The Character of Gertrude

By Dorothy Cao

Gertrude is the one of the most controversial characters in Shakespeare's play. She uses her frailty as an excuse in order to make her strongly dependent upon the men. Her characteristics influence two main characters, Hamlet and King Claudius's ways of reactions. 

For being a mother of Hamlet, Gertrude is inert and indolent to investigate and coddle Hamlet's inside of thinking. When the old King Hamlet dies, Gertrude ought to be poignant and maudlin toward her beloved husband which Hamlet describes their relationship in his soliloquy: "...so loving to my mother that he might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face too roughly." (Act I, Scene 2) Before his father's death, Hamlet deeply believed that his parents loved each other sincerely. However, Gertrude marries with Claudius by a unbelievable speed, “within a month :/ Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears had left the flushing in her galled eyes,/ she married./ O, most wicked speed,/ to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!" (Act I, Scene 2) Her incestuous and preposterous remarriage with Claudius breaches the mores and also profoundly razes Hamlet's esteem for Gertrude since he is parched for her love during the mourning period of his father's death; however, Gertrude neglects Hamlet's aspiration of mother's love and opens her arms toward Claudius. When Hamlet is immersing in the grief of his father's death, Gertrude tries to appease Hamlet's melancholy by saying death is habitual and its unnecessary to feel upset toward the habitual events, "Do not for ever with thy vailed lids seek for thy noble father in the dust :/ Thou know'st 'tis common ;/ all that lives must die,/ Passing through nature to eternity." (Act I, Scene 2) Gertrude is try to make Hamlet cheer up, her start point is positive. However, her indifferent attitude toward King Hamlet's death demeans herself as a reprobate in Hamlet's eyes. Gertrude's ingratitude toward King Hamlet and dependency on Claudius make Hamlet vitriolic toward women, as he depicts: "Frailty ,/ thy name is woman."

In another consideration, Gertrude is a paradigm of mother for Hamlet. She wants to protect Hamlet and assure his position in Denmark is stable and fixed. When Hamlet is in "insanity", Gertrude is solicitous about his illness and asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to investigate whether Hamlet is okay or not. When Polonius is killed by Hamlet, Gertrude shows his maternity. She tries to protect Hamlet from being accused. When King Claudius investigates the truth behind the killing, Gertrude, the only witness, lies that Hamlet is in a deep repentance for killing Polonius mistakenly, "To draw apart the body he hath kill'd:/ O'er whom his very madness, like some ore among a mineral of metals base ,/ shows itself pure;/ he weeps for what is done." (Act IV, Scene 1) If Gertrude does not love her son-Hamlet, she won't lie on Claudius, the man she respects and admires. When Hamlet and Laertes is rivaling, Gertrude drinks the wine for Hamlet. When she recognizes it is venom, she alerts Hamlet: "No, no, the drink ,/ the drink,/ O my dear Hamlet,/ the drink, the drink!/ I am poison'd." (Act V, Scene2)

In conclusion, Gertrude has two sides of personalities. She wants to rely on the men to achieve her stable life. Claudius, in the play, is her source of dependency. In her another personalities, she wants to be a good mother for Hamlet, however, her nature of dependency on the men is the biggest inhibit for her relationship with Hamlet. Moreover, Claudius is the biggest antagonist of Hamlet. It is impossible for Gertrude to find a balance point between these two adversarial characters. 

Hamlet's thoughts about life and death

By Hang Chun Ke

Why doesn't the god let us stay with our loved things and people without being changed by the cruel time? In fact, we have the right to choose. However, sometimes our right stops functioning. What is the reason for that? We are being controlled and influenced by others. We can say it is the nature of life and we are suffering under the nature of the human beings. But life needs to be continued. Because of suffering each person has its own of living in purpose of leaving the suffering and pain alone. A lot people they just want to live without thinking the meaning of life. Hamlet is not belonging to this kind of people.

Hamlet thinks that life is originated with suffering, which people cannot avoid it. It is also natural and is created by god. It starts since you're born and end when you're died. But, Hamlet has a new interpretation of people's life after death. In his to be or not to be soliloquy he said that when people died they never return back and tell us what is there look like. Hamlet thinks that we don't know whether death is a great way to end our suffering or our suffering is continued after our death in another place that we never know. It is contradict, but it gives all readers a pause. Making them to think about that the death is not the only good way to end people's life from suffering on the earth.

I am also as curious as Hamlet of knowing what the true meaning of life is. Who can give us an exact answer? However, the time keeps running and the seasons keep changing from year to year. We have no ability to change the nature. The only thing we can do is getting used to the nature and searching for happiness.

The Character of Ophelia

By Hang Cheng Zheng

Ophelia is a girl who will surrender under a stronger desire and force. She is the product of Medieval period which prohibits the growing of self-esteem of the women and make them dependent on the men. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia receives love letters from Prince Hamlet and even she did show her affection and predilection toward Hamlet, Ophelia asks her "god" father, Polonius, and brother, Laertes, for advices: "He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders of his affection to me...I do not know, my lord, what I should think." (Act 1, Scene 3) In Ophelia's dialogue with Polonius, she shows her total compliance and obedience toward Polonius and Laertes. When both of them are dubious toward Hamlet's love for Ophelia and think is unctuous and spurn Ophelia and Hamlet's future development, "I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, have you so slander any moment leisure, as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look to't, I charge you: come your ways." (Act 1 Scene 3) Ophelia doesn't exhibit her objection toward Polonius and Laertes, she just obey their thoughts: “I shall obey, my lord." (Act 1, Scene 3) 

Ophelia ought to become Hamlet's antidote for his tragedy; however, she becomes another factor for Hamlet's calamity. Hamlet loses his confident for the women's moral and credits after his mother, Gertrude's remarriage with his father's murderer, Claudius. Gertrude's benumbed feeling toward King Hamlet's death increases Hamlet's revulsion toward her as well as other women. However, Hamlet still have different prospective toward his lover, Ophelia. He has believed that Ophelia is unique among hundreds of thousands of women. Hamlet retracts this thought after discovering Ophelia stand by Polonius as well as Claudius' side. Hamlet gives Ophelia chance to make up her mind again, but she chooses to obey her father for sure. Ophelia's dependency toward men makes Hamlet believes certainly that all women are the same category of creature, they rely on men in their life and become a parasite later on. 

When Polonius is killed by Hamlet by "accident", Ophelia's frail character makes her lose hope and loathe facing her father's death. For Ophelia, Polonius is her whole world and her support for living, of course, she doesn't yield to acknowledge the reality and escape to the world of fantasy. Maybe in Ophelia mind, she notices Polonius' death has to do with Hamlet, but if she explores more, she won't be able to face the fact that her beloved Hamlet kills her most respect Polonius.

In conclusion, Ophelia's indecisive character affects not only herself but also Hamlet's. Her dependency on Polonius and Laertes makes her has no decision over her love and life since she obeys these two men entirely. Polonius and Laertes control over Ophelia's love affair with Hamlet and charge Ophelia to spy Hamlet's truth of madness increases Hamlet's hatred of women. Ophelia makes Hamlet's getting closer toward his calamity.

A Horrible Wife and Mother

Jeffrey Aikens

Gertrude is a heartless, careless and naïve women. Gertrude is the type of person who doesn't understand the meaning of true love. Two months after her husband died she married his brother Claudius. This broke Hamlet's heart because he couldn't understand why his mother would marry a man in such haste and when Hamlet tried to explain to her his true feelings she just dismissed him, “Do not forever with thy vailed lids seek for thy noble father in the dust. Thou know'st tis common; all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity.” This speech tells me Gertrude is a bad mother and a terrible woman to be in loved with.

Gertrude is so careless in her actions it's shocking. She has long forgotten her role as a mother and as a result her actions have led Hamlet to resent her. She should have came to Hamlet and had a conversation to get everything out in the open if this was done they would have been closer for it but no she claimed he was mad and had other people look into the situation for her when she knew the problem, “And for your part, Ophelia, I cause of Hamlet's wildness so shall I hope your virtues will bring him to his wonted way again, to both your honors.” This proves Gertrude as a human has no compassion for her family.

In many cases many people may conclude that naïve people in certain situations are innocent but in Gertrude case her being oblivious to Claudius actions and Hamlet's feelings makes her more corrupt then Claudius because in many ways she is placating to the corruption and chaos. Hamlet speaks on this when he saw the ghost of his father, “Mother, for love of grace, lay not that flattering unction to your soul that not your trespass but my madness speaks. It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, while rank corruption, mining all within, infects unseen.” A corrupted soul always inhabits humans who are blind to the truth.