The cause of Hamlet’s rage would be Gertrude, for her hasty marriage and her mourning are not long. One of Hamlet’s feelings throughout the play is rage. In another situation where Hamlet assumes she remarries for her sexual needs, “O shame! Where is thy blush? Rebellious hell, if thou canst mutine in a matron’s bones, to flaming youth let virtue be as wax” (3.4.82-84). Gertrude is express as a sexually active woman in the play as Hamlet’s Soliloquy tells, “She married O most wicked speed, to post” (1.2.156). Overall her ignorant trait causes her death.
Another situation that she is unaware of is when Claudius and Laertes make plans to put poison into Hamlet’s goblet, which ends up killing her. She is not aware that King Hamlet’s murder was by his own brother Claudius, even when all of Denmark was already suspicious of Claudius. Throughout the play, she is known as an ignorant character because she is not aware of anything that is happening. Thus showing how she is trying to help both her loved ones by distrusting one and lying to the other. After Hamlet stabs Polonius to his death, Gertrude goes to Claudius, “Branish apprehension kills the unseen good old man” (4.1.11-12).Īfter Hamlet tells her that he is only acting mad, she lies to the king when he asks if Hamlet is fine, “Mad as the sea and wind when both contend” (4.1.7). She is also confused because she wants to love two people who dislike each other, Hamlet and Claudius, so she tries to satisfy both men.