Table of ContentsIntroductionExamination of the Guilt of Queen GertrudeConclusionReferencesIntroductionIn William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", the guilt of Queen Gertrude in the death of King Hamlet has been the subject of much discussion debates. Although his guilt or innocence in this case is questionable, his culpability in numerous other deaths is also worth investigating. Queen Gertrude is a woman visibly guilty of poor judgment and weak character. His decisions, based largely on desire, lead to his death and that of others as well. A defense of Gertrude in the matter of King Hamlet's death is only justified if she knew that Claudius had poisoned King Hamlet, and there is nothing in the text to indicate that she knew of the murder. Even the ghost of King Hamlet himself did not implicate Gertrude in the murder, but only asked Hamlet to "leave her to paradise and the pangs of his own conscience." Queen Gertrude's lack of action and critical thinking proves her culpability not in the death of King Hamlet, but indirectly in every subsequent death in the play. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Examining the Guilt of Queen Gertrude We first realize in Act 1, Scene 2, that a lack of judgment is Gertrude's main character flaw. As the mother of a grieving son, Gertrude should have been more sensitive to Hamlet's feelings. Her hasty marriage to Claudius, her former brother-in-law, left Hamlet humiliated and disgusted by what he perceived to be an incestuous act. Gertrude showed a marked lack of sensitivity towards Hamlet's feelings regarding such a marriage. She seems defined by her desire for social status and affection, tending to use men to satisfy her self-preservation instinct, making her dependent on the men in her life. She displays an inability to think beyond what is normal and expected. Although she loves Hamlet deeply, she is a shallow and weak character who seeks affection and status more urgently than moral rectitude or the truth. She never shows the ability to think critically about her situation, but seems to gravitate instinctively toward seemingly safe choices, such as when she immediately runs to Claudius after his confrontation with Hamlet in his closet. Gertrude is at her best in social situations as shown in Act 1, Scene 2 and Act 5, Scene 2, when her natural grace and charm seem to indicate a rich, rounded personality. At times she seems to possess only grace and charm, lacking any depth or intellect. According to essayist Angela Pitt, "Although her character is not an excellent example of moral strength, she betrays no feelings of guilt regarding her husband's death. She is primarily concerned with her current good fortune, and neither dwells on death. from her husband nor analyzes his motivations in taking another. Although Gertrude demonstrates a lack of sensitivity toward Hamlet's feelings, her actions lead the audience to believe that she would not intentionally hurt Hamlet, as her participation in the murder of King Hamlet surely would have done. . Hamlet, however, is not convinced of his mother's innocence and remains blinded by her jealousy and hatred towards Claudius. John Wilder's commentary on Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude highlights Hamlet's ill feelings toward his mother: "Coming so quickly after the death of her first husband, Gertrude's remarriage seems to him [Hamlet] to show a callous indifference to respect for the memory of his father andhis old expressions. of love now seem false and hypocritical. Moreover, by marrying an obviously inferior man at a mature age, she revealed a desire for sexual gratification that her son found repulsive” (“Wilder,” 73). Hamlet feels that his mother should pay more attention to him during the mourning period rather than marrying so quickly after King Hamlet's death. During Act 1, Scene 2, he is further hurt when she also asks him to move on emotionally: GERTRUDE. Good Hamlet, cast aside your knightly color and let your eye be like a friend on Denmark, do not always look with your veiled eyelids for your noble father in the dust, you know that it is common, everything that lives must die, passing through nature into eternity. Gertrude's exhortation to Hamlet reveals her lack of empathy and concern for her own son's feelings and her inability to understand why he is angry. Hamlet expresses his indignation at Gertrude's hasty marriage during his first soliloquy: HAMLET. O, wickedest speed, to post with such dexterity to the incestuous sheets! Gertrude proves herself to be a loving mother, but a parent who cannot read her son's behavior. In responding to Hamlet, she says that it is common for all men to die, but it is not n whatever man is dead, she should realize it is Hamlet's own father. At this point, Gertrude has the opportunity to ask Hamlet what he is implying and to confront the problem. , but she's the kind of woman who died wants everything settled without much thought. Someone might wonder if Gertrude is actually hiding information about a murder, but in Act 2, Scene 2, there is. evidence that Gertrude really did not participate in the plot of Hamlet's suspects to be Claudius's accomplice in the father's murder. It is therefore unfortunate that Hamlet does not hear Gertrude's private conversation with Claudius. Act 2, scene 2, in which she gives her theory on Hamlet's anger: GERTRUDE I doubt it is none other than the main one, the death of her father and our hasty marriage. Her comments show that Gertrude is probably not complicit, since she makes no reference to any assassination plot. Her worst offense appears to be her insensitivity to her son's feelings and her lack of investigation into the true causes of his anger and melancholy. Finally, in Act 3, Scene 4, Hamlet forces Gertrude to see what he is accusing her of: murder, incest and adultery. It reaches her conscience, as her words indicate: GERTRUDE. You turn my eyes towards my very soul, and I see spots there so black and so grainy that they do not leave their color. She could admit to a mistake in marrying Claudius too early, but not necessarily anything worse. Hamlet really wants to put Gertrude on a moral path when, in Act 3, Scene 4, he says to her: HAMLET. Don't go to my uncle's bed. Assume a virtue, if you don't have it. His next question: “What should I do?” is more rhetorical in nature than a direct address to Hamlet. She does not consider changing her behavior, reflecting only on her conflict between pleasing Hamlet and her husband, an impossible feat at this point in the drama. Once again, Gertrude missed an opportunity to assuage some of Hamlet's anger by showing sympathy and concern for his feelings. Gertrude cannot be considered a completely insensitive and unsympathetic mother. She tried to protect Hamlet from Claudius's anger in Act 4, Scene 1. When describing Hamlet's murder of Polonius to Claudius, Gertrude covers up Hamlet's indifferent attitude by saying that he cried afterwards. Gertrude's attempt to smooth over a difficult situation may indicatethat she realizes that Claudius is not all that he seems, but does not answer why she saw no fault in Claudius up to this point. Again, the answer lies in the fact that Gertrude does not possess the insight necessary to distinguish sincerity from deception in those close to her. It is only at the very end, when Gertrude realizes that the cup contains poison, that she faces the truth and the audience finally experiences the pleasure of her complete understanding. Before this moment, the irony of this scene is that Gertrude actually offers the wine to her son to aid and encourage him in his challenge against Laertes. At this point, she must finally admit that Claudius is guilty of murdering King Hamlet and attempting to murder his son. When she warns Hamlet not to drink the wine, she again shows her compassion for her son and her wish to protect him from danger.Did Gertrude marry so quickly after King Hamlet's death? If she was innocent, why wasn't her grief for King Hamlet longer? The answer may lie in its superficiality. Marrying Claudius allowed her to maintain her usual place as queen, as well as her social status. Gertrude needed this position and this man to feel complete, so she hastily married after the death of King Hamlet. She loved Claudius naively and without doubt. She followed his instructions by spying on Hamlet, even though she probably knew Hamlet better than Claudius. There is speculation as to whether Gertrude and Claudius engaged in an adulterous relationship before King Hamlet's death, but his lack of suspicion towards Claudius after the king's death only adds to the mystery of their relationship. Harold Bloom gives his opinion on Gertrude and Claudius in his book "Hamlet, Poem Unlimited": "Shakespeare does not solve the riddle of how far back the relationship with Claudius goes, but we can assume that Gertrude needed comfort each time that the warrior king Hamlet had gone to kill the first Fortinbras or strike the Polacks on sledges on the ice” (Bloom 58-59). Although we learn that Claudius adored Gertrude, he did not love her enough to resist the attempted murder of her son, whom she adored immensely. Throughout the play, Gertrude is given many opportunities to make connections between Hamlet's behavior and the events around him. but she never fully realizes the truth until the very end. The mousetrap installed by the players offered the queen the first major opportunity to draw conclusions about her husband's death. His reaction to the play, however, gives the audience no sense of guilt on his part. Instead, she reacts not to the death of the player-king, but to the protest of the player-queen: “The queen protests too much, it seems to me. His comment reveals his own belief that a widow would easily want to remarry quickly. Gertrude's reaction also shows that she is unaware of Claudius' guilt. She questions Claudius about his hasty exit at the end of the mousetrap: “How is my lord? As an accomplice in the murder of King Hamlet, Gertrude would surely have known the reason for her husband's dismay. She does not leave with Claudius to discuss the implications of the play, but retreats to her own closet where her crucial confrontation with Hamlet is about to take place. Gertrude is truly ashamed of her behavior after Hamlet throws daggers at her. She asks him not to continue talking to her like this. She says he turned his eyes to her very soul, where she now has stains so deep they can never be erased. But Hamlet isn't done yet. He expresses his apprehension that she continues to live withher current husband and sleeping in his greasy bed, “cherishing” him and making love to him. Gertrude again urges Hamiet not to speak to her in this cruel way again and says: “These words like daggers enter my ears. Bt Hamlet continues his condemnation of his mother. After the ghost appears and speaks to Hamlet, Hamlet urges his mother to confess her sins to heaven and repent of what she had done in the past, and also to avoid committing more sins. Gertrude then said: “O Hamlet, you have split my heart in two. But Hamlet still does not give in. He said in a mocking tone that she would still not hesitate to make love to her bloated husband, that she would allow her husband to "pinch her cheek for free", that her husband would call her his "mouse " and that she would allow him to give her "a pair of rough kisses." Thus during this interview, Hamlet exposes in crude and offensive language the fragility of his mother. This confrontation marks a change in Gertrude's attitude. As Polonius falls to the ground, murdered by Hamlet, the queen cries: “Oh, what a bloody and reckless act! To this, Hamlet's response is: "A bloody deed - almost as bad, good mother, as to kill a king, and marry one's brother." » Gertrude is taken aback by the accusation: “Like killing a king? » Gertrude seems truly astonished by Hamlet's statement but continues by saying: "O Hamlet, speak no more, you turn my eyes to my soul, and there I see black and grainy spots which do not leave their tint. » Is his comment an admission of guilt or proof of his awareness that Claudius may be a murderer? In Act 4, Scene 5, Gertrude declares her guilt over Polonius' death, since she knew he was hiding behind the arras and did not alert Hamlet of his presence. She fears disaster at every moment and feels her guilt spreading at will. His face changed drastically from its previous joviality. Hamlet's revelation, she is fearful and distrustful where she was once happy and kind. Conclusion Although Gertrude's character does not reveal evidence of murder, she is arguably guilty of selfish ignorance, ignoring the evidence and failing to think critically about the events around her. the action and judgment prove her guilty of the eventual deaths of Laertes, Hamlet, and herself, and perhaps the deaths of Polonius and Ophelia. One of her biggest and first mistakes was marrying Claudius without considering Hamlet's feelings. She wrongly believed that she could separate from her father without having negative consequences on her relationship with her son. Another serious consequence that she could have avoided through thoughtful action is the deaths of Polonius, Laertes and Ophelia. By discerning Hamlet's melancholy as the product of his grief, she could have alerted Polonius and Laertes to Hamlet's true disposition and spared their lives, thereby saving Ophelia from her madness and death. Even after Hamlet's accusation in his closet, Gertrude still does not see the truth about Claudius until the moment of his death. Throughout the play, she seems more concerned about being caught between the two men in her life than the possibility of having done something immoral. Her goal is to keep everyone happy, including herself. Even though her lack of action and intelligence has been the cause of many problems, she refuses to sacrifice her own happiness for Hamlet, at great cost to many. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a custom essayIn the end, the queen is guilty of not seeing what was happening to Hamlet and doing something about it./632/)