Gertrude as an Innocent Victim or a Sexually and Morally Corrupt Woman

Gertrude as an Innocent Victim or a Sexually and Morally Corrupt Woman in hamlet Shakespeares character Gertrude is cardinal of much mystery in relation to this there are many questions that need to be answered to establish Gertrudes innocence through out the play. more or less examples of these questions are, was Gertrude in some kind of relationship with Claudius before the murder of her late Husband and did she know just about the murder before or after it was affiliated? Does she love Claudius or is it just her status that she is protecting? And did she ever love the late King Hamlet? At the beginning of the play when we learn about the late King Hamlets death and Gertrudes hasty marriage to his brother Claudius, we are faced with a question on the references awareness. It can be assumed that the marriage to her brother- in-law is purely because of Gertrudes weak personality, resulting in a dependency on men and the promoter of protecting her st atus and her power. We too question the love between the Gertrude and Claudius this is because there is no suggestion of a resemblance between the late King and his brother. The description that we are given about late King Hamlet maybe slightly distorted, as it is Hamlet who tells us this, and he is noticeably loyal to his father. It is also possible to argue that the love that the late King and Gertrude shared was not that strong as the only evidence to suggest this has been told to us by Hamlet and he maybe slightly bias. First we notice that Gertrude does not display her grief for her dead husband, and suspicions mount when she also tells Hamlet that he should stop his wo as well.... ...unishment upon death. She does not show any untoward hatred towards Claudius showing that she may not be aware of his cruel deed. In the end Gertrude drinks the embitter which can suggest many things that she has no knowledge of the poison or that she feels guilty of her late husbands death, and cannot carry on with the corrupt demeanour between her husband and her son, or that she is protecting her son and saving his life. When she attempts to consume the drink she is stopped suddenly by Claudius, but she replies I will my lord, I pray you pardon me, is this the request of someone who is guilty, someone who is tired of the fighting between her two dearest or of someone with no awareness of what was going away to happen? This for many readers is the critical part of the play in determining her innocence or guilt.