Hamlet: Analysis of Queen Gertrude

For this post, I decided to focus on a character that I feel does not receive enough recognition throughout the play. It was really difficult to pinpoint the different emotions and needs of Queen Gertrude throughout the play. I always questioned her honesty and to me she seemed a little naive and caught up in a very controversial love. She caused a lot of uncertainty and doubt in her character because Shakespeare never really gives the full truth and detail like he does with Hamlet or Claudius. The play seems to raise more questions about Gertrude than it answers. Some questions that I faced while reading Hamlet were: Was she involved with Claudius before the death of her husband? Did she love her husband? Did she know about Claudius’s plan to commit the murder? Did she love Claudius, or did she marry him simply to keep her high station in Denmark? Does she believe Hamlet when he insists that he is not mad, or does she pretend to believe him simply to protect herself? Does she intentionally betray Hamlet to Claudius, or does she believe that she is protecting her son’s secret? Some of these questions I answered while forming my own opinion of her, but they are merely assumptions and I think that is how Shakespeare wanted it to be. The side of Gertrude that seems to stand out immediately is a woman who is defines by her desire for affection and lust, as well as by her tendency to use men to fulfill her instinct of sexual desire. This of course would make her extremely dependent on the men in her life. I feel she longs for the attention and loves the feeling of being desired. By knowing this important quality about her, I assumed that she was involved with Claudius, her late husbands brother, before Claudius poisoned him to take over his throne. With regards to her being an accomplice or even aware of Hamlet Sr.'s murder, I am still confused about that. When Hamlet finally questions his mother in her bed chambers, he says many harsh things to her. He basically shows a picture of both of her husbands and compared aloud the horrible characteristics of one, and the magnificent qualities of the other. He tells her that at her age she is not to be looking for lust and sexual attraction. She is supposed to be thinking with her senses and make responsible, logical decisions about the future of her kingdom. Gertrude responds with a familiar metaphor saying how Hamlet's words are making her look into her own soul, and she sees black and molded spots where her heart used to be. I can't decipher whether this is because of guilt of the murder of her late husband, or she is realizing that her love for King Claudius is only physically based. She never exhibits the ability to think critically about her situation, but seems merely to move instinctively toward seemingly safe choices, as when she immediately runs to Claudius after her confrontation with Hamlet. She is at her best in social situations, when her natural grace and charm seem to indicate a rich, rounded personality. At times it seems that her grace and charm are her only characteristics, and her reliance on men appears to be her sole way of capitalizing on her abilities.