Hamlet - The Struggle Between Mother and Son

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Recommended: Significance of the ghost in Hamlet

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it appears that something is amiss in the State of Denmark as the protagonist, Hamlet, is approached by the ghost of the deceased King Hamlet. During this encounter, Hamlet discovers vital information about the king’s brother, Claudius, who married the king’s widow, Queen Gertrude. With this information kept in mind, the Ghost advises Hamlet to kill King Claudius, while protecting his mother, in order for the old King Hamlet to escape purgatory. Nonetheless, throughout the play Hamlet’s vendetta is continuously prolonged due to the Oedipus Complex created by Sigmund Freud which states, “in the young male, the Oedipus conflict stems from his natural love for his mother, which progressively may become sexual. Unfortunately for the boy, his father stands in the way of this love therefore, the boy feels aggression and envy towards this rival, his father” (Stevenson). In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet’s obsessive feelings towards his mother cause him to endlessly delay the vengeance of his father’s death as insinuated by in the infamous Oedipus Complex.

After having encountered the ghost of the deceased King Hamlet, Hamlet discovers critical news which leads to a series of events. The Ghost states,

“Tis gis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,

A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark

Is by a forged process of my death

Rankly abus’d: but know, thou noble youth,

The serpent that did sting thy father’s life

Now wears his crown” (1.4 35-40).

Soon after young he discovers his beloved father was murdered by his uncle, Claudius, the Ghost instructs Hamlet to avenge his death, while avoiding harming his mother, and by doing so, the deceased King Hamlet can escape from purgatory and rest ...

... middle of paper ...

...y is due to the Oedipus Complex. Hamlet had seen Claudius as a rival competing for his mother’s love and sexuality yet he is horrified by this incestuous attraction to his mother which is why Hamlet cannot kill Claudius until his mother’s death as he does not have to face this attraction. Ultimately, upon closer reading it is evident that Shakespeare intended for the play to be the struggle between mother and son.

Works Cited
"Hamlet Criticism (Vol. 44)." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web.

04 Mar.2010. .

Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's,

2008. 1689-90. Print.

Stevenson, David B. "Psychosexual Development." The Victorian Web: An Overview. Web. 02

Mar. 2010. .

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