At no time,
though, is there evidence that Gertrude was even aware of the murder. Hamlet did not even know anything until the
ghost appeared to him. Also, Gertrude
evinces no such need to justify her actions and thereby does not betray any
sense of guilt. Her reaction to the play Mousetrap demonstrates the fact that she was completely oblivious to
Claudius’ involvement in the murder. Her irritation to the play is not in the
illustration of killing the king, but that
Hamlet "hast thy father (Claudius) much offended." She is
displeased because Claudius is unhappy.
However, she does not know why Claudius is so offended with the play,
that causes him to stop it so crossly, saying, “Give me some light: away!” Additionally, in Act III Scene IV, in
reaction to Hamlet’s insinuations, Gertrude is oblivious to the cause, saying,
“What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue/ In
noise so rude against me?” It is her mere involvement with Claudius that gives
Hamlet the impression that she is in on the murder, but she has no idea that
the death was even a murder.
Gertrude does shows remorse for the incestuous nature of the marriage that parallels her
own, described by the Player Queen in Act II Scene II:
“The instances that second marriage
move
Are base respects of thrift, but none of love:
A second time I kill my husband dead,
When second husband kisses me in bed.”
It is to the circumstances of
the second marriage that Gertrude notices and dislikes, she does not seem
aroused by the murdering of the King by his brother. The regret and discomfort of her union with
her deceased husband’s brother, her son’s uncle, now causes her grief when she
realizes its connotation. Looking back
on it, she realizes that it was not the right solution. But, although she is equally responsible for
her sudden marriage to Claudius as he is, and although the marriage may have
been indirectly responsible for making a “monster” of Hamlet, Gertrude is never
seen in the play inducing anyone to do anything at all monstrous.
Despite her weakness, Gertrude is a concerned mother
who is by no doubt, fond of her son. The
deep affection she has for him is commented on by Claudius in Act 4, "The
Queen, his mother, lives almost by his looks." Not only is she prepared to listen
to him when he storms at her, proof that he is sufficiently close to her to
have a right to make comments on her personal life, but she is unfailingly
concerned about him. In Act I Scene II
of Hamlet, Gertrude
asks Hamlet, “Why seems it so particular with thee?” Since death is common
to all, she asks, “Why does Hamlet seem to be making such a particular fuss
about his father’s death?” She is very concerned with Hamlet’s well being, but
she dismisses his despair and ravings as simply grievances for his lost father.
Gertrude realizes how painful it is to Hamlet to have lost his father, but thinking
this is the only cause of his grief she assumes it best for him to move on:
“Do not for ever with thy
vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust:
Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.” (I.II, Gertrude)