Gertrude's Strengths And Weaknesses

The Strength of Gertrude in Hamlet Murder, treason, and deceit are common themes in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. Throughout the play the women are often viewed as weak in character as the men easily dominate them and steal the spotlight through their manic actions. The time period in which Shakespeare would have written Hamlet, women would have been treated with little respect. One woman that shows her feminine power is Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet. Through the play it seems that Gertrude has committed more bad deeds than good, but with further examination, her actions can be seen as altruistic and loving. Queen Gertrude in Hamlet reveals her true strength through her selfless actions for both Hamlet and Denmark.
She loves Hamlet and underneath her shallow exterior, shows great emotion when he confronts her. Gertrude truly does not know what she has done to make Hamlet so enraged, and it is only when he tells her that she understands her actions to be wrong: “O Hamlet, speak no more: Thou turn'st my very eyes into my soul, And there I see such black and grained spots As will not leave their tinct” (III.iv.88-91). There is no reason to believe that Gertrude is lying to appease Hamlet as she confesses that her soul is blackened. Gertrude is portrayed as loving and loyal throughout the play; she stayed loyal to Hamlet after he lashed out on her in the closet by appeasing Claudius. These loving qualities that are subtly shown in Gertrude prove that she is selfless in her actions for Hamlet and
Gertrude is truly a hero of the play because she continuously sacrifices herself for the love of others and Denmark. She selflessly told Hamlet of the poison so he then knew for sure Claudius was corrupt: “The drink, the drink! I am poison’d!” (5.2.304). With this information Hamlet was able to justifiably kill Claudius for the murder of his mother Gertrude. Just before her death Gertrude is able to save the land of Denmark from the deceitful and murderous King Claudius. This action on the Queen’s part is beneficial to all the people of Denmark allowing them to have a fair chance with their newly chosen ruler young Fortinbras. Hamlet is a tragedy in which there needs to be a heroic, selfless character, and in the end this is the Queen