Part 29: Pivot from Ophelia to Getrude - and their mysteries
The controversy and mystery of Ophleia overlaps with Gertrude in a variety of ways:
- Gertrude learns of her son’s love letters to Ophelia,
encourages Ophelia’s love to heal her son’s madness,
reports Ophelia’s death by drowning,
and says at Ophelia’s grave that she wished Ophelia had been her son’s bride.
Characters are said to be static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing) in light of developments in the plot and interactions with other characters. Without having to speculate at all whether she has any sort of Christian afterlife in heaven, hell, or purgatory, we might say that Ophelia has something of an afterlife through her example to, and influence on, the Queen. But this requires a clear understanding of a series of events and the evidence in the texts.
In upcoming posts, I will explore some of these and other overlaps between Ophelia and Gertrude; the “envious sliver” of the willow that breaks; and also some of the details about the mystery of Gertrude and her choice to drink from the cup in the last scene, in spite of her husband Claudius telling her not to (the only time she openly and explicitly disobeys him).
We cannot be certain of what Gertrude knows or suspects: She is often played as surprised to find that the cup was poisoned, as in 1990s film versions (Julie Christie, 1996, dir. Branagh; Glenn Close, 1990, dir. Zeffirelli), and older productions. If Gertrude is naive, stupid, an alcoholic, a slave to her impulse to drink, and totally surprised, then she is less complicated and has less agency, and is perhaps less influenced by Ophelia.
In more recent productions, Gertrude is portrayed as suspecting or knowing that the cup is poisoned, as in Lia Williams’ 2018 performance (with Andrew Scott, dir. Icke), where Gertrude eavesdrops on Claudius and Laertes, implying a suicidal aspect. This Gertrude has more agency, but the portrayal plucks the heart of the mystery regarding whether she knows or merely suspects poison.
In a 2008 RSC film with Penny Downie (and David Tennant as Hamlet, dir. Doran), Gertrude is pensive and may suspect poison; in the 2000 film with Diane Venora (Ethan Hawle as Hamlet, dir. Almereyda), Gertrude also suspects poison. [1]
So there is great variety in how directors and actors choose to portray the characters. Yet instead of claiming the play and its texts are simply Rorschach blots, we might distinguish between the facts of the texts and the theories or interpretations imposed on them by scholars, actors, and directors.[2] But what exactly are those facts?
Closer scrutiny of the envious sliver of the willow, and of Gertrude’s motivation for drinking from the cup, will help inform the next parts in the series.
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NOTES: All references to Hamlet are to the Folger Shakespeare Library online version: https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/hamlet/entire-play/
[1] Venora also played Hamlet in 1982, and Ophelia in 1990. See this link for a NYTimes review of her 1982 performance of Hamlet:
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/03/theater/theater-diane-venora-stars-in-papp-s-hamlet.html
Photo(color) of Diane Verona as Hamlet:
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/a335e4e0-5762-0130-28cf-58d385a7b928
[2] Richard Strier: “Differing interpretations of a text generally share a large number of particular agreements before they part company. And when they part company, they are still responsible to the features—I would call them facts—that they share. Interpretive conclusions, even widely held ones, do not become facts. That Hamlet delays in killing Claudius is a fact. That Hamlet is neurotic (or whatever) in doing so is not.” (3)
From the book,
Resistant Structures: Particularity, Radicalism, and Renaissance Texts,
by Richard Strier, Number 34 in the series, The New Historicism: Studies in Cultural Poetics, Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. (Berkeley, California: Univ. of Calif. Press, 1995), pp. 2-3.
IMAGES:
Left: Diane Venora as Ophelia, 1990; photo by Martha Swope. Fair use.
Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "Diane Venora as Ophelia and Michael Cumpsty as Laertes in a scene from the NY Shakespeare Festival production of the play "Hamlet"." New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8650aef0-f722-0136-6f6a-5ffb87a126d0
Center: Julia Stiles (2000, Ophelia) and Diane Verona (Gertrude). Photo by Aubrey Reuben for Playbill, fair use. https://playbill.com/article/photo-call-macbeth-family-i-venora-and-stiles-grammer-com-90052
Right: Diane Verona as Hamlet, 1982; photo by Martha Swope. Fair use.
Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "Actress Diane Venora as Hamlet in the NY Shakespeare Festival production of the play "Hamlet"." New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/90e78b50-f720-0136-99c6-3724c211ba99
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INDEX OF OPHELIA POSTS:
My 2023 series on Ophelia, and earlier Ophelia posts:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/10/index-of-ophelia-posts-2023-series-and.html
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Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
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Thanks for reading!
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