2008 - Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC)

E n g l i s h
Queen: Gertrude and the Theme of Sovereignty,” dismisses the
problem of character defects and weaknesses and delves into
the world of symbolism and metaphors. Aguirre sees the play
as an adaptation of older myths and legends, which indeed it
is. According to Aguirre, Gertrude’s behavior can be explained
by precedents set in medieval literature. As the queen, she
symbolizes the shaper of destiny, the giver of sovereignty, and
the prize to be won. This picture of Gertrude shows her to be allpowerful,
making Claudius seem of only secondary importance.
Indeed, as Aguirre states, “the Danish crown was not his to
take, it was hers to give; she it was who yielded sovereignty
to him; and Claudius’ own explanation of the event is hollow”
(166). And, apparently, Gertrude had the right to do this: she
could yield sovereignty to him as she pleased, and her moral or
intellectual weaknesses were not even to be considered. Aguirre
explains that Hamlet’s reaction, strangely enough, is much too
realistic for the mythical ideology in the play: “[H]e is outraged
by his mother’s deed, a deed which he, like ourselves, must
interpret in a ‘realistic’ way and therefore without the framework
of myth to justify it” (170).
Gertrude will continue to be a subject of debate among
Shakespeare scholars, who will continue to wonder if she
actually was an adulteress, a mere pawn for other players in
the story, or a discerning on-looker of the play’s events. If we
were to look at the queen as a mere human being instead of as a
symbol for wealth and sovereignty, her actions are unjustifiable.
She must either be a cunning villainess or the weak-minded
character that Maxwell asserts her to be. When the last act has
played and the last critic has spoken, the most complete way to
understand Gertrude may be to see her as a symbol rather than
a person and to understand her as an archetype transported into
Shakespeare’s play straight from the realms of myth and lore.
Works Cited
Aguirre, Manuel. “Life, Crown, and Queen: Gertrude and the Theme of Sovereignty.” The
Review of English Studies. 47 (May 1996): 163-174. JSTOR. Montgomery Coll. Lib.,
Conroe, TX. 27 March. 2008 .
Heilbrun, Carolyn. “The Character of Hamlet’s Mother.” Shakespeare Quarterly. 8 (1957): 201-206. JSTOR.
Montgomery Coll. Lib., Conroe, TX. 27 March 2008.
Maxwell, Baldwin. “Hamlet’s Mother.” Shakespeare Quarterly. 15 (1964): 235-246. JSTOR. Montgomery
Coll. Lib., Conroe, TX. 28 March. 2008 .
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