Hamlet's Relationship With Women

3 Pages 676 Words

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet is closely affiliated with two women, Ophelia,

the love of his life, and Gertrude, his mother. Hamlet’s relationship with these women

may be more complex than the whole drama itself. He has a number of mixed emotions

running through his mind dealing with both women. And as if being stressed out about

the women in life about whom you care is not enough to kill a man, he had to worry still

about grieving his father’s death, avenging his father’s death, whether or not the ghost

was going to take his soul, and he has to undermine the constant assaults coming from

Claudius and Polonius. All of these things added up making Hamlet’s relationship with

Ophelia and Gertrude a complex string of emotions, while making Hamlet’s life a living

hell.

Looking first at Hamlet’s relationship with Gertrude, we see that he has three

basic emotions toward her: disgust, anger, and love. The death of King Hamlet was a

tragic event in Hamlets life. The last thing he would have wanted was for his mother to

“abandon” what was left of the immediate family ties and marry with his uncle less than

two months after the tragic death. Hamlet describes the hasty marriage as not only a

bloody deed, but also an incestuous deed. Hamlet, In Act III Scene 4, became very angry

with Gertrude as he reminded her once again of the terrible deed that had been done. In

her “closet” he yelled out obscenities at her trying to open her eyes and make her feel the

shame and sorrow that she should have been experiencing. After Hamlet upset Gertrude

and turned her eyes into the blackness of her soul, he started to show sympathetic, loving

feelings. Even though she had done something so terrible “as kill a king and marry with

his brother” Hamlet shows signs of forgiving her, after all she is his mother. A huge

reason for Hamlet’s for...