How Is Gertrude Selfish

Gertrude is the queen of Denmark. She married into the Danish royal family through her late-husband Hamlet, and ruled beside him until his untimely death, which she does not know was caused by Claudius. Within a month after Hamlet’s death, Gertrude broke the vows she made to Hamlet and remarried Claudius, his brother. While this makes Gertrude look like a shallow, power-hungry, and unfaithful character, she remarried mainly in an attempt to preserve her well-being and as a result of her poor judgement. Gertrude is neither a cruel, manipulative character, nor is she a saintly mother. Rather, Gertrude is a naively innocent, trusting, and inherently caring individual.

While Hamlet views Gertrude as a purely selfish individual, her dependent and …show more content…
This character flaw indirectly leads to the deaths of both Hamlet and his mother. Hamlet knew of Claudius’s murder of King Hamlet for a long time but convinced himself not to take action. Although hindsight is 20/20, Hamlet should have been more cautious knowing that Claudius had already murdered someone and is capable of killing again. While Hamlet had the opportunity to avenge his father’s death, he was reluctant to act. Gertrude was warned by Hamlet about Claudius’s treachery and murder of the king and told to “repent what’s past, avoid what is to come, and do not spread the compost on the weeds to make them ranker” (3.4.171-173). Yet Gertrude did nothing and remained by Claudius’s side. Gertrude remained dependent and took no action during the play’s entirety. The main difference between Hamlet and Gertrude’s idleness is that Hamlet eventually saw the error of his ways. Hamlet’s final actions were to avenge his father’s murder by killing Claudius, to forgive Laertes, and to give Fortinbras his “dying voice” (5.2.393). Gertrude’s final words, on the other hand, were “I am poisoned!” (5.2.341). While well-intentioned, Gertrude, like Hamlet, rarely took