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Characterization of Gertrude and Ophelia in Hamlet
Gertrude and hamlet's oedipal relationship
Characterization of Gertrude and Ophelia in Hamlet
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In the play, “Hamlet” Shakespeare utilizes Gertrude’s description of Ophelia’s death, Ophelia’s singing the song after her father's death, Gertrude finding out that Polonius has forbidden Ophelia to contact with Hamlet, Gertrude sending Hamlet away from Denmark and protecting Hamlet after he had killed Polonius, illustrates that Gertrude killed Ophelia to hide the truth from spreading around and was responsible for the death of Ophelia in order to protect her son.
As Gertrude reports about Ophelia’s death to Laertes, she says in a way making it sound like she was right next to her. If she never wanted to kill Ophelia than she would have saved her but instead Gertrude let her die in front of her. Gertrude intention was to kill her and not
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let Ophelia survive. Gertrude illustrates that Ophelia was sitting on the, “coronet weeds Clambering to hang” (Act 4 Scene 7 & Line 197) and the branch broke, “down her weedy trophies and herself/Fell in the weeping brook,” (Act 4 Scene 7 & Line 199). The branch breaking might have been an accident but Gertrude was there to see the accident. She could have rushed to get help or she would have been going down to help her but Gertrude did no such thing. She just stood there watching Ophelia fall from the bench. Without thinking twice, she left Ophelia to die and told Laertes. Gertrude illustration of Ophelia not realizing that she was drowning with, “heavy with their drink, /Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay/To muddy death,” (Act 4 Scene 7 & Line 208). Gertrude is showing sympathy toward Ophelia even though she didn’t save her and let her feel it. Gertrude knows that Ophelia isn’t in the right mind in this situation of her father dying and her lover leaving her. The dress that Ophelia is wearing is drowning because it's too heavy. The heaviness of the dress illustrates, the hatred that Gertrude feels toward Ophelia and itis unbearable causing her to drown. Although Gertrude tend to show love and caring, in reality she is a murderer who has killed her. After hearing about the death of her father, Ophelia starts to sing song with flowers illustrating how each flowers represents the characters in the play, especially Gertrude’s true self as a Queen.
As she sings around, she says “there’s fennel for you” to Gertrude (Act 4, Scene 5 & line 204). Fennel usually represents adultery and flattery. As she sings this, Gertrude realizes that Ophelia know something about the relationship that Claudius and Gertrude had. In the beginning of the play the ghost (aka her 1st husband) reveals that the Queen has been disloyal to him by committing adultery. Ophelia turns to Claudius and hands him the flower saying, “there’s rue for you” (Act 4, Scene 5 & line 205). Additional to this it could represents Claudius's love flattery and committed adultery with Gertrude, even though the Queen love her husband. After hearing this shocking event, Claudius tells Horatio to keep an eye on Ophelia. After Horatio leaves, Gertrude follows behind but never comes back. This leaves a suspicious environment causing the readers to receive a clue that she might have killed Ophelia right after Ophelia confronted the King and Queen about their sin that they have done. Gertrude didn’t want this news to go out of the Kingdom and destroy her reputation as a Queen. The Queen needs her throne and to keep that she had to get rid of
Ophelia. Gertrude is a person who likes to control Hamlet’s life. Her domineering connection with her son illustrates her motive to kill Ophelia. In the play she commands Hamlet to, “cast thy nighted color off,” (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 70) and be kind to the people of his Kingdom. She constantly instructs him to do things that she, herself likes. She orders him to stop acting like a kid and take responsibility of the Kingdom in Denmark. Due to the reason of her continuously having power over Hamlet, it can be determining that she is against the love affairs that had happened between Hamlet and Ophelia. As a current Queen of Denmark and an excessively protective mother, it can be determined her dislike of Ophelia clearly because Ophelia is not from the upper class and isn’t a royal blood. A mother of a child who objects to the person that her child love, similarity, Gertrude would disapprove of Ophelia to be the new Queen or Hamlet’s love because Ophelia turns in to someone who has gone mad and the Kingdom cannot have someone who has gone mad in their throne. She could have precipitate the death of Ophelia’s which will prevent her son, who is madly in love with, from being with Ophelia. Addition to this when Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude that he had, “prescripts gave her/That she should lock herself from his resort,” and the King and Queen both through that this was the reason for his, “thence to a watch, thence into a weakness/Thence to a lightness, and, by this declension/Into the madness wherein now he raves/And all we mourn for,” (Act 2 Scene 2 & Line 157). To Gertrude, Ophelia is to be blamed for her son’s madness or depression because Ophelia’s father banned her from seeing Hamlet. Moreover, the two of them still sends love letter to each other. In order to cure or protect her son from going mad, she had to break the bond between the two lovers. She thought that with Ophelia around, he won’t be able to be cured or be better. The possibility of eliminating Ophelia by Gertrude could be the reason of her facing many difficult and horrible tragedy like the death of her husband. Due to the reason of Gertrude depression and emotionally harmed because of her husband's death, it can be bent on that the reason behind her murderer could be an act of depression to protect Hamlet. Gertrude is well conscious about the fact that Polonius had limited Ophelia to see Hamlet, causing the awful situation that surrounds her, in order to reduce her son’s pain, she has to break the love bond. Consequently, Gertrude is accusable for the cause of Ophelia’s death. Gertrude is also responsible for the Hemet leaving Denmark to England. Gertrude informs her husband about the death of Polonius, “to draw apart the body he hath killed, o’er whom his very madness, like some ore among a mineral of metals base, shows itself pure. He weeps for what is done,” (Act IV, Scene 1, Lines 24-27). Polonius death was caused by Hamlet, who has murdered him and Hamlet was going crazy. Hamlet leaving is one of the main cause of Ophelia's breakdown. Gertrude’s choice of informing Claudius about her worry for Hamlet, permitted Claudius to send him away. In return, Ophelia, who was already miserable after hearing her father's death becomes more heart broken when she was told that Hamlet was leaving Denmark. If Gertrude was not anxious about the wellbeing of her son, Hamlet would have stayed in town and his lover, Ophelia would not be that depressed since she had someone to talk to about it and cry to. Her action leads the death of Ophelia. Gertrude is accountable for Ophelia’s death because of her minimum amount of inventiveness on the events that happens nearby Denmark. Previously in the play Polonius and Claudius spy on Ophelia and Hamlet. Claudius commands Gertrude to exit “I shall obey you. And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish/That your good beauties be the happy cause/Of Hamlet’s wildness. So shall I hope your virtues/Will bring him to his wonted way again/To both your honors,” (Act III, Scene I, Lines 37-42). Gertrude is very openly knowing about the fact that her husband and Polonius are trying to find out about Hamlet’s and Ophelia's love affair. The ways she response suggest that she is trustworthy and faithful to her husband, who she married immediately right after her first husband's death. This also illustrates that she is frail and apprehensive on the presence of Claudius. However, if she was more focused on the things her husband does as King, she would have prevented him from having control over many social aspects in the Kingdom. Because of her unwillingly exertion to speculate Claudius raises to the kingdom, the death of her first husband which causes her son to go crazy. If she was more cynical on Claudius, impression of the truth about his motive to take the throne, than Hamlet could have been kept away from the irrational behavior that causes the death of Polonius and his departure to England. Addition to this, Ophelia could have avoided being sad and sorrowful or suicidal. Since the plan began without her intrusion, Ophelia became weak and broke her since her communication with Hamlet, when he insulted her. Overall, Gesture was responsible for the death of Ophelia and she did kill Ophelia to save her son.
By disposition, Gertrude turns to the positive side of life and can’t bear to face pain. The pain she felt after her adultery with Claudius may have been what motivated Claudius to murder her husband. When the conditions were right for her to marry her lover, she was most happy and wished for the difficulties of the past be forgotten.
Before her death Ophelia gives a final speech signifying her defeat and “In her final speech, where she hands out flowers to the people in the court, Ophelia shows that she finally understands the people around her… this scene shows that Ophelia is too aware to be truly mad” (Maki 8). Each flower she hands out is comparable to the person she is handing it to. A justification of one of the flowers she hands out is “Th’ expectancy and rose of the fair state, The glass of fashion and the mould of form, Th’ observed of all observers, quite, quite down!” (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 1 Lines 153-155) .“I would give you some violets, but they withered away when my father died. They say he made good end” (Shakespeare Act 4 Scene 5 Lines 182-184).
to predict how they will treat other women in their life. Hamlet is a good
Apart from the ambiguity surrounding her death and her love for Hamlet, Ophelia is described by all as an innocent child, grappling with situations her youth is unprepared for. Even if she had consummated her love for Hamlet, I can still picture Ophelia as a vulnerable and innocent child who has to cope with situations beyond her control in a world where the role of the female is passive. It is this helplessness which Gertrude wants to look after as she “hoped thou should’st have been my Hamlet’s wife” and her madness which Gertrude wants to save her form by allowing Ophelia to make the decision over life and death.
Throughout the play Hamlet, Ophelia is associated with floral imagery. Her father, Polonius presents her with a violet, she sings songs about flowers when she turns mad, she drowns amid garlands of flowers, and finally, at her burial, Queen Gertrude tosses flowers into her grave. Flowers symbolize her fragile beauty, blossoming sexuality, and a condemned innocence. Flowers are not deeply rooted. They are beautiful living things at the mercy of their surroundings. With no means of self-preservation, a flower's life relies on the natural forces around it. Ophelia's life mirrors this frail existence. She is entirely dependent upon the men in her life to make her choices. With no control over the storm brewing in her own life and no strength to withstand it, her shallow roots are ripped from under her. She loses her mind and takes her own young life.
This can be proven by the change in Ophelia’s actions and behavior. Ophelia starts to sing strange songs in front of Gertrude about her father’s death and Hamlet’s madness. Ophelia sings to Gertrude and sings, “He is dead and gone, lady, he is dead and gone, at his head a grass-green turf, at his heels a stone” (4.5.26-29).This tells us that Ophelia is a very soft and is a very weak character and can easily get heart broken. She cares about her family and the death of her father has shattered her into pieces, it may cause problems for her to
Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, is in some ways the epicentre around which Hamlet's emotions revolve. Her role is difficult to determine; she can be seen, like Desdemona, as the passive victim of male ambition and strife, or she can be placed amongst the likes of Lady Macbeth as privy to her husband's misdeeds, and as sharing his guilt to an equal, if not greater extent. Her attitude to Ophelia seems positive ('Scattering flowers. Sweets to the sweet. Farewell. I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife'; V.1.236). Her most vital scene is III.4, in which Hamlet attempts to extract a confession from her, and to persuade her to renounce Claudius. Modern productions regularly home in on the Freudian potential by locating this key encounter between mother and son in the former's bedroom. It takes place in her closet.
Gertrude was Hamlet’s mother. She was a selfish and evil woman. She cheated on Hamlet’s father with Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. She married Claudius a month after her husband’s death. Gertrude wanted Hamlet to stop his grieving. She told Hamlet, “thou know’st ‘tis common, all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity” (I.2.72-73). When Hamlet was depressed and grieving, it reminded Gertrude of the terrible sin she had committed. She wanted Hamlet to be happy just so she could feel better about herself. Throughout the play Gertrude’s motives do not waiver; she looks out for her own well being.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, shows strong prejudice against woman especially with such characters of Ophelia and Gertrude. Shakespeare created an interesting character with Gertrude; he created a character that sits in the middle of all the conflict and appears to not partake in much of it. However Gertrude does seem intent in defusing it at every possible chance she receives. Gertrude is a central figure in the play. She appears a great deal but doesn’t say much – implying mystery and creating an interesting uncertainty in the audience. Hamlet spends a lot of time dwelling on her marriage to Claudius and Shakespeare leaves many questions unanswered with Gertrude such as did she have an affair with Claudius behind old hamlets back? Why does she drink the poisoned wine that is intended for her son? Does she know it is poisoned? Gertrude is the mother of Hamlet and although they do not have a typical mother son relationship she does love him. Queen Gertrude is often interpreted by many as an adulterate, incestuous woman. Catherine Belsey states that typical interpretations of Hamlet maintain: ‘Gertrude a slut; and Shakespeare a patriarchal bard’ (Belsey,1997:34). Gertrude’s actions throughout the play could be read to show her to be a very passive character, far from a strong independent woman. This is shown with her obedience to Claudius, three times during the play, Gertrude is told to leave and each times she complies without hesitation. In Act 1, scene 2 Claudius says to Gertrude, ‘Madam, come’ (122). Then again, Act 3, scene 1, Claudius says to her, ‘Sweet Gertrude, leave us .’ (28), she complies with ; ‘I shall obey you’ (37). And finally, in Act 4, scene 1, Claudius say, ‘O Gertrude, come away!’ (28). This obedience that Gertrude ...
Hamlet’s sense of betrayal by Gertrude, although briefly taking him off course, ultimately infuriates and intensifies his urge for revenge. Because of Gertrude’s refusal to acknowledge her sins, Hamlet becomes even more personally motivated to kill Claudius for revenge. Queen Gertrude, though ignorant, has a huge impact on the play because her betrayal and abandonment motivates Hamlet to get revenge. When writing Hamlet, Shakespeare created a complex play that relies on the roles of two important women to aid the progression of the plot. Although Queen Gertrude and Ophelia rarely speak, they function as a way for the men to become informed about Hamlet’s mental state and motives for madness.
As Hamlet’s mother, Hamlet’s father’s wife, and Hamlet’s brother’s wife, Gertrude is blind to all other reasons that are not Hamlet’s father’s death and her quick remarriage. However, Polonius believes differently and tells Claudius how Ophelia obeyed his advice to "lock herself from his resort,/ Admit no messengers, receive no tokens.into the madness wherein now [Hamlet] raves" (Shakespeare 2.2. 142-149. See the 142-149. Polonius presumes that Hamlet's disillusioned love for Ophelia causes his madness.
Ophelia’s death in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” has been a favorite among visual artist for years. Many artists interpret her description of her death with visual art that demonstrate the beauty and innocent of Ophelia’s death. Many of the images in “The Death of Ophelia” by SophieAmazing on YouTube show a young woman who ended her life in a beautiful way. At the end of Act 4, Scene 7 of Hamlet, Gertrude describes Ophelia’s tragic death. Gertrude says, “There with fantastic garlands did she come of crowflowers, nettles, daises, and long purples, that liberal shepherds give a grosser name, but our cold maids do “dead men’s fingers” call them.”
Hamlet considers both Gertrude and Ophelia to be sinful women due to the loss and gain of love throughout their lives. Since learning about the truth regarding the death of his father, Hamlet holds a grudge against him Gertrude. Hamlet blames Gertrude's incestous act for the death of his father. "A bloody deed. Almost as bad, good mother,/ As kill a King and marry with his brother" (3.4: 28-29). After King Hamlet's ghost had appeared before Hamlet to inform him about the reality of his death, Hamlet was overcome by anger. Hamlet's anger leads to a change in his view regarding Gertrude since he loses his mother-son connection with her. By believing that Gertrude played a part in the death of his father, Hamlet develops a solid hatred for Gertrude
In the play “Hamlet,” Gertrude and Ophelia share similarities and they are also contrasting characters. Gertrude, the mother of Hamlet, is a loving, honorable, protective mother. Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest, is young, foolish, and underestimated. One of the main stances, to which they both contrast, is their love for Hamlet.
The relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude is strained at first. From the beginning of the play to act III, Hamlet is bitter with his mother. He feels this way because it has been less than four months since the death of his biological father, yet she is already remarried to Claudius. He feels his father is being betrayed from her lack of mourning. She tells her son to "cast thy nighted color off" (I.ii.68) and "all that lives must die" (I.ii.72). Clearly, she isn't grieving over her late husband's death and instead puts forth an optimistic attitude to her new husband and life. Gertrude's concern with Hamlet's odd behaviour after his encounter with Ophelia in act II scene i also shows the strain in their relationship. For example, she agrees with Claudius' words that "of Hamlet's transformation" (II.ii.5) and suggests Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy and find out the underlying cause of her son's problems. In addition to that, she consents Polonius to hide behind the tapestry in act III scene iv without Hamlet knowing. These two decisions suggest their inability to communicate. Instead, spying is required for Gertrude to find out about her son's inner mentality. The mother and ...