Gertrude is the beloved wife and mother in the play, Hamlet. Many say that she is responsible for Hamlet's agony in not being able to proceed with his revenge, and Claudius' hesitation to guard himself through the destruction of Hamlet. She is the woman who was "my virtue or my plague, be it either which," for both of her loves, and is herself a very ordinary person. Seemingly beautiful and warm-hearted, she has no mind …showed first 75 words of 1177 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1177 total…e feels the poison coming over her, and hears her husband lie about her condition to save himself, does she truly face reality. And only then does she begin to understand Hamlet's objections to Claudius and recognise that, while Claudius has poisoned her body, he has in turn poisoned her whole life also. Trying too late to protect her "dear Hamlet," she dies as an unfortunate victim of an idealistic and deceived hope for happiness.