Focus on Gertrude

The essay "The Character of Hamlet's Mother" by Carolyn Heilbrun appears in the Bloom anthology.  (Its original publication was in Shakespeare Quarterly in 1957.)  Helibrun takes an in-depth look at Gertrude, alleging that the character "has not received the specific critical attention it deserves."  What follows is an interesting discussion.

Heilbrun agrees with the critics who see Gertrude as vital to the action of Hamlet.  In the essay, she cites Bradley, Granville-Barker, and Dover Wilson.  The traditional reading of the character is that Gertrude is "frail"; that is, she is weak and lacks both depth and vigorous intelligence.  She is seen as "well-meaning but shallow and feminine."  By that last descriptor, critics define Gertrude as "incapable of any sustained rational process, superficial and flighty."  Heilbrun is opposed to that summation.

Heilbrun uses Shakespeare's text to analyze Gertrude.  She notes that Gertrude's lines are "concise and pithy in speech, with a talent for seeing the essence of every situation presented before her eyes."  Heilbrun describes numerous instances of this in Hamlet.

• Gertrude's opening speech to Hamlet about his excessive grief
• Her welcome to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
• Her chiding of a verbose Polonius as he describes Hamlet's madness
• Her comments to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and to Ophelia in Act III
• Her commentary on "The Mousetrap"
• Her description of Ophelia's death, longer than her usual out of kindness toward Laertes
• Her words during the duel

It is the chamber scene with Hamlet that shows us Gertrude's true fault, according to Heilbrun.  It is not her superficiality; it is her lust.  Hamlet accuses her, and Gertrude admits it openly.  This is no weak woman who fell victim to her brother-in-law's charm.  She is a strong and passionate woman who allowed her sin to get the better of her.  This flaw is central to the action of the plot.  It allowed Claudius to slip into the throne of Denmark, thereby stealing it from the rightful heir, Hamlet.  "Gertrude's flaw of lust made Claudius' ambition possible, for without taking advantage of the Queen's desire still to be married, he could not have been king."

The essay gave me pause to reflect on the various interpretations of Gertrude that I have encountered.  They have ranged from excessively old to seemingly too young, from ineffectual to powerful, from innocent to conspiratorial.  Even her death scene, which I was discussing with a student shortly before typing this, has been all over the interpretive map.  Is she entirely unaware of the poison in the cup?  Does she drink to prevent her son from being poisoned?  Does she drink in order to commit suicide?  Does she drink from the wrong cup and then merely pretend to be dead?  (That one was a directorial gaffe, methinks.)  All considered, Gertrude is an important character, perhaps much maligned, perhaps misunderstood, but certainly not to be ignored.