most cases, readers do not tend to have a thought and speak for Gertrude as they feel sympathetic for Hamlet who needs to bear the sadness of father’s sudden death and the shame of mother’s marriage to his uncle. However, no one can affirm that old people are not supposed to have feelings of love. She may have no choice but continue to be the queen in order to protect her son; she may really love Claudius since he gives her the love and passion that she could not have otherwise. A critical audience should not be easily moved by Hamlet’s hot-blooded rage and is capable of finding that Gertrude actually deserves sympathy.

What also makes the audience automatically feel unsympathetic towards Gertrude is that she is indeed a meek and obedient wife in the beginning of the play who listens to almost everything that Claudius says. According to Carolyn Heilbrun in “The Character of Hamlet’s Mother,” people have seen Gertrude for many years as “a weak-minded vacillating woman” since they are “unable to explain her marriage to Claudius” (202). Her lack of opinion and resistance when being used by Claudius to spy on her own child enrages readers who identify with Hamlet. In order to avoid her maternal nature of being partial to Hamlet, Polonius suggests the king to let him “hear the process” “behind the arras” (III.iii.28-9) and tells the queen to scold her son for the “pranks” in a mandatory voice (III.iv.2). Polonius’ request and Claudius’ permission indicate that neither of them trust her and take her as one who is on their side. Although it is very ridiculous for a mother to have no freedom talking with her son alone, Gertrude does not say anything against the king’s orders. Her absolute listening to Claudius makes her seem to be a party of the new king, just like Polonius’ role in some way. Therefore, she has no choice but to be an unsympathetic character to the audience who always feels pity for Hamlet and dislikes Claudius.

However, the explanation for Gertrude’s obedience and weak-mindedness is that she does not want to hurt the people she loves, neither Hamlet nor Claudius, and because of this feminine consideration, she always makes decisions based on emotion rather than reason. Instead of a sensual, deceitful, and ambitious woman, Gertrude is actually a tender, innocent, and sensitive mother when she looks at Hamlet. As A. C. Bradley claims in his book Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, Gertrude “was not bad-hearted woman…[but] was very dull and very shallow” with “a soft animal nature” (167). She is “more muddled than actively wicked” (Adelman 15). Her innocent maternal love makes her believe that remarriage is a way to help her son and simply wishes her son can get along with Claudius. The dialogue between Hamlet and his mother in her closet perfectly shows Gertrude’s love and broken heart when Hamlet treats her without any gentleness and trust. She first gets very angry with Hamlet because of the disrespectful tone and attitude that her son treats her with, but when she knows his strong resentment of her disloyalty to his father and his suspicion whether she is the accomplice of Claudius, Gertrude feels shocked and disappointed more than angry when realizing Hamlet’s distrust towards her and insanity forced by the idea of revenge. The most miserable torture that Gertrude has is when Hamlet denies her love and understanding for him and thinks her a shame of him. No mother will be strong enough to stand the curse and dislike of her own children. She is truly heartbroken and cries: “O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain” (III.iv.157). She totally breaks down as he tears her heart in two and begs him to speak no more. Though she simply wants to protect her son, she recognizes her guilt after gradually realizing it is her strong love that harms Hamlet’s feelings. She would like to do anything for her son even when he has a detestation and misunderstanding of her.

When Gertrude finally accepts the fact that she has to take sides in the inescapable hostility between Claudius and Hamlet, she unhesitatingly stands by her son, which makes her entirely sympathetic. As Abigail L Montgomery writes in “Enter Queen Gertrude Stage Center: Re-viewing Gertrude as Full Participant and Active Interpreter in Hamlet,” “Gertrude may at times appear entirely subservient to Claudius…and never…overtly [contradicts] him,” but “There are…several moments, almost hidden within the play…that show Gertrude…preparing to challenge Claudius” (100). Not until Hamlet’s disrespectful but powerful criticism which makes her realize her guilt and more love for her son over Claudius, Gertrude makes up her mind to protect Hamlet even if she has to resist her husband’s will. When Claudius asks about Hamlet’s mental condition, the queen answers wisely that Hamlet is “Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend / Which is the mightier” (IV.i.7-8). In order to defend for her son, Gertrude intelligently uses the simile of “sea” and “wind” to not only lie to Claudius that Hamlet’s madness is genuine but also show her astonishment in order to make Claudius believe in her. She also tries her best to speak for Hamlet that “O’er [Polonius’ death] his very madness, like some ore / Among a mineral of metals base, / Shows itself pure: he weeps for what is done” (IV.i.25-7). She explains for her son’s rashness of killing Polonius and says that Hamlet has already felt very guilty and even “weeps” for what he has done. She willingly chooses to protect her son regardless of any consequences and views her promise to Hamlet more important than Claudius’ trust. From this point, readers can feel the disobedience of the meek queen since her love and approval for her son have overcome the fear of Claudius.

If Gertrude’s advocacy for Hamlet is due to her maternal instinct, her real defiance towards Claudius is expressed more forceful and outright when she decides to die for her son. It is true that “she dies a better woman than she had lived” (Bradley 167-8). Despite the prevention and warning of Claudius not to drink the wine prepared for Hamlet, Gertrude finally refuses directly Claudius’ command: “I will [drink the wine], my lord; I pray you, pardon me” (V.ii.260). The using of “will” makes her sound fearless and determined of her standing up for justice than ever. When Claudius tries to find excuses for Gertrude’s death after drinking the wine, she gives the king’s evil plan of killing Hamlet away without any hesitation and contravenes Claudius’ speech fearlessly: “No, no, the drink, the drink, — O my dear Hamlet,— / The drink, the drink! I am poison’d” (V.ii.278-9). Shakespeare uses the repetition of “the drink” to show Gertrude’s extreme worry of her son’s safety, and as a mother, she is sure that it is her responsibility to warn and protect her son from being in danger. She uses her last breath to protect her son and continues to question and defy Claudius’ authority with her dying words. In her last moments of life, Gertrude’s all heart seems to be for Hamlet so that she even has no thought of blaming Claudius. “Gertrude has overtly set herself against Claudius and concluded her growth into someone who can challenge his will and expose his lies” (Montgomery 112). She ultimately takes a stand against the controlling husband and chooses to support her son with real action. From the moment when she collects all her energies to deny the king’s hypocrisy, the audience can feel her courage and resolution growing from her deep heart.

As a masterpiece which is always eager to reveal both good and evil sides of human nature, Hamlet has successfully created many wonderful actual characters that make the audience feel both sympathetic and unsympathetic towards them at the same time. For many centuries, Queen Gertrude has lived in many readers’ heart as a disloyal and cowardly woman who marries her late husband’s brother because of her desire for lust and wealth. However, her innocent maternal love for Hamlet and finally brave disobedience to Claudius outweigh the weaknesses she has and make the audience feels pity and sympathetic for her. Since no one is perfect without making mistakes, Gertrude’s immoral remarriage and compliance to Claudius in the opening acts are limited by her situation as a female in Shakespeare’s time and are supposed to be forgiven since her real humanity is shown perfectly afterwards. Readers ought to offer Gertrude the same respect as for other characters since she is a vital and essential participant and connection between Hamlet and Claudius in the play. After understanding her internal emotions and changes over the drama, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark can be also considered as the tragedy of the queen who deserves sympathy from the audience.

Works Cited

Adelman, Janet. Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays, Hamlet to The Tempest. New York: Routledge, 1992. E-book.

Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. 2nd ed. London: Macmillan/ New York: St. Martin’s, 1919. E-book.

Heilbrun, Carolyn. “The Character of Hamlet’s Mother.” Shakespeare Quarterly 8.2 (1957): 201-6. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

Levin, Richard. “Gertrude’s Elusive Libido and Shakespeare’s Unreliable Narrators.” Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 48.2 (2008): 305-26. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

Montgomery, Abigail L. “Enter Queen Gertrude Stage Center: Re-viewing Gertrude as Full Participant and Active Interpreter in Hamlet.” South Atlantic Review 74.3 (2009): 99-117. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Literature and Its Writers. 6th ed. Eds. Ann and Samuel Charters. Boston and New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2013. 226-237. Printed.