My character that I followed throughout Hamlet was the Queen, Gertrude. As the play opened up, I got an immediate impression that the queen was corrupt and sinister. As you learn that the King has been killed by his own brother who in turn marries his brother's widow, an immediate question arises. Any woman whose husband has just been killed and feels little sorrow for it is evil. The Queen's actions seemed deplorable and in no way commendable. Gertrude also has problems with her son Hamlet, who is hurt more than anyone about the loss of his father. However as the play goes on and especially towards the end, you notice the Gertrude has an astounding love for her son and only wants the best for him. At the end when Hamlet is in the duel with Laertes, Gertrude is there to wipe the "sweat from the brow of her son." Gertrude also reveals her love for Ophelia as she is being buried, and says, "I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife." (Hamlet, 5, 1: Line 255) Also at the end when she drinks from the cup after the King has told her not to, you can tell that the relationship is beginning to deteriorate. Gertrude undergoes several changes in the play, and her true feeling about her son and her life are unveiled as the play prolongs. I believe that the Queen was on overall trustworthy and respectable person, who was caught in corruption and bewilderment.
             Gertrude's actions and her presence throughout the play had numerous affects on her son Hamlet. At the opening of the play when the ghost first appears and tells young Hamlet what he must accomplish, (Act 1, Scene 4) from that point on Hamlet lives his life trying to accomplish those three things. He must kill Claudius and rid the throne of incest, restore the state of Denmark, but he must do all this without hurting his mother. Gertrude's love for Claudius at the beginning made his mission near impossible, and
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