Shakespeare’s Presentation of Gertrude in Hamlet

Gertrude is presented in the play as a “sensual deceitful woman” who is “vain and self-satisfied” with “strong sexual appetites.”

Gertrude is “a quiet, biddable, careful mother and wife… a compliant, loving, unimaginative woman whose only concern is pleasing others”.

Hamlet is considered the most ambiguous of Shakespeare’s plays, and Gertrude, though not nearly as ambiguous as Hamlet himself, nevertheless presents difficulties. When we are first greeted with her, the impression is that of someone who is exceedingly insensitive: for how else could she marry the dead king’s brother but two months after his death? However, as the play goes on, this impression begins to make way to a more three-dimensional characterisation which makes it difficult not to forgive her for her actions, as they seem genuinely not to come from any malicious intent.

Gertrude is undoubtedly a sensual woman; that is, she follows all too quickly her lusts and appetites, thinking little of the consequences. This is evident in the fact that she married Claudius so soon after her husband’s death. In her first appearance in Act I Scene ii, we find it hard to accept why she cannot understand her son’s reaction. Indeed, the language that she uses betrays this insensitivity: after describing death as commonplace, she says “If it be / Why seems it so particular with thee?” (I. ii. 74-75) She seems blind to the fact that the word “seems” could generate suspicion in Hamlet. If death is natural, then surely she should see that grieving is just as natural, and, by extension, that she too should be grieving?

Another example of Gertrude’s hasty desire for sensual pleasure comes in the final scene. Hamlet is offered a drink by Claudius, which he refuses and places on Gertrude’s table. Despite Claudius’s warnings to the contrary, she cannot help but drink from the poisoned goblet: just as in the too quick marriage to Claudius she does not consider the consequences but this time, in a final irony, she suffers directly as a result. This interpretation of her actions, however, is not without its difficulties. Before she drinks, she says “I will, my lord, I pray you pardon me.” (V. ii. 295) This may imply that she feels guilt for her actions and has decided to commit suicide. If this is true, it is nevertheless apt that she does so rashly: she dies as she has lived.

In the second act, in which Hamlet feigns madness, Gertrude and Claudius send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out what it is that troubles him. Whereas the king’s intentions are certainly devious, it seems less certain whether Gertrude’s are. Certainly, when encouraging the two courtiers to speak to Hamlet, she appears slightly manipulative. First, she flatters them: “two men there is not living / To whom he more adheres” (II. ii. 20-21), after which she says “If it will please you / To show us so much gentry and good will…” (II. ii. 21-22), and implies that it would not be prudent to disobey her. However, this manipulation is slight and gentle, and seems only a means to what she hopes will be a good end. When compared to the cynical language of Claudius (e.g. “Well, we shall sift him.” (II. ii. 58)), which has menacing undertones, Gertrude appears very genuine.

Despite her faults, Gertrude is hardly evil, and she can indeed be seen as a “quiet, biddable, careful mother and wife.” Throughout the play she is torn between her son and her husband, and it is clear that this tension comes largely from her desire to please everyone. Her only immoral deed comes before the opening of the play (that is, the “o’erhasty marriage”) and during the course of the action her only role seems to be a keeper of the peace – caught as she is precariously between Hamlet and his adversary.

That she loves Hamlet dearly is very clear. Unlike Claudius she is genuinely concerned with Hamlet’s well-being. After she and the king give Rosencrantz and Guildenstern their mission, upon seeing Hamlet she says, “But look where sadly the poor wretch comes reading” (II. ii. 168), and she seems genuinely distraught by what she sees. Gertrude’s problem is that she is unable to see the problems beneath the surface. She is concerned only that everyone should get on with each other, but perhaps if she was able to understand the root causes of Hamlet’s condition she might be able to help solve them. As it is, she is taken aback when Hamlet accuses her of murder, incest and adultery:

“thou turn’st my eyes into my very soul, / And there I see such black and grained spots / As will not leave their tinct” (III. iv. 90-92). This does not necessarily imply any involvement in or knowledge of the old king’s murder, but nevertheless it shows that Gertrude is finally facing the horrible internal reality that she has persistently tried to cover up with white lies.
Gertrude’s world view is based solely around love and comfort, and is too idealistic to admit complexities that don’t easily fit with this view. In Act III Scene i, she tells Ophelia she wishes “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, / To both your honours” (39-42). Despite the fact that earlier on she says that Hamlet’s condition is caused by “His father’s death and our o’erhasty marriage” (II. ii. 57), she seems to cling on to the unrealistic idea that the issue can be resolved in such a simple manner. At Ophelia’s funeral, Gertrude expresses little grief at her tragic death, but more regret that Hamlet and Ophelia did not get married: “I hop’d thou should’st have been my Hamlet’s wife: / I thought thy bride-bed to have deck’d, sweet maid, / And not have strew’d thy grave” (V. i. 237-239).

To her, love is the answer to all problems.

It may be rather strong to call Gertrude a deceitful woman, or “vain and self-satisfied”. All the lies she tells are meant to be for the greater good, and not for her own advantage, and any signs of vanity are evidence only of her simplistic understanding of the world and not that she thinks herself superior to others. But one can hardly doubt that she is sensual and driven by strong sexual appetites. For someone who seems to place love at the centre of everything, it is rather strange that (assuming she loved King Hamlet) she should be so quick to marry Claudius. Judging by her attempts throughout the play to set Elsinore back in equilibrium and generally to spread love, this can only be explained if her lust for Claudius was so strong that she had temporarily forgotten her love of King Hamlet. However, during the play-within-the-play she responds to the Player Queen that “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (III. ii. 236) and implies that it is not at all unusual for a widow to want to wed soon after her husband’s death. Her strong sexual appetite and her desire for comfort seems to override her sensitivity to those around her and her awareness of how she is perceived.

But this does not mean that she does not care about others. On the contrary, she cares very much about others; it is just that she likes things to appear happy on the surface even if they are not necessarily so underneath. For example, she wants Hamlet and Ophelia to marry, even if it is unclear whether they are truly in love. This, however, is innocent and is exactly what makes her quiet, biddable and careful: she will not risk angering someone if it means further disrupting peace. As Bradley observes, “the belief at the bottom of her heart was that the world is a place constructed simply that people may be happy in it in a good-humoured sensual fashion.” (Shakespearean Tragedy, p. 141) It is this idealistic belief that blinds her to the reality of the situation and that explains her behaviour.