Gertrude

Gertrude married her husband’s brother

Gertrude is an important female character in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. She is Hamlet’s mother and the widow of the late king. Shortly after the king’s death, she married Claudius, the dead king’s brother and her brother-in-law. 

By marrying again quickly, she has escaped the status of a grieving widow and has been able to maintain her high social position at court. Sexual pleasure also seems to play a role in the new marriage. According to the ghost of the deceased king, Claudius has exploited Getrude for “shameful lust” (1.5.51) and the two have thereby made sure that “the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest” (1.5.88-89).

In the beginning, Gertrude does not seem to be troubled by this decision. It is possible she believes herself to be in love with Claudius. However, in the second act, Gertrude describes her marriage to Claudius as “our o’erhasty marriage” (2.2.60). This i...