Our own unique deaths are perhaps the greatest form of personal expression and independence of will that humans can achieve, and it sets us free. The women in Shakespeare's Hamlet are characterized more by the words of others than by their own actions and words, hinting at submission and weakness of will and mind. Gertrude and Ophelia appear frequently throughout the play, but they are never the focus. Their involvement is always centered around Hamlet, which also suggests that they are only in the play to provide depth to Hamlet's character, but this is not the case. Hamlet, in his madness, shouts both at Ophelia and Gertrude, angry at them for reasons they cannot fathom. They both seem to be easily manipulated and shallow, but each has a certain control and defiance that cannot be contained. Ophelia, ever obedient and considerate, still possesses a measure of freedom. Her ultimate act-her suicide-asserts her independence, her exercise of free will, and her defiance of those who would control her. Politics and alliances drove Gertrude into her marriage to Claudius. Her ultimate act-drinking the poison-is also one of defiance, as Claudius commands her not to drink, but she does. Although both women die because of Hamlet's and Claudius's actions, it was by their own actions they perished, under their own power and influence. This demonstrates their strength of will, that although they were pawns for most of their lives, they always had great power over their own existence, even though they didn't realize it until the end.
Polonius's daughter, Ophelia, was deeply in love with Hamlet. Hamlet was very ambivalent about his feelings, ranting at her one minute and declaring his love for her the next. Some say that he didn't love her, saying, "Hamlet does throw himself into Ophelia's grave, but clearly this is more an act of aggression against Laertes than of reconciliation with the dead Ophelia" (Bamber, 71). Others are certain that he did, asserting, "I do think, with submission, that the love of Hamlet for Ophelia is deep, is real, and is precisely the kind of love which such a man as Hamlet would feel for such a woman as Ophelia" (Jameson, 161). Although Hamlet was ambivalent, Ophelia loved him, a sign of her conviction. It takes some measure of courage to love someone, especially if he may not love her in return.
When Laertes warned Ophelia of "the trifling of [Hamlet's] favors," she took it to heart (Shakespeare, I.iii.6). Ever dutiful, when Polonius told her to stay away from Hamlet, she did. In Shakespeare's time, women had little power. The men in their lives had a great amount of control, first their fathers, then their husbands. Ophelia was subject to her father's will, and by extension, her brother Laertes's will. However, even though she is subject to her father and brother's whims, she still develops a remarkably independent life. She falls in love with Hamlet without their knowledge. She is not so independent as to defy her father, so she refuses to allow Hamlet to see her, even though it pains her greatly to do so. Hamlet's love is less certain, as he rages and insults her for this refusal. She bears it with composure. But when Hamlet kills Polonius, she too goes mad. Her father, murdered by the man she loves, and he doesn't care that he killed him. Some say that "Ophelia, with her willow tree and her flowers, serves as a representative of the natural world within the artificial construct of the court at Elsinore [... ] Just as Gertrude is kept from the natural process of mourning, Ophelia's love is muted and repressed by forces that overwhelm her" (Hamlet Conundrums). Ophelia, representing the natural world, gives away flowers and commits suicide, ending her life and bringing about the death of what's natural in the Danish court, leaving only the corrupt and artificial, the lifeless constructs of the unnatural reign.
Gertrude, the Danish queen, was put into a difficult position when her husband died. As a widow, she had no power whatsoever. The new king was unmarried, so she decided that marrying Claudius would be the best decision. Rather than mourn for years, she waited a month before marrying her brother-in-law. Hamlet saw this as detestable and unforgivable, but she didn't really have a choice. The politics of the court, in a way, forced her into the marriage. Claudius needed a queen, and Gertrude had experience. She was the natural choice. But she didn't know that her new husband killed her previous one.
Hamlet never forgave Gertrude for what he perceived as her betrayal of his father. Once he found out the truth of King Hamlet's death, he blamed his mother even more for marrying the murderer. Hamlet's irrational and impassioned behavior led to the stabbing of Polonius, which Gertrude witnessed. Rather than fall into hysterics, she defends herself as Hamlet throws out accusations, but she also understands his anger at her remarriage. None of this was her fault though, and she doesn't blame herself for any of it. Hamlet's anger, though understood, does not cause regret.
The only time Gertrude really shows defiance is in support of her son, during his duel. She toasts Hamlet, and drinks from the poisoned chalice meant for him. Claudius warned her not to drink, but his cowardice at his treachery being discovered stopped him from saving his wife. She responded with, "'I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me'" (V.ii.318), in her final act of defiance. Of course, she did not know it was poisoned, and we do not know what she would have done if she had known, but the fact remains that she died defying her husband. Throughout the play, she acted as the peacemaker and peacekeeper, keeping the family tied together. She only failed in that role when she died, exposing King Claudius for the traitor he was.
Although Ophelia and Gertrude are largely portrayed as weak, superficial, unintelligent people, they both have roles they play that may not at first be apparent. Gertrude is the peacekeeper. Ophelia loves Hamlet. They both care deeply for their families, and they both die in an act of defiance. These two women at the center of the Danish court were key players in the tragedy, causing anxiety and distress, worry and sorrow, each in their own rights caught up in a plot outside their control. Throughout the terrible happenings, they retained their independence, and died under their own power rather than under their male counterparts' power, as they had been all their lives. For the first and last times, Gertrude and Ophelia were free. Free of politics, free of men, free of life.
Works Cited
Bamber, Linda. Comic Women, Tragic Men. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press, 1982.
Jameson, Anna. Shakespeare's Heroines: Characteristics of Women (1889). New York: AMS Press, 1967.
"Ophelia and Hamlet." Hamlet Conundrums. UCSC, n.d. Web. 23 Apr 2012. http://elsinore.ucsc.edu/women/WomenOandH.html
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1992.
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