Gertrude Doesn't Fit Hamlet's Representation of a Woman Figure
Showalter suggests that women's melancholy was seen instead as biological and
emotional in origins and that Late Augustan stereotypes of female love-melancholy were
sentimentalized versions which minimized the force of sexuality (Showalter, 225-226). There are
both scenes and characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet that create what Butler calls “gender
trouble.” The play works to expose how gender is socially and semantically constructed. For
example, the play focuses on how women are portrayed in compliance with what men wish them
to be. This in turn means that Hamlet desires his mother, Gertrude, to be more objective, or
rather; he encourages a more submissive stance to cultural norms. Gertrude appears to be
opposed to Hamlet's wishes by acting in a social rebellion manner, by being more assertive in her
subjective feminine role. One way that the play Hamlet can be interpreted is as bearing the
concentration of Gertrude’s sexuality, and how she so eccentrically and suddenly conforms to
Claudius’s standard of the sexuality normative, illuminating how females should behave
according to Claudius’s standards. Claudius encourages her to forget quickly about mourning her
dead husband and to rather celebrate their marriage instead. One of Butler’s approaches
consisted of focusing on Hamlet’s obsession of his mother, Gertrude and her sexuality, and his
attempts to force her into a more female role. Hamlet encourages her to behave more as a
feminine should be, is constantly in surveillance of her, and yelling at her for not acting
accordingly. Therefore, Hamlet is busy with Gertrude, spying on her, and watching her behavior
closely and with a critical eye. Hamlet also tells Gertrude that she should grieve more for her
dead husband because it is a gender expectation of a womanly figure, to rightfully mourn the
death of her significant other, and not to celebrate her marriage with Claudius at such an
inappropriate time. According to Hamlet, Gertrude is not a woman, but rather a critique of one
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because of her inability of expressing frailty through the process of mourning. If we don’t get
Hamlet’s representation of a female, then it’s hard to interpret the play correctly according to
social norms regarding certain gender roles for the female. Gertrude does not measure up to
Hamlet's or society's ideal of a "mourning and frail" woman, causing Hamlet to monitor and
confront his mother. Hamlet therefore represents cultural surveillance in this particular instance,
or rather the monitoring of gender that is still present in the world today.
Gertrude had not mourned at all in response to the death of Hamlet’s father, well, at least
according to Hamlet and what was performed on stage. There were really no visible physical
signs of her mourning, which appeared unusual to Hamlet, so he claims to Gertrude, “Mother,
you have my father much offended” (3.4.10). Hamlet therefore is claiming that Gertrude is
offending her dead husband by not mourning over his death. Hamlet is therefore disappointed in
Gertrude’s inability to react normally to death, which creates a mysterious suspicion that she was
somehow related to Hamlet’s death. Hamlet is therefore speaking in place of his father, relaying
his dead father’s feelings of resentment or annoyance to Gertrude’s behavior. Gertrude’s
inability to cry is almost perceived as an insult to Hamlet and his father--on Hamlet’s accord of
his dead father’s feelings. Hamlet, for his father’s defenses, takes major offence to Gertrude’s
behavior to disregard her husband selfishly. Hamlet thinks that Gertrude should be punished
accordingly, by getting a talking to, to make her think more about what she’s done and how it’s
coming across to others around them--how she’s portraying herself as a queen. The only thing
that is stopping Hamlet from punishing her more is his father’s ghost’s wishes. He is also
indirectly criticizing her for marrying Claudius, Hamlet’s father’s brother, too soon and at an
inappropriate time. She’s basically not acting appropriately and tainting not only her reputation
as a mother, but also as a wife and a queen. Since she is a queen, she also need to keep in check
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how she is portraying herself as a women because people are judging her based on not only her
words, but also her actions. She wants to appear like a respectable person so that the commoners
can trust her to rule rightly and efficiently as a woman should. This does not mean eliminating
feelings and emotions. In some people’s eyes, crying and mourning represent a weakness to
control one’s emotions. But others see the role of a woman to do exactly that, to be able to
release certain emotions, to overcome these feelings and emotions through the act of crying and
mourning, to healthily overcome the death of a loved one.
In response to Hamlet killing Polonius, the Queen says “O, what a rash and bloody deed
is this! Hamlet replies back with “A bloody deed! almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king,
and marry with his brother”. (3.4.27-28). Shakespeare is being ironic here with his play on
words. Hamlet makes Gertrude’s words appear hypocritical. Hamlet uses Gertrude’s own words
against her, twists them, and causes the blasting bullet to ricochet back, destroying her argument.
Gertrude, the Queen, thinks Hamlet has himself rashly committed a murder, referring to the
stabbing of Polonius, commenting with surprise and enragement at Hamlet’s stupidity, Oh, what
a rash and bloody deed to commit, especially at a time like this. Hamlet was wrong in assuming
that the King Claudius was behind the curtain and accidently killed Polonius instead. But Hamlet
admits, yes “a bloody deed” indeed, and insults her back with, “almost as bad,” good mother, as
killing a king and marrying with his brother. Therefore he is being sarcastic with the use of
referring to her as “good mother.” He turned around her words, placing the blame on her,
indirectly claiming that killing an innocent stranger bystander blindly isn’t as bad as having the
king’s brother kill the king and marry his brother’s wife. This is essentially worse because the
murder was most likely planned out in advance and used for personal gain. The murderer know
who he was killing and for what reason. He is blaming her for aiding in an intimate murderer of
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someone she was supposedly supposed to love. But I guess that she took the “until death do us
part” vow literally, according to Hamlet’s reflections on Gertrude’s behavior.
Hamlet doesn’t want to remember the image of Gertrude hanging on Claudius, as if her
appetite for sex has grown. To him, thinking of his mother having sex with another guy besides
his father is disturbing, morally wrong, and just not womanly. In Hamlet’s soliloquy, he says,
Must I remember? Why, she should hang on him / As if increase of appetite had grown /
By what it fed on, and yet, within a month-- / Let me not think on’t! Frailty, thy name is
woman!-- / A little month, or ere those shoes were old / With which she followed my
poor father’s body, Like Niobe, all tears--why, she [even she] -- / O God, a beast that
wants discourse of reason / Would have mourn’d longer -- married my uncle, / My
father’s brother, but no more like my father / Than I to Hercules. Within a month, / Ere
yet the salt of most unrighteous tears / Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, / She
married -- O most wicked speed: to post / With such dexterity to incestious sheets, / It is
not nor it cannot come to good, / But break my heart. (1.2.143-157)
He uses the metaphor of “appetite” and “fed” to represent lustful sex, almost like succumbing to
the temptations of a forbidden sin, he sort of alludes to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden by using this wording. And within only a month after her husband’s death, she is
already married to Claudius, and Hamlet doesn’t even want to think about it because of his
disgust with Gertrude’s sexual tenacities and how her actions are such a disgrace to his family.
He wants Gertrude to act more like a woman should, by revealing her frailty. A little over a
month ago, she was following Hamlet’s father around, when he was still alive--where did that
Gertrude go--the loyal and devoted woman to her husband? Hamlet wants Gertrude to be more
like Niobe, crying tears. Niobe wept endlessly for her children, whom Apollo and Artemis
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killed. But no, she, even she, lacks the power of reason (which distinguishes men from beasts).
Gertrude instead decided to marry Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, his father’s brother. Hamlet claims
that Claudius is not similar or like his brother at all. Within a month, Hamlet has not seen
Gertrude cry hypocritical tears at all for her dead husband, leaving her eyes appear red and
inflamed. She married so quickly, pursuing an incestuous relationship with her husband’s
brother. The marriage of a man to his brother’s widow was so regarded until long after
Shakespeare’s day. Nothing good can come out of this situation, only the consequence of
Hamlet’s broken heart. Therefore, Hamlet is really looking at Gertrude’s decision to marry
Claudius in a negative and critical light, not understanding her reasons at all behind her quick
marriage. He also doesn’t get why she isn’t grieving or crying for Hamlet’s father, therefore
indicating suspicion of her intentions.
Hamlet therefore represents cultural surveillance in this particular instance, or rather the
monitoring of gender that is still present in the world today. Simply put, gender stereotypes are
generalizations about the roles of each gender. Gender roles are generally neither positive nor
negative; they are simply inaccurate generalizations of the male and female attributes. Since each
person has individual desires, thoughts, and feelings, regardless of their gender, these stereotypes
are incredibly simplistic and do not at all describe the attributes of every person of each gender.
They may even be true for you personally, but they do not apply to every single man or woman
alive. That is what makes them stereotypes; the fact that these things are considered, "the norm"
and expected of every male or female. Men and women are individuals; they are more than just
male or female. Our gender is only part of who we are; it does not define us as people.
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