Women in Hamlet

As in Adam & Eve, history has proven time and time again that it is women who have always corrupted humanity. Ever since the shift from the ancient matriarchal society women have been depicted in a negative light in art and literature. Woman has been depicted as the catalyst for humanities corruption in western religions, from Christianity to Greek mythology. Whether depicted as innocent or malicious, woman always seems to corrupt man through indirect or direct methods. William Shakespeare's Hamlet is no exception to this rancid portrayal of women. Though they may seem ignorant of all the corruption around them, women are still responsible for the corruption throughout the play. Gertrude and Ophelia are both manipulative characters that entice men around them and ultimately become the motivation for all of the tragic events throughout the play. Shakespeare's Hamlet demonstrates the negative impact female characters make on the other characters as well as the outcome and plot.

The first case in which we see woman as the catalyst of the play is with Gertrude being one of the main motivations for Claudius murdering his brother. Once King Hamlet died, Claudius and Gertrude quickly exchange wedding vows, maintaining the stability of Denmark during the unexpected death of King Hamlet. Hamlet continuously alludes that he knows what Claudius has done, and seeks to make him feel remorseful for his actions. He achieves this goal through a reenactment of Hamlet's death, and the exchange of everlasting love between 'King Hamlet' and 'Gertrude', played by the actors at Elsinore. After this incident, it is Claudius' soliloquy that leads him to profess his true intentions to the reader about his motivations for killing his brother. Claudius confesses, "I am still possessed/ of those effects for which I did the murder:/ My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen." (3.3.53-55). Claudius clearly states that one of his three main purposes to kill his brother was Gertrude, therefore it was Gertrude's influence, whether she was aware of it or not, that led to Claudius' corruption as well as the King's death.

The unexpected death is a catalyst to the whole play. If it weren't because of Gertrude's actions, the sequence of events would not have continued. It was she that corrupted Claudius, giving him blind ambition and the desire to usurp the crown from his brother. Gertrude cannot be blamed for the death of the King, but she can be blamed for the seduction, and eventual corruption, of Claudius, which led to his death. Gertrude also allowed Claudius to marry her, allowing him to completely achieve his ambitions and secret desires.

A succeeding example in which a woman continues the chain of events is when Gertrude is stated as Hamlet's ultimate motivation for avenging his father's death. After Hamlet's father appeared to him, it was clear what he had to do in order to restore his own honor, and ultimately the honor of his family. Claudius and Gertrude had disgraced both Hamlet's, but Hamlet's main motivation to continue the corruption, which began with his uncle, is his mother. Psychoanalyst Freud introduced the Oedipus complex which is simply defined as the natural attraction that a son has for his mother, and the natural competition that he has with his father. Following Freud's idea, Hamlet seeks to rid of Claudius because of his attraction to his mother. It is Gertrude's actions that anguish and irritate her son in such