Is Hamlet a momma’s boy or is he secretly in love with his mother? Throughout the entire play Hamlet’s jealousy of his mother’s second husband who also happens to be his uncle, Claudius, is apparent. The prince displaces his maternal rage onto Ophelia because he has an abnormal and intense fixation for his mother. Hamlet has an unnatural love for his mother, which emphasizes the real reason Hamlet wanted to kill Claudius. Analysis of this play through a psychoanalytic lens reveals the inner states of Hamlet’s mind and his true intentions. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the strategic combination of the Oedipus complex and displacement of maternal rage to illustrate that Hamlet has an unconscious erotic love for his mother. Shakespeare
Therefore revealing the reason Hamlet displaces his anger onto others, especially Ophelia, because of his unnatural infatuation with his mother. In Freudian psychology, displacement is an unconscious defense mechanism that redirects an impulse, usually aggression, onto others. The young Prince Hamlet struggles to differentiate between the feelings for his mother and his feelings for Ophelia. Instead of loving and caring for Ophelia, Hamlet is so rude and cruel towards her because of his unconscious displacement of rage onto her. He is furiously declaring that all women, including Ophelia, are fools who take advantage of men’s feelings. He blames Ophelia for him going mad and tells her that they will no longer get married. This sudden hatred towards Ophelia is Hamlet’s way of satisfying his anger towards his mother. With the exception of Gertrude and Claudius, Hamlet then mentions that everyone who is married already will stay married. Not only does this line show his displacement of his emotions, but it also shows his jealousy of Claudius and Gertrude’s relationship. Furthermore, Hamlet is acting as if the anger he is exhibiting is because of Ophelia, but according to psychoanalysis it is because of Gertrude. He is displacing all the anger and rage he feels about his mother onto Ophelia, who really hasn’t done anything wrong. Ophelia is unfortunately blind by her love for Hamlet and is quite submissive to his displacement of
One of the most emotional and moving scenes in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is in Act III, Scene I lines 90-155 in which the title character becomes somewhat abusive toward his once loved girlfriend Ophelia. It is interesting to examine the possible motives behind Hamlet's blatant harshness in this "Get the to a nunnery" scene toward the easily manipulated and mild mannered girl. While watching Kenneth Branagh and Mel Gibson's film adaptations of the play, the audience may recognize two possibilities of the many that may exist which may explain the Prince's contemptible behavior; Kenneth Branaugh seems to suggest that this display of animosity will help the troubled man convince his enemies that he is in fact demented, whereas the Mel Gibson work may infer that Hamlet's repressed anger toward his mother causes him to "vent" his frustrations upon Ophelia, the other female of importance in his life.
The life of Hamlet is without a doubt very interesting, he suffers from unfortunate events in his time that are often major blows to his ego. His father dies while he’s away at college, Hamlet is next in line to be king until his “uncle-father” steals it from him; but it is to be known his “uncle-father” would not have stolen it if his “aunt-mother” hadn’t allowed it. It’s very apparent from the beginning of the play that he is very well obsessed with his mother and her doings. He harasses, humiliates, and abuses her because she has done such an unforgivable act by marrying Claudius. His thoughts and feelings towards his mother are very strong and well known, he even describes the odd pair as “little more than kin and less than kind.” That’s not all with Hamlet; his mother remarrying is just the tip of the iceberg so deeply rooted in the ocean of his emotions. His relationship with Ophelia is twisted, Hamlet goes through episodes of
When Hamlet’s mother remarries to Claudius, her husband’s murderer, Hamlet is disgusted that she could move on so quickly. He’s also disturbed over the fact that his Uncle could kill his own brother, and then marry his brother’s widow. This “incestu...
While Hamlet may still be feeling depressed Hamlet moves into the stage of denial and isolation. Hamlet feels the effects of denial and isolation mostly due to his love, Ophelia. Both Hamlet’s grief and his task constrain him from realizing this love, but Ophelia’s own behavior clearly intensifies his frustration and anguish. By keeping the worldly and disbelieving advice of her brother and father as “watchmen” to her “heart” (I.iii.46), she denies the heart’s affection not only in Hamlet, but in herself; and both denials add immeasurably to Hamlet’s sense of loneliness and loss—and anger. Her rejection of him echoes his mother’s inconstancy and denies him the possibility even of imagining the experience of loving an...
Even though Hamlet is a prince, he has little control over the course of his life. In that time many things were decided for the princes and princesses such as their education and even who they married. This was more or less the normal way of life for a child of the monarch. But in the case of Hamlet, any of the control he thought he had, fell away with the murder of his father. Having his father, the king, be killed by his own brother, sent Hamlet into a state of feeling helpless and out of control. Cooped up in a palace with no real outlet, he tries to control at least one aspect of his life. Hamlet deliberately toys with Ophelia's emotions in order to feel in control of something since he cannot control the situation with Claudius.
Hamlet shows much anger and disrespect to the women in his life. Ophelia’s believing her father’s words breaks Hamlets heart, being the reason for his treatment towards not just her but his mother. Ophelia
Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows a unique mother and son relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet. Stemming from the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet’s depiction of his mother signals a heinous relationship amongst the two. Hamlets and Gertrude relationship looks complicated, but Gertrude still considers Hamlet as her son. After the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius, her affection towards Hamlet is not encountered, excluding for when she questioned his dark demeanor, “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark” (I, II, 68-69). Initially in the plot, Hamlet realizes that his mother is completely oblivious and naïve to her relationship with King Hamlet. Her questioning Hamlet’s character indicates that she
Through analyzing Hamlet’s word choice, imagery, and tone it will be proven that his desexualiztion of his mother is the reason why he cannot love but only lust over Ophelia.
In the beginning of Hamlet, the Prince behaves as any normal person would following the death of a loved one. Not only is this a loved one, but an extra special someone; it is his loving father whom he adored. Hamlet is grief stricken, depressed, and even angry that his mother remarried so soon after his father’s death. Having witnessed how his father had treated his mother with great love and respect, Hamlet cannot understand how his mother could shorten the grieving period so greatly to marry someone like Uncle Claudius. He is incapable of rationalizing her deeds and he is obsessed by her actions.
At first, Hamlet is successful, and society is convinced Ophelia is the reason for his madness, thus granting Hamlet more time to plot Claudius’s murder. This is achieved in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be speech” [3,1,57] when Claudius and Polonius spy on the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia. During the Act, Ophelia displays traits of dishonesty and Hamlet uses this to his benefit and appears to go insane to convince Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius that Ophelia is responsible for his madness. Hamlet insists his madness is an “antic disposition” [1,5,179] and that “Thou this be madness, yet there is method in it”. [2,2,204] In the play, Hamlet uses his “antic disposition” [1,5,179] to refuse Ophelia’s affections, which is powerfully portrayed when he exclaims to her “get thee to a nunnery.” [3,1,138] By denying Ophelia’s love, Hamlet’s power in the relationship is effectively demonstrated, and it is shown he is in control of their relationship. In addition, this is reflected in Ophelia’s self-destruction, as she has no purpose to live a life without Hamlet or a man. Overall, Hamlet is successful in using his power over Ophelia for the sake of his
The story of Hamlet is a morbid tale of tragedy, commitment, and manipulation; this is especially evident within the character of Ophelia. Throughout the play, Ophelia is torn between obeying and following the different commitments that she has to men in her life. She is constantly torn between the choice of obeying the decisions and wishes of her family or that of Hamlet. She is a constant subject of manipulation and brain washing from both her father and brother. Ophelia is not only subject to the torture of others using her for their intentions but she is also susceptible to abuse from Hamlet. Both her father and her brother believe that Hamlet is using her to achieve his own personal goals.
Hamlet’s love for his mother was the primary force that drove his life. Everything he did in some way revolved around his love for his mother. His love was unconditional in many ways, and at times it also became sexual. These sexual thoughts that ran thought his mind took charge of his emotion and ultimately his life. This Oedipus complex in the end was a tragedy in itself. As a result any person that got too close to his mother, like Claudius did, would make Hamlet become extremely jealous and make him get violent thought. It was the love for his mother that made him kill Claudius when she was alive. Hamlet knew that Claudius made her happy so deep down Hamlet knowing this was happy too.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous work of tragedy. Throughout the play the title character, Hamlet, tends to seek revenge for his father’s death. Shakespeare achieved his work in Hamlet through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces that hunt Hamlet throughout the play: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. When Hamlet sets his mind to revenge his fathers’ death, he is faced with many challenges that delay him from committing murder to his uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlets’ father, the former king. During this delay, he harms others with his actions by acting irrationally, threatening Gertrude, his mother, and by killing Polonius which led into the madness and death of Ophelia. Hamlet ends up deceiving everyone around him, and also himself, by putting on a mask of insanity. In spite of the fact that Hamlet attempts to act morally in order to kill his uncle, he delays his revenge of his fathers’ death, harming others by his irritating actions. Despite Hamlets’ decisive character, he comes to a point where he realizes his tragic limits.
Gertrude and Ophelia both love Hamlet, yet they love him in different ways. Gertrude, his mother, loves Hamlet in a motherly way, placing his honor under her current husband Claudius, which is Hamlet’s uncle, and also the brother of Gertrude’s deceased husband and Hamlet’s late father. Hamlet thinks of his mother as a whore because she married Claudius right after her husband’s untimely death. Gertrude is not a whore;
Hamlet’s attachment to his mother was quickly made evident within the first act of the famous tragedy. Hamlet, who sulks around wearing black clothing to mourn the death of his father, first speaks in the play to insult his stepfather. He voices his distaste at his new relationship with his uncle by criticizing that they are, “A little more than kin and less than kind” (I.ii.65). He believes that it is unnatural for his uncle to also be his father, and eagerly jumps at an opportunity to offend Claudius. However, Hamlet acts entirely different towards his mother, despite his poor attitude....