Gertrude and Ophelia are the only female characters in the play Hamlet
Gertrude and Ophelia are the only female characters in the play Hamlet. Gertrude is Hamlets’ mother, while Ophelia is the love of his life. Although presented in an alternative manner, they have a commonality in their love for Hamlet and the fact that they are outnumbered by male characters in the play (Leverenz, 295). In numerous circumstances, Gertrude and Ophelia are shown as victims, which is mainly triggered by their misrepresentation in the drama. Although many other factors define the role of these two women in the play, they come out as victims of love and ambition.
In Gertrude’s case, she loves two people who hate each other. The two characters competing for Gertrude’s love are; Claudius, the present King of Denmark and her recent husband, and her son Hamlet. While trying to satisfy both Hamlet and Claudius, Gertrude is seen as a victim of love. Gertrude’s love for her son is seen when she pleads with King Claudius, on her son’s behalf, and tries to convince him that Hamlet killed Polonius out of his madness. Gertrude’s actions are an act of true love as she tries to help both her loved ones (Shakespeare111). Out of her love for Hamlet, Gertrude acts as a shield and delays Hamlets murder by Claudius. This is significantly shown through Gertrude’s death after drinking from Hamlets’ poisoned goblet. Regardless of Hamlets continuous insults to her mother, she keeps on protecting and shielding him from Claudius. Even in her deathbed, her last words are full of love for her son as she says, “Here Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows. The Queen carouses to thy fortune” (Shakespeare, 88).
Gertrude remains married to Claudius, her late husband’s brother, despite understanding that her love and faithfulness to him was morally wrong. Her marriage to Claudia, barely two months after her husband’s death, shows Gertrude as a victim of love. This action sets Hamlet, her son, against her as he contemplates that sexual desires drive her actions, and she didn’t even mourn his late father’s death. This action also makes Hamlet detest the relationship between his mother and Claudius, regarding them merely as animals when he says, “making love over a nasty sty” (Günenç, 167). The depiction of Hamlet women as victims of love is a vital part of Shakespeare’s play because it helps keep the game interesting. Out of her love for Claudius and marriage to him, she causes her son Hamlet a lot of grief and determines the course of things within the play. For example, had she not married Claudius, he possibly would have succeeded earlier in killing Hamlet.
Another quality shown by Gertrude throughout the play is ambition, which drives most of her actions. During her husband’s reign as King of Denmark, Gertrude was the country’s highly beloved queen. However, after his death, she risked losing her position and being just an ordinary citizen. Despite all these, Gertrude was ambitious and determined to retain her job that she ended up marrying her late husband’s brother (Shakespeare, 63). Despite this marriage being highly disputed by her son, Hamlet, it allowed her to continue holding the position she had in the royal family even after her husbands’ demise. However, Gertrude’s desire was not only to retain the power to herself but also so that her son, Hamlet, could retain his rightful position as the next heir to the throne. In her mind and thinking, if she remained the queen, her son would be the prince and the next in line to be King. Therefore, Gertrude’s actions can be said to be a result of her ambition both for herself and for her son, Hamlet.
The other female character in the play Hamlet, is Ophelia, who is an attractive young woman and Polonius’ daughter. Throughout the game, Ophelia is displayed as a victim of the love she has for her father and Hamlet. Her actions are shown to be dictated by love which is seen when she agrees to her father orders not to accept Hamlets advances (Leverenz, 303). Additionally, Ophelia’s father asks her to betray Hamlet and to allow the King to assess the grief that Hamlet has. Out of love, Ophelia agrees to marry Hamlet who causes her to suffer especially after he starts mistreating her and eventually dumps her after taking away her virginity. Despite all the love Ophelia tried showing Hamlet, he rejected her and told her to “get to a nunnery” because he does not feel the same for her.
After Polonius died, Ophelia’s life became a disaster because her father was her advisor, who kept warning him not to have contact with Hamlet. Her subsequent madness is a result of the love she had for her father and her ambition to be with Hamlet. She could not understand how the person she loves is responsible for the death of her father (Leverenz, 297). The familiarity of her father’s demise and the fact that Hamlet had mistreated her, caused her mental breakdown. She is continually humming songs about vanished love, shattered promises, and grief. Later on, Ophelia died trying to pick up flowers from a riverbank. She tumbles into the water after a branch on which she is leaning on broke. She does not make any efforts to save herself from dying as her clothes, which are full of the water, drag her to the depths of the sea.
In Hamlet, the two female characters are portrayed as victims of love and determination, which is shown through their interactions with other characters in the play. Both Gertrude and Ophelia interact with Hamlet, who is the play’s main character, and it’s their divine love and ambition to please, protect him from danger, and be loved by him that determines their fate. Every action taken by Gertrude in the play is a result of the love she has for both her husband and son and her ambition to retain the crown as Queen of Denmark in order to safeguard the throne which she claims that Hamlet is its rightful heir (Günenç, 169). On the other hand, Ophelia’s actions, succeeding insanity and eventual demise are a result of the love she has for her father and her desire to be loved by Hamlet. Through this two great women, the play shows how women have been victimized by their love and ambition in the play.