Hamlet vs Gertrude

The story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is filled with many different characters, many of which are quite different from one another. One of the greatest contrasts is between Hamlet and his Mother, Gertrude, which is somewhat surprising simple because one might expect two people from the same family to be very similar. This is not the case in this tale however. Throughout the entire story Hamlet stays loyal to his dead father while his mother, who had appeared to be the king’s faithful wife, changed sides from her husband soon after he died by marring the new king who was almost the polar opposite of her original husband. 

There were many clear differences between the two kin that became apparent from early on in the story. One of the greatest differences is the hesitation the prince shows after he is confronted by his father’s ghost and his mother hasty action like when she married the new king only a month after her husband was killed. Hamlet proved to be extremely cautious throughout the story and his mother the very opposite by making impulsive decisions. Also, Gertrude demonstrates a large amount of dependence on other people where as young Hamlet seems to be very independent. In the story, Hamlet gets spied on and tricked many times which teaches him to not tell many people about his problems and not trust anyone. His mother on the other hand, seems to be very needy and reliant on other people such as Claudius. 

The key differences between Hamlet and his mother add a greater deal of depth that if not added to the story would make it much less stirring to the audience. The important contrasts bring out a greater and more noticeable difference between these two very central characters in the epic story of Hamlet.