Father Son Relationships In Hamlet

Generally speaking, anyone who’s asked what the most important thing in their life is will say their family. It’s the most common trend among cultures, that family holds the most value. But what about the relationships inside families, the siblings, the cousins, even the in-laws? Some inner family relationships are bound to be more important or more valued than others. Of course the stereotype relationships, the father-daughter and mother-son relationships usually take on a more important role than other family relations. Shakespeare, for example, often emphasizes the unique connections between mothers and sons. His Hamlet portrays the effect conflict has on this bond through Hamlet and Gertrude which leads to one of the many themes of the
The root of the conflict is actually that Hamlet’s dad, and Gertrude’s husband, is dead and the way they try or not try to move on. Naturally, Hamlet is depressed and in a constant state of mourning and he doesn’t seem to be doing much to move on. However, Gertrude seems to have moved on just fine and she doesn’t feel the need to allow Hamlet the time he needs to grieve. Gertrude’s grieving process was short and sweet while Hamlet’s seems never-ending. What becomes a major theme in the play, that “all lives must die,” isn’t understood by Hamlet at this point and that is why he is having such a hard time continuing to live his life while Gertrude is not. (Hamlet 1.2.72) Gertrude understands that everyone must succumb to death but Hamlet is young, immature, and slightly naïve, he doesn’t get it. While he is wallowing in grief, she has moved on. Adding to the conflict, Gertrude’s quick recovery is due to her marriage to Claudius. It’s ironic however that Gertrude knows that this affects Hamlet so much yet she never considers changing, she says in the beginning that the cause of his hostility is her and Claudius’ “o’erhastey marriage.” (Hamlet 2.2.57) Hamlet’s feelings are so strong he even goes as far as to say he wishes “it were not so” that she is his mother. (Hamlet 3.4.17) Hamlet and Gertrude are quickly depicted as opposites, both is the sense that they are very different
Before Hamlet told Gertrude of the ghost, before he saw the ghost, Gertrude and Hamlet were in completely other worlds. Hamlet was depressed and Gertrude was have a great time. The conflict, while it did originally pull them apart, actually brought them back together in the end. It changed Hamlet and it changed Gertrude and they were finally able to agree and look past their