Throughout William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet with the same types of behaviors and frustrations in humans that Sigmund Freud saw at a much later date. When the relationship between Hamlet and his mother is analyzed Freud's oedipal complex theory comes to mind. The oedipal complex is a theory created by Freud that states that "The child takes both of its parents, and more particularly one of them, as the object of its erotic wishes."(51) Because of this desire to be with the parent of the opposite sex, a rivalry is formed with the parent of the same sex. In the play, Hamlet shows great hostility toward his uncle Claudius because his mother's remarriage to him. Hamlet sees his mother's remarriage as disgusting and sees murdering Claudius as a way of freeing his mother of an incestuous marriage as well as avenging his father. Hamlet and his mother's relationship is also shown as more sexual than the traditional mother son relationship because of Hamlet's language and private interaction with his mother, as well as his rivalry toward Claudius for his mother's attentions. This suggests that Shakespeare saw the behavioral characteristics of the oedipal complex in humanity that Freud did and chose to display them through the relationship of Hamlet and his mother.
Hamlet's inner monologues reveal much about what he is feeling and also aid in understanding the nature of the oedipal complex within the character. Aspects of the oedipal complex can be seen and applied to Hamlet's first soliloquy. Here Hamlet speaks to himself, divulging his personal expression of torment. The main cause of Hamlet's torment is the remarriage of his mother to his uncle and not the death of his father. This is shown when Ham...
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Due to the fact that Shakespeare expresses the character Hamlet and his relationship with his mother to fit in with the oedipal complex suggest the oedipal complex was seen long before Freud. When looking at Hamlet and Gertrude's relationship indicators of the oedipal complex including Hamlet's language and private interaction with his mother which fit in with Freud's theory that "a child should take his parents as the first objects of his love." (52) Using Freudian theory to read Hamlet is something that Shakespeare never intended but it matches the theory because Shakespeare most likely saw the same behaviors and frustrations in humankind that Freud did.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.
Sigmund, Freud. Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis. Trans. James Strachey. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1961.
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to predict how they will treat other women in their life. Hamlet is a good
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The path one takes to seek a personal reward may result in the treacherous acts that causes devastation for others. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the moral corruption that occurs between family members causes animosity that results in their downfall, and eventually their ultimate demise. More specifically, the tainted view of an individual in a family may result in the downfall of the other family members involved. Evidence of the tainted view of a family member causing undue harm can be found in the relationship between Hamlet and Claudius, Hamlet and Old King Hamlet, and Hamlet and Gertrude
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