Hamlet

2 Pages 497 Words

In the closet scene (act III scene IV), Shakespeare is suggesting that Gertrude has been in an adulterous relationship with Claudius while still married to King Hamlet, and could have been involved in the plot to have him killed. In the closet scene, Shakespeare has Hamlet “turn his mother’s eyes upon her soul” (act III scene IV). To this, Gertrude experiences quite a bit of distress. In this scene, Hamlet is trying to get her to confirm her knowledge of his father’s murder, provide more proof of Claudius’ guilt, and to see how deeply she was included into the plot to have the king killed.
During this scene, Gertrude goes through many feelings. When Hamlet first comes into her closet, she is haughty and accusing. When Hamlet threatens her, she suddenly fears for her life, is horrified when he kills Polonius, and then is panicked as Hamlet demands her not to let Claudius tempt her back into his bed. At the end of the scene, she has Hamlet believing that she is on his side, and will not tell Claudius of what they have spoken about, though we know that as soon as Hamlet leaves she runs to tell Claudius everything that had happened.
This scene is a sequence of great revelations which weaken Gertrude’s resistance to Hamlet’s condemnation of her actions. This scene is what leads you to believe that Gertrude had been in an adulterous relationship with Claudius, because one can not simple get over the death of a husband-the man you swore to love and be with forever-and be able to be intimate with another man with-in the month. She agrees to do everything that Hamlet asks of her, though she quickly breaks that promise as soon as he leaves. This reveals Gertrude’s tendency to be dominated by powerful men and her need for men to tell her what to think, what to do, and how to feel.
This might explain why she would have turned to Claudius so quickly after her “beloved” husband had died and also why she quickly adopted Ham...