Gertrude

(above) Filmstill from the French silent film Hamlet, Henri Desfontaines (1908), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Queen in Hamlet

Edwin Austin Abbey (1895), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Detail of one of the nine bas reliefs

John Gregory, Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC (Architect: Paul Cret).

Hamlet and his Mother; The Closet Scene

Richard Dadd (1846), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gertrude is thought to have been based on the character Gerutha from the Scandinavian legend Amleth, a source text that mirrors many of the plot points in Hamlet. Notably, Gerutha in Amleth is convinced to marry the Claudius counterpart, Feng, because he convinces her that her former husband, Horvendill, hated her. Gertrude in Hamlet has less clear motivations, and her feelings for Claudius are more up in the air.

Gertrude's relationship to Hamlet is characterized by both her personal feelings towards him (as his mother) and her political motivations (as queen). Laertes advising Ophelia not to fall for Hamlet in A1S3 could very well apply to Gertrude as well:

"He may not, as unvalued persons do,

Carve for himself, for on his choice depends

The safety and the health of this whole state."

Gertrude's political power is perhaps the most tenuous in the play, even more so than Hamlet's in the wake of Hamlet Sr.'s death. This is due to her gender as well as her weaker claim to the throne compared to those blood related to the former king. In the following sections, I will explore some of the contours of Gertrude's opposing priorities as queen and mother.

Hamlet and His Mother, Eugene Delacroix (1830), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

-- Queen --

"I see and keep silent": Queen Elizabeth I

Shakespeare's closest reference to Queendom would have been Queen Elizabeth I, whose reign was coming to a close as Shakespeare's playwriting career was picking up momentum. Her status as "the virgin queen", unmarried ruler over England, is interesting to compare to Gertrude's relationship with Claudius, but most interesting to me is actually Elizabeth's tumultuous ascent to the crown. She was nearly put to death by her sister Mary multiple times due to her opposing claim to the crown, and throughout the early years of her reign her rule was often challenged due to her gender. Lady Macbeth's "unsex me now" feels relevant to thinking about Queen Elizabeth I's rule. Gertrude's savvy political maneuver in marrying Claudius saved her from much of this turmoil: the bloodline of the previous ruler stays largely intact, and Prince Hamlet's claim to the throne also remained active. Everything is kept "in house" so to speak.

A final feature of Queen Elizabeth I's reign that I'd like to point to is her idea of the two-body sovereign: a political body and a natural body. While the natural body may feel sympathy for her sister, Mary, the political body must not and instead prioritize the good of the nation. As I mentioned before, Gertrude has the competing interests of political leadership and motherhood. Therefore, Gertrude must do the same.

Elizabeth I Armada Portrait, formerly attributed to George Gower, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28313

-- Mother --

Aetas aurea (Golden Age), late 1885–86. Artist: Medardo Rosso

Elizabeth "Lillie" Buffum Chace Wyman, a feminist and abolitionist in the late 19th and early 20th century, viewed Gertrude in a far more sympathetic light than her predecessors in Gertrude of Denmark: An Interpretive Romance (1921). She explored Gertrude's character alongside an analysis of her own mother, figuratively linking the two.

Gertrude's relationship to Hamlet is fraught throughout the play, with her "redemption" occurring in her final moments, warning her son of the treacherous plot against him by Claudius and Laertes after she has been poisoned. She also doesn't tell Claudius about Hamlet's feigned madness, instead assuring him that he is truly mad. Check out pages 304-306 in the below article for some interesting theory on Shakespeare's portrayal of motherhood, especially as it relates to Gertrude specifically.

Where are the Mothers in Shakespeare? Options for Gender Representation in the English Renaissance

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