Hamlet and his Mother

Hamlet's relationship with his mother is tense throughout the first Act. He seems to listen to her, yet he clearly doesn’t respect her decision to re-marry. It is obvious that he listens to her, because when Claudius and Gertrude are telling him to stay, and not go back to school, he says he will “obey you, madam” to his mother (1.2.124). This implies that she is the only one he will listen to; he won’t obey his step-father/uncle. Thus, it is obvious that he still treats her as him mother; however, he no longer respects her. In his soliloquy he calls her a beast, and accuses her of incest. In his eyes, she has betrayed the late King Hamlet, his father. This is clear since in his soliloquy he mentions that she had cried for his father, but then a few months later, she is married to the uncle. Personally, I agree with the version of Hamlet we are watching in class. I think Gertrude was in love with Claudius even before the king died. At first I thought she just wanted to be queen, but after reading scene 5, I think it’s possible that she was cheating on Hamlet’s father with Claudius. The Ghost says she is “seeming-virtuous” which implies that it was an act—an illusion (1.5.53). I do realize, however, that the movie-version that we watched in class could have swayed my mind. I think Gerturude’s relationship with Claudius is strange, though, and I would love to find out what exactly happened—although I doubt I will. However, I’m not sure what to think of her relationship with Hamlet. I can’t tell if she cares about Hamlet or not. Did she help poison the king? I wonder because she tells Hamlet to stay. Is she just doing what Claudius tells her to? Does she actually want Hamlet to stay? Is she plotting with Claudius? All of these questions make me sympathize with Hamlet. His relationship with his mother must be incredibly complicated. Although I don’t agree with his sweeping declaration that “frailty thy name is woman,” I do understand his frustration. He sees his mother as weak; she re-married. Perhaps he thinks it was to keep the crown. I think he just doesn’t understand why she would move on from a god (his father) so quickly. I wonder if his relationship with his mother affects his relationship with Ophelia. We haven’t actually seen the two of them interact with each other yet, but hopefully Ophelia disobeys her father. Overall, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, confuses me quite a bit. I want to know how she was involved in everything, and what exactly is going on.