Gertrude is thoughtful and sensitive in her attempts to intervene. She is not simply an unwitting victim of her circumstance, as some critics would have it. Gertrude is wholly ignorant of Caludius' successful plot against her first husband and equally oblivious of Hamlet's protectively possessive feelings towards her.
She's driven by emotions rather than reflection. She's affectionate, impulsive, and strong-willed. Although Gertrude has many good qualities, she's not conspicuously intelligent. Moreover - fatally - she is a poor judge of character.
The Gertrude who does emerge clearly in Hamlet is a woman defined by her desire for station and affection, as well as by her tendency to use men to fulfill her instinct for self-preservation—which, of course, makes her extremely dependent upon the men in her life.
The Ghost cites Gertrude's voracious lust as the cause of her swift marriage to his brother (the 'garbage' in this metaphor). Gertrude's sexual relationship with Claudius defines her character for both Hamlets, and taints the audience's perception of her as an intemperately lustful and self-indulgent individual.
Gertrude, then, is one of the play's most complex characters, and one whose motives and truest nature are often obscured. For instance, when Hamlet confronts Gertrude about her choices, she admits that looking inward at her own choices—and considering the idea that her new husband murdered her old one—is too painful.
She is not sympathetic to his grief, and wants him not to show the signs of mourning. Perhaps his grieving makes her uncomfortable. Hamlet Lines 76-86 Hamlet tells his mother the signs of grief are just outward show, and that his real grief is within.
tragic flaw was no other than the innocent desire for reconcilement and her too human need to avoid conflict.
But other interpretations, in both stage productions and paintings, suggest Gertrude's guilty knowledge of the murder, and Hamlet suspects her as well as Claudius; Hamlet's "mousetrap" therefore sets out to capture the conscience of a king and a queen.
Manipulation exists throughout Hamlet from the prince acting mad to Claudius killing Gertrude. Claudius manipulated Hamlet by convincing Laertes to duel him a poisoned battle. He provided a poisoned cup with which Gertrude drank to her death.
In this work, Gertrude is a sympathetic character who is in love with Claudius but thwarted by her evil husband, King Hamlet. In essence, Gertrude's interiority takes center stage in this novel.
As the mother of a grieving son, Gertrude should have been more sensitive to Hamlet's feelings. Instead, less than two months after King Hamlet's death, Gertrude remarries Claudius, her dead husband's own brother.” Gertrude is portrayed as a loving mother, but not necessarily the most outwardly thinking.
Hamlet has issues with both Gertrude and Ophelia; thus, he does not treat them kindly. Hamlet disapproves of his mother's marriage to Claudius. Hamlet speaks to himself about Gertrude: “By what it fed on, and yet, within a month - let me not think on't. Frailty, thy name is woman! …
Gertrude describes her love for Hamlet when she asks him not to return to Wittenberg. When she shares with Ophelia her hope that the young woman would have married her Hamlet, she divulges her wish for his happiness. However, she never declares any kind of emotion for Claudius, either positive or negative.
Gertrude shows as another prime example of a female that is submissive to the men in her life. Gertrude's love and obedience toward Claudius are shown throughout the play when she relentlessly stands by, supports, and obeys all of his requests.
Shakespeare has a solid example of a flat character in Gertrude from Hamlet. She is loving and caring towards Hamlet, but inside she is weak and oblivious. She has been duped by Claudius who murdered her husband and stole the throne.
Although Gertrude seems to be a villain, she turns into a victim that leads to her demise. To begin, Gertrude is a victim because she is naive that eventually leads to her death. At the end of the play when Hamlet and Laertes are fencing, Gertrude unknowingly drinks the cup of wine filled with poison.
Gertrude is so insecure and desperate for love and acceptance that she does what ever she is told. Instead of being the powerful Queen represented the game of chess; Gertrude is but a pawn in the game. Her blindness extends not only to Claudius and Hamlet, but to Ophelia as well.
Other scholars, like Pragati Das in “Shakespeare's Representation of Women in his Tragedies,” agree that Gertrude is not murderous, but simply selfish, shallow, and addicted to pleasure.
Gertrude reveals no guilt in her marriage with Claudius after the recent murder of her husband, and Hamlet begins to show signs of jealousy towards Claudius. According to Hamlet, she scarcely mourned her husband's death before marrying Claudius.
Gertrude's Loyalty to Hamlet
Despite all that happens, Gertrude chooses to remain loyal to Hamlet. At the end of act three, he reveals to Gertrude that he is only mad in craft, not for real, and he askes her not to sleep with Claudius anymore.
Gertrude's betrayal of her son was caused by Claudius, as he comforted her after her husband's unfortunate demise, and later married her, this was betrayal to Hamlet because he had a very high opinion of his father and thought very little of his uncle, Hamlet said “-married with my uncle, / My father's brother, but no ...
Gertrude reveals no guilt in her marriage with Claudius after the recent murder of her husband, and Hamlet begins to show signs of jealousy towards Claudius. According to Hamlet, she scarcely mourned her husband's death before marrying Claudius.
Her marriage to Claudius, her forcing Hamlet to accept Claudius as his father, and her betrayal of Hamlet to Claudius after Hamlet sees his father's ghost are all acts of selfishness.
Summary: Act I, scene v
“O my prophetic soul!” he cries (I.v.40). The ghost exhorts Hamlet to seek revenge, telling him that Claudius has corrupted Denmark and corrupted Gertrude, having taken her from the pure love of her first marriage and seduced her in the foul lust of their incestuous union.
In her relationship with Claudius, Gertrude is driven by her sexual needs, which is the physical representation of her inner corruption. His mother's betrayal leads him to believe that all women are disloyal and dishonest to their husbands.