The Destruction Of Hamlet's Mother In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, is torn apart by the two men she loves: her son Hamlet and her new husband, King Claudius. Hamlet loved his father and does not want to let go and move on from his death so quickly. He is not prepared nor is he willing to forget so quickly about the man and king his now dead father used to be. Claudius, however, usurped the throne of his brother, married his wife, and now wants everyone to forget about Hamlet Sr. entirely and move on with their lives. Gertrude is caught in the middle of these two men, and when Hamlet is in mourning, she says to him, “good Hamlet, cast thy knighted color off” (I.iii.70). She is explaining to her son to stop wearing black clothes of mourning, and to get up and begin to return
to his normal life as though nothing bad ever happened. This statement demonstrates that Gertrude is torn between Hamlet and Claudius; while she has moved on to her new husband, it still hurts her to see her son so sad and heartbroken. She is both joining Claudius and telling Hamlet to move on, as he requests, but she still views her son as “good Hamlet,” a boy who has done no wrong, but rather is caught up in a mess. This indecisiveness of Gertrude truly exemplifies Hamlet and his commitment to those her matter to them. When his father died, Hamlet maintained his love for him and desire to help him, and does not let the contradictory belief of others get in the way of his purpose of doing what he would like him to do.