Happy endings, according to Fay Weldon do not necessarily mean marriage or rescue from death. Instead, a happy ending can come in the form of a spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation. In Hamlet, what would normally be considered a tragic ending, resulting in the death of nearly all the characters, can instead, as Weldon implies, be seen as both a spiritual reassessment and moral reconciliation.
             In Hamlet, the final scenes result in the death of Hamlet, the King, the Queen, Polonius, and Ophelia. Although death in itself is tragic, the circumstances under which the deaths occurred turn a melancholy mood into the "happy ending" that Weldon spoke of.
             In its entirety, the play focuses on Hamlet seeking revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, his uncle's marriage to his mother into "incestuous sheets," and the new king, his uncle's, corruption of the kingdom. In spite of the hero's death, the play harks of the "moral reconciliation" that Weldon speaks of. When King Hamlet is killed, and then returns as a ghost to speak with his son, Hamlet, he tells the story of his death. However, the story of how he really died, at the hands of his own brother, is far different than what the public knows, as they are under the impression that he was killed by a snake bite. Therefore, the Ghost remarks that all of Denmark is "rankly abused" by a "forged process." As a result, the only way to achieve moral reconciliation for the entire kingdom is for Hamlet to kill the king, his uncle. In the final scenes, which essentially kill everyone, including Hamlet, the kingdom has been ridden of all evil. Once Fortinbras assumes power, as he states he will by saying, ", the kingdom will once again be reconciled into goodness.
             Hamlet also undergoes a spiritual reassessment before his death. Throughout the duration of the play, Hamlet has been a procrastinator. His indecisiveness is evident when he has an opportunit...