Why Is Hamlet Morally Wrong

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Hamlet is a complex play with many morally questionable characters. William Shakespeare writes many of the characters to be a mix of good and bad. One of these characters is the queen, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. In Hamlet, Gertrude does many things to alienate her son including not communicating with Hamlet, marrying hastily after her husband’s death, and repeatedly betraying Hamlet by taking Claudius’s side. When King Hamlet dies, Gertrude hurts her son by grieving for only a short time- if at all- before remarrying to her husband’s murderer. The spark that started the flame of Hamlet’s madness was Gertrude’s obvious lack of grief for her late husband.
Like Niobe, all tears:--why she, even she--
O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of …show more content…

He is also very hurt by the short time frame between Gertrude’s marriage and his father’s- unbeknownst to him at this point- murder. While Claudius’s and Gertrude’s marriage would most likely still hurt Hamlet, it would’ve hurt less if she bothered to talk to him. Hamlet is very upset at his mother’s remarriage, Gertrude doesn’t say anything to him. Hamlet also does not feel comfortable speaking to Gertrude about his thoughts.
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good.
But break, my heart, for I must hold my …show more content…

Because Gertrude does not explain or talk to Hamlet, he is forced to draw his own conclusions and hide the hurt she has caused by her actions. “Without her knowledge, Gertrude causes the main problem in Hamlet’s life, and she does so only thinking about herself and her adulterous ways… She tends to not think beyond her own pleasure, which causes more problems than she notices, especially with her son, Hamlet” (Queen Gertrude Character Analysis). While Gertrude does not mean to do harm, she ends up causing the major problem in the play anyway. While she causes emotional turmoil to those around her, it’s never her intention. One scholar, Orah Rosenblatt, said in her Gertrude in Hamlet, Critical Analysis Essays that, “Gertrude is a woman who means no harm but whose poor judgment contributes greatly to the terrible events that occur”. Gertrude’s flaws do not allow her to see what she is doing to those around her. Her flaws also make her avoid seeing the bad in people she cares about, such as with Claudius and Hamlet. Gertrude shows weakness of character when she consistently allows Claudius to treat Hamlet badly. Gertrude does not defend Hamlet when Claudius wants to spy on him. Claudius often uses Polonius to spy on Hamlet for him, which ends up being a tragic mistake that leads to Polonius’s

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