Hamlet: #6

            In Act III scene iv, Hamlet enters Gertrude’s bedroom full of rage. He is mentally set on condemning his mother. He storms into the room and asks his mother why she has sent for him. She says that he has offended Claudius. He interrupts her and says that she has offended his father, King Hamlet, by marrying Claudius. Hamlet goes on to tell his mother how she has betrayed her former husband and verbally attacks her with accusations. What is interesting is that Gertrude originally sends for Hamlet so she can be stern with him, but once he enters the room she becomes a subordinate once again and relinquishes all of her power as a woman. She is so quick to adopt his point of view and says that Hamlet has turned her eyes onto her soul and that she does not like what she sees there. Hamlet is skillful enough to convince his mother that all of his madness is just an act and makes her promise not to tell Claudius. He also pleads that his mother not go to bed with Claudius. Although she thinks Hamlet is crazy when the ghost arrives, Gertrude promises to keep his secret. Gertrude has no leverage as queen. She has no power in her marriage and she has no power in her relationship with her son. Her purpose as a character in this play is to demonstrate the source of Hamlet’s madness: Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius.