Re-Viewing Gertrude as a Full Participant and Active Interpreter in Hamlet

Gertrude's Significance in Hamlet

Introduction

Queen Gertrude's role and death in Hamlet are often overlooked or minimized in both dramatic productions and critical analysis.
Traditional interpretations often reduce her to her sexuality or marriage to Claudius, impacting Hamlet.
Some views marginalize her as a woman who dies because of her love for men or as a mere origin for Hamlet's experiences.
More recent feminist interpretations seek to restore Gertrude and Ophelia to critical notice but still tend to focus on Hamlet.
Gertrude's death scene (5.2.233-43) is a distinct tragic moment that mirrors Hamlet's own trajectory. Her death, caused by her choice to drink poisoned wine, is not merely a part of Hamlet's tragedy but one of its tragedies.

Gertrude's Participation

Well-directed and acted productions of Hamlet often leave audiences convinced that Gertrude is a fully realized character.
Critical approaches that minimize her role create a disconnect between scholarly and audience experiences.
In Act 3, Scene 4, during her confrontation with Hamlet, Gertrude begins the scene under male influence but demonstrates independence before it ends.
Hamlet accuses Gertrude of a "bloody deed" (3.4.27-8), equating it to killing a king and marrying his brother, highlighting his view of her as a moral agent.
Gertrude acknowledges her sins and their impact on her soul: "Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul, / And there I see such black and grained spots / As will not leave their tinct" (3.4.79-81).
Hamlet's primary grievance is that Gertrude chose Claudius over his father.
Gertrude grapples with guilt and the status of her soul before God, intensifying the play's engagement with moral issues.
Hamlet's rage towards Gertrude is not simply a generic anti-woman device or solely based on anxiety about maternal sexuality.
Gertrude is part of a complex family dynamic involving Hamlet, his deceased father, and Claudius.
The Ghost's appearance on stage with Hamlet and Gertrude (3.4.93-127) emphasizes the mother-son-father confrontation at the heart of the play.
After the confrontation, Gertrude actively misleads Claudius, demonstrating her independence and moral agency. She promises Hamlet not to reveal his feigned madness and keeps this oath: "Be thou assured, if words be made of breath, / And breath of life, I have no life to breathe / What thou hast said to me" (3.4.181-3).
Gertrude's decision to keep her promise to Hamlet over Claudius shows her resolve and personal agency.

Gertrude's Interpretation

Interpretation is a key theme in Hamlet, often executed through the agency of the Queen.
Gertrude offers commentary on plot points and shapes dramatic action, such as Claudius's understanding of Hamlet's mental state and reporting Ophelia's death.
Shakespeare trusts Gertrude with shaping and analyzing the plot.
In Act 2, Scene 2, Gertrude identifies the cause of Hamlet's "distemper" (2.2.55) as his father's death and their "o'er-hasty marriage" (2.2.56-7).
Gertrude recognizes the problems of her marriage to Claudius; telling him that their marriage was "o'erhasty" (2.2.57) begins her recovery and direction of her actions.
She critiques Polonius's meandering speech, demanding, "More matter with less art" (2.2.96).
Gertrude tries to convince Hamlet to stop wearing mourning clothes for his father, stating, "Thou know'st 'tis common? all that lives must die" (1.2.70-72), engaging in a linguistic project with Hamlet.
She reports and provides commentary on Ophelia's death (4.7.134-54), with Gertrude expresses her personhood by publishing the younger woman's tragedy.
Gertrude describes Ophelia's death as an accident to Claudius and Laertes: "Fell in the weeping brook" (4.7.146).
She shapes their view of Ophelia’s death. She displacing blame onto inanimate objects: "her garments, heavy with their drink, / Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay / To muddy death" (4.7.151-4).
Gertrude commands Claudius's and Laertes's attention throughout an extended speech, alerting them to and shaping their view of Ophelia's death.
Gertrude is the first speaker about Ophelia's controversial death, describing it as an accident, and advocates as a 'lawyer' for Ophelia, with the stage direction tells us Gertrude is " scattering flowers" (5.1.227).
Gertrude's interpretation results in Ophelia receiving Christian funeral rites, as Gertrude gives a "great command", and ensures suspicion-free society perception of Ophelia and her death through interpretation and action.

Gertrude's Consummation

Gertrude's final moments are spent surrounded by men focused on a rapier duel.
She refuses Claudius's command not to drink, affirming her desire and ability to act independently: "I will, my lord, I pray you pardon me" (5.2.234).
She directly contravenes Claudius's speech after he tries to explain her fall with "She swoons to see them bleed" (5.2.251), Gertrude counters with "No, no, the drink, the drink! O my dear Hamlet, / The drink, the drink?I am poisoned" (5.2.252-3).
Gertrude dies, contradicting Claudius and addressing her son, possibly also addressing his father.
Her last words, "I am poisoned" (5.2.253), declare that she has been murdered by Claudius.
Gertrude's actions in her final scene highlight her growth, defiance of Claudius, and the exposure of his evil.
Her death, like her son's, underscores her status as a full agent and independent participant in the play's tragedy.
Gertrude's direct statement, combined with Claudius's aside and inaction, reveals to the audience that she has been murdered by Claudius.

Conclusion

Gertrude should be re-evaluated to recognize her complexity and importance within the play.
Responsible Hamlet criticism should include reading Gertrude as a full member of the dramatis personae, not as an appendage to male characters.
Gertrude's actions and critical reactions are vital for a full appreciation of Hamlet, and, therefore The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is just as equally a tragedy of the queen.