Hamlet Essays (1135 words) - Characters In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet

Hamlet Gertrude is the beloved wife and mother in the play, Hamlet. Many say that she is responsible for Hamlet's agony in not being able to proceed with his revenge, and Claudius' hesitation to guard himself through the destruction of Hamlet. She is the woman who was "my virtue or my plague, be it either which," for both of her loves, and is herself a very ordinary person. Seemingly beautiful and warm-hearted, she has no mind of her own, and is vulnerable because she tends to be pulled by whatever force is the most powerfully aimed at her at any moment. Because of her character and personality, she turns to the "sunny side of life" and hates facing pain or any type of conflict. Also, the fact that Claudius carefully hid his crime of killing her husband from her shows her lack of criminal daring and his concern for her peace of mind. When things worked out so that she was able to marry her lover, however, she was happy and only wanted all the difficulties of the past to be forgotten. Hamlet's refusal to forget the death of his father or to forgive her of incestuously remarrying Claudius are the only things that stop Gertrude from being perfectly happy; they remind her of the continuing difficulties of the position she is in, which, because of her incredible naivet?, she had hoped would end by changing the ordinarily accepted form of marriage. If she could only get Hamlet to accept her new husband as his new father, she could completely put away the past and start thinking about the present comfortably. She therefore begs him to remain at Elsinore so that this reconciliation can take place ("I pray thee, stay with us. Go not to Wittenberg." Act 1, scene 2, line 123). But as she watches her wonderful son only become more and more mentally deranged as the months pass by, and sees his offending behaviour beginning to disturb even the patience of Claudius, her happiness starts to wither. She hopes that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will be able to bring him out of his depression ("...And I beseech you instantly to visit / My too much changed son." Act 2, scene 2, lines 37-38). Then she wonders of the possibility that Hamlet's "madness" might actually be a result of his love for Ophelia rather than her own behaviour and hopes that Ophelia will be able to cure him ("...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..." Act 3, scene 1, lines 42-45). Her spirits rise for a moment when she sees Hamlet's excited involvement with the play and his attentions to Ophelia, but then they immediately drop as Claudius rises from the performance in anguish. Finally she is pushed by Polonius to do the one thing that she has avoided for all these months: to meet Hamlet privately, discuss his behaviour, and try to understand its source. Probably the only reason that she gives in to this idea is because she sees it as the last resort to "curing" Hamlet. Hamlet's immediate charge towards her, "Mother, you have my father much offended," (Act 3, scene 4, line 13) confirms her worst fear the she is responsible for Hamlet's state of mind, and she tries to put a quick end to their talk, rather than having to face Hamlet "condemning" her. But she is so shocked that she gives in to Hamlet's violent rage and ends up releasing onto Polonius, who is hidden behind the arras, who Hamlet then kills. Hamlet's continues to insult her, and she first answers as if her conscience is innocent: "What have I done that thou dar'st wag thy tongue / In noise so rude against me?" (Act 3, scene 4, lines 47-48). She avoids criticising herself so completely, that she actually believes she has nothing to answer for, except for the effect her hasty remarriage has had on her son. But as Hamlet continues to draw her attention to the antipathy of her remarriage, she gradually comes under his spell and begins to feel guilty for the way she has acted. Even though the appearance of the ghost, which she cannot see, convinces her that Hamlet is mad and that his verbal abuse towards her was the result of increased melancholy, she cannot forget the feeling of guilt he had given her. When Ophelia