Gertrude I

Gertrudes part in Hamlet changes based on the knowledge of her actions. Her actions
are shameful and immoral but can be justified if she was acting without knowledge of the
consequences. If she acted with intent, evidence could be found to show that she was secretly
seeing Claudius while Hamlet was alive and took part in his murder. If she acted unknowingly,
she probably wanted to marry Claudius because he would become king. She might not have
been part of Claudiuss plan to murder Hamlet and drank the poisoned wine without realizing it
was poisoned. Either way, Hamlet feels wronged by his mother and sees corruption and
contamination.

Gertrude II

This article disputes the depth of Gertrudes wrongdoings. It identifies that adulterate
beast could mean that Gertrude cheated on Hamlet when he was still alive or that Gertrude is
committing crimes of incest. It defends Gertrude and argues that from the text it does not mean
that she cheated on Hamlet and admits that she is wrong to marry Claudius but is loyal to
Claudius now that she is his queen. Gertrude is portrayed as a kind and innocent with her
intentions being to protect people she loves.

Not-so-innocent Ophelia

She knocked up.