Shakespeares Portrayal of Hamlet: the Themes of Love and Marriage - Literature review Example

Introduction Marriage is a common theme in literature. The ideals of chastity, virginity and the decorum of widowhood were different in the Reformation period. The platonic relationship of friendship was given priority over the institution of marriage during Elizabethan era. However with the dawn of Protestantism the institution of marriage was given importance. Shakespeare was the pioneer in celebrating the sanctimonious ceremony of marriage. The sixteenth century England witnessed women as mother and wives. The Tudor England was rigid in maintaining the hierarchy of the society. Every man and woman must know his or her respective role and position in the society. Women were viewed to be submissive figures who were supposed to obey their husbands. In the first half of the sixteenth century men believed that wives must be well governed. Later on a new idea emerged to treat them like glass vessels that needed proper care. In both cases male chauvinism dominated the sphere of marriage. So, the reflection of the society in terms of marriage was reflected in Shakespearean drama. Marriage in Shakespeare was a community affair. Marriage and the concept of bustard child run parallel in The History of the Richard-III. The institution of marriage in Romeo and Juliet is negated due to the unavoidable conditions and the various conjugal complexities are in its heightened form in The Tempest. Shakespeare’s treatment of his female characters in respect to marriage explores the diverse aspects of the nuptial ceremony and conjugal life within the patriarchal system. Ophelia is portrayed as a character that is subjugated by his male counterpart, Hamlet. On the other hand Denmark is a Catholic country and so the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude raised the eyebrows of many people. One also finds Claudius admitting that his marriage to Gertrude is unconventional. Hamlet is appalled by this marriage. Hamlet is in fact shattered by his mother’s decision to marry Claudius immediately after the death of the old king Hamlet and he comments, “Oh most wicked speed, to post/With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (Shakespeare 208) On the other hand, Claudius emerges as an evil figure to Hamlet as he realizes his corruptive motives. Claudius performs the dual role of an evil male factor and saint. The incident of his mother marrying her father’s brother makes him cynical and he becomes skeptic towards women and he says mockingly, “Frailty, thy name is woman”. (Shakespeare, 207) To him female sexuality leads to moral corruption. The misogynistic attitude also hampers her relationship with Ophelia. The dreams and failures associated with marriage are seen through the interactions between the major characters in the play ‘Hamlet’ where one may essentially trace the tragic failure of the institution of marriage connected with negative emotions like hunger for power, jealousy and revenge. In the very first Act the readers come to know of the marriage between Gertrude and Claudius where apparently Claudius has married to meet his thirst for power of the throne, which even leads him to kill his stepson. Gertrude in Hamlet is seen as a woman who possesses the rare audacity to transgress the authority of male patriarchal society. She is a woman who can go to any length to grab political power and worldly pleasures. She is referred as the “seeming virtuous queen” by the ghost of the deceased king Hamlet (Shakespeare, 100).  In the beginning of the play Shakespeare treatment of marriage comes through the words of Hamlet’s father, “O wicked wits and gifts that have the power/So to seduce!-won to his shameful lust/ The will of my most seeming virtuous queen; O Hamlet, what a falling-off was there! From me, whose love was of that dignity/ That I went hand in hand even with the vow I made to her marriage, and to decline/ Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor/ To those of mine”(Shakespeare, 224). Thus the great playwright tries to prove that marriage is an entrapment of men by women who looks innocent from the outside. He was surprised at the way his brother could make he queen his wife to satisfy his lustful desires. This incident of faithlessness has influenced Hamlet’s decision regarding Ophelia. However, in the first two acts of the play one may see him as a caring mother trying to cheer up the disheartened Hamlet. She is honest enough to admit that the cause of his son’s madness is due to ‘his father’s death’ and her ‘hasty marriage’. The third act also reveals her concern for Hamlet and listens to the report of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with eagerness and hopes that his relationship with Ophelia would heal the wounded heart of her son. In the funeral ceremony of Ophelia she laments and says, “I hop’d thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife” (Shakespeare, 330). It is not that Gertrude loves Ophelia But she loves her son and always knows that Hamlet’s mental instability and fits of aggression could be neutralized by the innocence of Ophelia. Though Shakespeare introduces their affair on a positive note initially, he later shows that as the events unravel, Hamlet becomes indifferent towards his love. As Ophelia appeals to his love, Hamlet says, “No, not I! I never gave you aught” (Shakespeare, 262). Late Hamlet leads her to believe that she has been deceived and believed that he loved her while he did not. At this point he appears quite confused or rather, tries to show this confusion such that Ophelia would think he is mad. She is a romantic and fails to understand the reality of the situation. She has a trait that makes her character appears superficial.  In the last scene Gertrude saves her son by drinking the cup of poisoned drink. However, many critics have argued that she was in complete ignorance about the poisoned drink. If one takes this evaluation into consideration, one never finds her trying to ease her conscience rather she dies with words of affection towards her son. It is not wholly correct to interpret her in a negative light. She may have the desire for pleasures of the world or is greedy to seek love from Claudius but is not a person whose sins are beyond purgation. Her marriage to Claudius may be just to maintain her royal status and to secure her son’s future as a potential king. Gertrude is not a vindictive woman but her poor judgment leads to a fatalistic event. She is a woman who can be easily persuaded. She lacks the capability to take the right decision at the right time, which is her hamartia.  She does not possess the insight to distinguish between sincerity and deception. Claudius apprehends Hamlet may harm her but she convinces Gertrude that he is sending away her son to ensure her safety and she trusts her blindly. In the words of A. C, Bradley, ‘The queen was not a bad hearted woman, not all the woman to think of mother. But she had a soft animal nature and was very dull and very shallow. She loved to be happy…’ (Heilbrun, 201-206) Throughout the play this instinct operating within her was highlighted. She felt prey to his own follies. Claudius is presented as an antagonist to Hamlet. From the perspective of Hamlet, Claudius is a “Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!” (Shakespeare, 256) The ‘serpent’, for the sake of power has deceived his own brother. It is true that Claudius had usurped his own brother and ascended to the throne of Denmark. However, he was a political diplomat who could manage the internal and external affairs of the state with efficiency.  He diplomatically dealt with the threat from Denmark. In Act –III Scene-III he was seen admitting his sin for murdering the old king as he said, ‘o, my offence is rank it smells to heaven’ and asks if there is any way for redemption feeling guilty-“What if this cursed hand/ Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, —/ Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens/ To wash it white as snow?” (Shakespeare, 283) But he was a plotter and would remain vindictive as after murdering the old king he conspired against Hamlet and sent him to England. His name bears resemblance with the Roman emperor Claudius-I, who known as the epitome of the evil ruler in the Elizabethan times. The historical Claudius also made incestuous marriage to Nero’s mother, Agrippina (Barrett, 88). Hamlet also referred to this incident in his soliloquy in Act-III, Scene-II-“The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom” (Shakespeare, 281). Claudius, the father referred in public to Hamlet as ‘our kinsman, and our son’ in Act-I Scene-II. He was not hesitant to address to Hamlet as the ‘next in succession to the throne’. But his fear of being caught for the sin he committed by murdering the old king Hamlet led him to commit another crime of trying to assassinate the prince Hamlet. Claudius by nature was speculative. He was a schemer trying and a man with a deep insight. He tried to find out whether Hamlet was really caught into a fit of madness or infected by the germs of love. He came to the conclusion that Hamlet was fine. He made his chief counselor to investigate into the matter further by eavesdropping on Hamlet’s conversation with his mother. The attitude showed that Claudius did not have faith in his recently married wife. The conjugal bonds were weak. Ernest Jones explained it in terms of Freudian approach to Oedipal complex. Hamlet was suffering from the incest problem and thereby his detest for Claudius was “the jealous detestation of one evil-doer towards his successful fellow”. (Rosenbalt, 349-36) Claudius too at the end could not maintain his friendly approach towards Hamlet. It bears evidence to the Freudian theory of Oedipal complex. In Shakespeare, the awareness of the legal importance of marriage was dominant. Marriage and family was central to the institution of private life. It is the’ basic building rock of the society’ in all times. (Sokol and Sokol, 2-12). The statement opined is very true in respect to the drama as one finds that how the transgression of the family norms may lead to personal loss and cause wreckage upon the kingdom of Denmark. Each and every character puts the different notions regarding marriage forth. Claudius states that it is “mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage” (Shakespeare, 203). He refers to his marital state but with a dignity and a formal approach as he says, “In Our sometime sister, now our Queen”. (Shakespeare, 202) In Shakespeare’s time second marriage was not appreciated. In this context, it is stated, ”The instances that second marriage move/ Are base respects of thrift, but none of love”, (Shakespeare, 273). The second marriage of Claudius cannot be called a state of bliss. She derives the pleasures of love but dies a death when she understands the falsifications of Claudius. Hamlet has never favored this marriage, as it is based not on faith but corruption. A marriage to seek power as he addressing to Claudius says, “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm”. (Shakespeare, 298) The failure of Gertrude in understanding his son makes him negate the institution of marriage. However, nobody is freed from the entanglement of love and Hamlet hails, “I lov'd Ophelia! forty thousand brothers/ Could not, with all their quantity of love, / Make up my sum. What will thou do for her?”. (Shakespeare, 331) The Renaissance commonplace binds the man and woman into ‘one flesh’ then the question rise why did Claudius then marry his sister-in-law? As per the norms she was the old king’s better half. The Renaissance society was the birthplace of new ideas but it was not that flexible to tolerate the liberal attitudes of women. Romantic marriages were not entertained. The romantic marriages were preferred to the domain of the higher class even that was through letters. He accuses Ophelia in the nunnery scene and uses her as a tool for revenge. Ophelia too is shown as a typical conventional woman in complete submission to his male counterpart She is a victim to male subjugation and obeys her father and brother’s remonstrance against her relationship with Hamlet. Ophelia suffers and disconsolately gives up the dream of marrying Hamlet.  Hamlet’s strong belief in his mother’s sin makes him arrange for the play in the end such that his mother’s conscience might be aroused but Gertrude’s casual reaction is quite surprising. She simply says “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (Shakespeare, 275). In fact she fails to establish any association between the play and her incestuous marriage. She fails to realize that the player queen’s role applies to her life. Hence she is not aware of Claudius’ murderous instincts. In fact she is rather disturbed when Claudius leaves anxiously after the play. Act III, scene 4 shows the reaction of Gertrude as Hamlet compels her to see that she is guilty of incest, adultery and murder. She voices his time her fears: “Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul, And there I see such black and grained spots/As will not leave their tinct” (Shakespeare, 289). However Gertrude’s marriage does not hamper her affections to her son Hamlet. In fact she always defends him in front of Claudius especially while explaining the death of Polonius at the hand of Hamlet by mistake. When she alerts him while drinking the glass of wine it reveals how close she feels towards her son. Her lack of sensibility and capacity to see through the real intentions of Claudius has caused much of the trouble and deaths in the play. This is a major cost her marriage has caused to the people around her. Gertrude has lost her beloved husband just before one month and she also understands that her newly married husband, the former king’s brother Claudius does not bear noble feelings towards Hamlet. Thus, it is for her son’s safety that she takes such a decision. Hamlet’s presence with her, she expects, would give her a moral support. However, Hamlet does not decide to stay in Denmark in order to support his mother. Rather, he develops a kind of antagonist feeling against her and stays only to know the main reason behind his father’s death. The great philosopher Hamlet, through his mother’s actions, has reached the conclusion that ‘women’ and ‘frailty’ both are different sides of the same coin. This perception of Hamlet continues for the rest of the drama and his beloved Ophelia also suffers due to such behavior. With reference to Ophelia’s beauty he sys, “Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty form what it is to a bawd, than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness: this was some time a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once” (Shakespeare, 262). Shakespeare’s portrayal of Hamlet shows that he is a prudent man and unlike others he is not prejudiced or biased over his perceptions. In this context Hamlet has also become just a representative of the patriarchal society and completely ignorant about situations or tragic plight of a woman, who for the sake of herself as well as her loved ones’ survival, sacrifices herself. Therefore Hamlet is not only a story that explores the themes of love and marriage but also shows the negative psyche of betrayal and revenge. One might see the different attributes of man in respect to love and power. The marriage of Claudius to Gertrude is a marriage for power and convenience. The role of Claudius as a father at the end fails and he also degenerates into mere plotter and schemer. His repentance over the crime he has done could not save him. He, at the end of the final scene, loses the faith of Gertrude. The play delves deep into the relationship between a mother and a son. The social status of women of the Renaissance is highlighted. The complexity of love affair is also shown in the play. In other words, Hamlet is apparently a political novel but it is intertwined with the emotional distress that men and women go through relationships especially concerning marriage. Negative emotions like revenge, jealousy and greed take over the purity of the soul and thus corrupt the institution of marriage. Thus Shakespeare’s portrayal of love is far from inspirational. Works Cited Heilbrun, Carolyn, “The Character of Hamlet’s Mother”, Shakespeare Quarterly, (1957) 8.2, 201-206 Rosenbalt, Jason, “Aspects of the Incest Problem in Hamlet”, Shakespeare Quarterly, (1978) 29.3, 349-364 Barrett, Anthony P. Agrippina: Mother of Nero, London: Routledge, 2002 Shakespeare, William, The works of William Shakespeare, Whittaker & Co., 1843 Sokol, B.J. and Mary Sokol, Shakespeare Law, and Marriage, Cambridge University Press, 2003   Read More