Throughout the story, Hamlet displays his unfortunate tendency to make sweeping generalizations about women. These comments express his lack of respect for all women and more specifically his lack of respect for Ophelia and his mother. Very early in the play while discussing his mothers transgressions, Hamlet says, Frailty, thy name is women.(1.2.142-146) Hamlet appears to believe that all women act in the same manner as his mother, weak and fragile. He labels his mother with the word frailty in order to take away any strength that she may hold and in the process makes the same generalization about all women. The first time the audience meets Hamlet, he appears to be angry and distressed about Queen Gertrude, Hamlets mother, for remarrying Hamlets uncle immediately after his fathers death. In the Hamlets first soliloquy he comments on the speed of her remarriage by saying,
Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With Such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good. (1.2.153-159)
It is understandable that Hamlet is upset about his mother forgetting about his father and marrying his uncle, Claudius. In Hamlets eyes his great and honourable father deserves more than one month of mourning and by remarrying so quickly and he believes that the Queen has sullied King Hamlets memory. Hamlet sees his mothers marriage as an abomination that is in itself an illegal sin, however special dispensation is made because she is queen. Within Hamlets many personal thoughts he expresses his feelings towards his mothers marriage, making it unbearable for her to listen as she says O, Hamlet speak no more, Thou turnst mine eyes into my very soul, and there I see such black and grained spots, as will not leave their tinct.(3.5.88-91) Queen Gertrude is older and thus more experienced than Hamlet, however, Hamlet seems wiser than his elder causing her to resent the advice he offers. Hamlet struggles with the understanding of his mothers decisions which causes pressure on Gertrudes and his relationship as mother and son. Hamlet doesnt understand the reasoning behind his mothers actions which is why he chooses to make her feel culpable. Before Hamlets father died he made sure that Gertrude lived a prosperous life with little concern for much. Hamlet discusses this when he says So excellent a king that was to this Hyperion to satyr. So loving to my mother that he might not between the winds of heaven visit her face to roughly (1.2.140-143) Hamlet is hurt and embarrassed by Gertrudes actions and partially feels responsible for his mothers wrong choices. He feels he is unable to guide and convince her that her behaviour is unacceptable. All of this plays a role in his relationship with Ophelia because with the pressure of her father and Claudius telling her what to do she is unable to act in a calmly manner causing Hamlet to feel as if shes disloyal.
Hamlets feels his appointed duties as the son of Gertrude is to continuously love and support her unconditionally, and that her role as a mother is to love and respect her son. As the play gradually progresses Hamlets opinions about his mother becomes less respectful due to the appearance of his fathers ghost. His father tells him of his mothers adulterous behaviour and his uncles shrewd and unconscionable murder. Although Hamlet promises the ghost who resembles King Hamlet that he will seek revenge on King Claudius for murdering his father, Hamlet is more concerned about the ghosts revelations regarding his mother. King Hamlet tells Hamlet not to be concerned with his mother but once the apparition is gone its the first thing he speaks about. Before Hamlet vows to avenge his fathers death, he comments on the sins his mother committed after the death of his father. During the play Hamlet decides to pretend to be insane to plot against the King, it is clear that Hamlet eventually really does go mad during all the events that occur. Hamlets madness during the play seems to amplify his anger towards his mother, Gertrude. In the play scene, Hamlet openly embarrasses her and acts terribly toward her in the scene involving the closet. The scene that contains the closet explains much about Hamlets relationship with his mother and the treatment towards women in general. In this scene Hamlet expresses his frustration and anger he has towards his mother for destroying his ability to love another woman due to the way she displayed her love towards his dead father, the way she was able to recover from his death as fast as she did. He reveals his disdain for her actions when he says
Such an act,
That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,
Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose
From the fair forehead of an innocent love
And sets a blister there. (3.4.40-44)
The reason Hamlet is cursing his mother is because he blames her for his inability to love Ophelia. Ophelia believes she truly loves Hamlet. Both Hamlet and Ophelia share a special bond with one another mostly due to the fact that their relationship is based off of trust and respect. As conflict begins to rise between the characters, and Hamlets inner conflicts become more complex, Ophelia is caught in the middle. The reason for such behaviour from Hamlet is caused by Queen Gertrudes actions which causes Hamlet to see all women in a different essence since his mother has taken away his strong belief in virtue and love for women. In the scene where Hamlet tests Queen Gertrude to see if she knows about the murder of his father, his fathers ghost appears and Gertrude is unable to see this ghost which alludes to Elizabethan times where it was implied that the reasoning behind not seeing ghosts, is because of various evil actions one has made. It is stated in the Oxford journal she is unable to see the gracious figure of her husband because her eyes are held by the adultery she has committed. (Oxford Journal) Gertrude cannot see the ghostly figure due to the crime she committed by marrying her husbands brother. The ghost is ashamed when it realizes his widow cannot see him which causes Hamlet to hate his mother even more due to the feeling of rejection, the same rejection he felt from Ophelia. Therefore repeated rejection in both of Hamlets relationships causes madness. Hamlet understood his fathers sorrow as a son, and as a lover at that moment in Hamlets life he was experiencing the same thing. The occurrence was devastating to Hamlet especially watching his father get discarded by the Queen in the same manner he was rejected by Ophelia, his lover.
When understanding the hatred Hamlet has towards his mother is pivotal in understanding his relationship with Ophelia due to the fact it provides insight into his treatment of Ophelia. Ophelia and Hamlets relationship at the beginning of the play was one that shared a unity of love also one that was beneficial for both. Hamlet and Ophelia loved each other but earlier on in the play then she was told by her father to break off all contact with Hamlet. Later on in the play the unity and bond that both Ophelia and Hamlet shared began to disintegrate, in Hamlets eyes Ophelia did not faithfully treat him with the love and respect she should have. Hamlet becomes understandably upset and bewildered when Ophelia severs their relationship with no explanation which caused him to feel aggravated and perplexed. Ophelia tells her father about the concern she has towards Hamlets distress which causes both of them to believe that Hamlet has gone mad, thus falling for his plot. According to Ophelia, Hamlets appearance was one of a madman she also describes to her father the length in which Hamlet stayed in her bedroom and said
He raised a sigh so piteous and profound
As it did seem to shatter all his bulk,
And end his being. That done, he lets me go,
And with his head over his shoulder turned
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