Has history been unfair to Gertrude?

The question, "Has history been unfair to Gertrude," in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' is a complex one. Numerous critics and directors have put forward many different interpretations, meaning that some must be unfair, or all would be correct. Althought minor, the character of Gertrude is essential to the plot. The reason for many of the events happening in the play can all be traced back to her actions. The kings death may have been due to Claudius' love for her. He admits his love and devotion by saying that she is: "My virtue and my plague.

"

And confirms she is at least part of the reason for the murder: "those effects for which I did the murther/ My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. " All Hamlets actions are due to her, as he wants to acenge his father and her 'betrayal' of him. Although she is such an important character, she is not a dominant one. She appears in only 10 scenes. Gertrude never tells anyone to do anything and relies heavily on the other characters.

Get quality help now

writer-marian

Verified writer

Proficient in: History

4.8 (309)

“ Writer-marian did a very good job with my paper, she got straight to the point, she made it clear and organized ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

She seldom appears without Claudius, unless he instructs her to do so, as in the closet scene.

Ironically as Rebecca Smith appreciates "She is easily led and she makes no decisions for herself, except, ironically, the one that precipitates her death. " She relies on Claudius and Hamlet to act for her, but for such a weak character she has a massive effect on the plot. There are two main interpretations on Gertrudes character, which completely contrast each other.

The first is of her as a sexual, sensual woman, often dishonest women, who is strong and only thinks of herself. The second is that she is a innocent, naive women who loves both her son, husband and ex-husband, but who is very open to guidance from the people around her on how to act.

We can use the text in may ways to discuss these opinions. What Gertrude herself says, what others say about her and how the other characters make her act around them. I am going to focus on three scenes and how they can be interpretated. The first scene I wish to focus on is Act 1 Scene 1. We first see Gertrude sitting at the kings side, formally presented to us as the "imperial jointress" of the kings power, by Claudius. The body language at this moment is very important to how the audience sees Gertrude for the rest of the play.

As we know first impressions are the most important and this is the audiences first impression of Gertrude. In the Olivier production of 1948 Gertrude is lolling on her throne towards the king. She looks very regal but also very sexual and sensual. They make eye contact when the king says "now our queen" and hold hands in a very sexual way. This first glimpse of Gertrude conflicts Branaghs 1996 version, where the king and queen very informally talk to the court, standing, next to each other in unity.

They hold hands, but the appearance is of love not a sexual chemistry. She is presented as very affectionate and warm and she is dressed as a bride, which portrays her as a pure newly wed. As Shakespeare never has many stage directions this is all left to the director on how he films this, meaning it is an excellent way for the director to get his view to the audience at an early stage. Another thing we see in this scene is Gertrudes first association with Hamlet.

From the text she does seem to be very fond of Hamlet, though as Granville-Barker says "whether she really much wishes him to stay at Court we can hardly tell, for it is under Claudius' eye and influence she makes the plea. " Although this is true and most of the things she says are influenced by Claudius she does anyhow ask him to say, meaning she must feel a lot for him, especially after he gives her such a harsh answer. Many believe Gertrude to be the strong character here, as Aguirre comments, "The reappearence of these elements in Hamlet (symbolism of cup, water and cloth).

Creates intriguigng parrellels and suggests that Gertrude, not Claudius, possesses sole authority to choose the new king"but Gertrude clearly takes a smaller role in this trend setting first scene, letting her husband do the speaking until it is her turn to speak. This on itself shows that Gertrude is not the real strength behind the monarchy. There is no evidence of her domineering, indeed the evidence points otherwise. My own interpretation on this scene is closer to that of Branagh, that the queen and king are lovers but it is not purely sexual, they do love each other, as they have risked a lot of the court looking down on them for the incest they are commiting, as defined by the Church of the time.

I also cannot see any evidence in the text other than Gertrude caring for the wellbeing of Hamlet, and she seems genuinly concerned for him in this scene. The next scene that is so important, possibly the most important of all, is how we interpret Gertrudes actions in the closet scene. Looking at the text it is very hard, without stage directions, to create an accurate production of what is supposed to happen, but on the other hand, it is very easy to suggest exactly what your opinion of Gertrude is through this scene.

We can quickly decide whether Gertrude is the sexual, oedipal person that so many believe or the caring mother that others, from how this scene is directed. As the scene itself is set in Gertrudes closet, or bedroom it invites sexuality into the scene. Olivier uses this to full scale with the bed a symbolism of the vagina and the whole scene oozing with sexuality.