After enduring the insults of her son earlier and having witnessed the play performed in adherence to the instructions of Hamlet, Gertrude is asked by Horatio to speak to the grieving Ophelia in Act IV, scene v.
In an aside, Gertrude remarks, "To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is,/Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss (17-20).
These words see to presage her actions in Act V, scene ii. When Claudius, whom she must suspect of killing her husband, says "Gertrude, do not drink," she responds, "I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me"(268) Gertrude here may be asking forgiveness for her forthcoming exposure of him as murderer. In motherly fashion, she wipes the face of Hamlet as he prepares to duel Laertes, lovingly touching her son for the last time. When Hamlet rushes to her after she falls having drunk the poisoned wine, she does not mention Claudius; instead, she says, "O my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink! I am poisoned" (289). As she dies Gertrude expresses her love for her son and implicates Claudius, hoping that Hamlet will avenge her death as well as her husband's. She must reason, too, that Hamlet will come out of his melancholia and feel again in charge of his fate.
Clearly, there are indications that Gertrude has willingly poisoned herself in order to save her child from further tragedy.
No comments:
Post a Comment