Who Is Gertrude A Dynamic Character In Hamlet

The character of Gertrude is a character of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Hamlet. Gertrude is an indirect, dynamic character that steadily grows and reveals more characteristics as the play develops. She is one of the most questionable and mysterious characters; this causes her to be a central character in Hamlet. She is Hamlet’s mother; the Old Hamlet’s widowed wife; and Claudius’s current wife. Gertrude is a woman that lives in confusion. Her naivety is one of the leading things that seem to drive Hamlet’s hatred towards Claudius. She is also lustful, which ultimately causes Hamlet’s hate of women and erratic actions. She also seems to be in denial about the reality surrounding her; however, through all of this, Gertrude shows a sense …show more content…
In response to the political pressures of that time, she marries Old Hamlet’s brother, Claudius in what has been described by Gertrude herself as an “ o’erhasty marriage” (2.2.57). Unknowingly, Gertrude lights the match to Hamlet’s fuse. She seems to be naïve with towards this fact. Gertrude, unknowingly, causes the primary predicament in Hamlet’s life. This shows an egotistic side of Gertrude because she was not thinking about her son, Hamlet. She was thinking about the political pressures and her own pleasures with her incestuous relationship with Claudius. This displays her as being weak-willed and lustful, as Hamlet states, “Let me not think on't - Frailty, thy name is woman!”(1.2.146). She tries to make her son and husband befriend one another, unaware of the growing animosity towards the pair. Gertrude begins to ignore her son’s pleas, while complying with Claudius’s wants. This causes a strain to develop between her and Hamlet. Hamlet begins to despise his mother, which leads him to despise all women, too. She unwittingly leads Hamlet to a path of self-destruction because of her hasty marriage and inability to understand his grief. Her actions become a catalyst for Hamlet’s actions in the