Part 34: Why Gertrude personifies the envious sliver of willow (Interlude D.1)
The fact that Gertrude personifies the sliver of willow that sends Ophelia to her death is curious and deserving of more attention. She says an envious sliver breaks [1], sending Ophelia into the water — meaning that it was not Ophelia’s choice to set in motion the events that would lead to her drowning, but that these were caused by an act of envy by something outside herself. Why envious? Envious that it was not given a floral crown (“coronet”) [2] like other branches. Tree branches or slivers can’t feel envy, so Gertrude’s personification of the sliver as “envious” implies a belief that human envy was ultimately the cause of Ophelia’s drowning. Who in the play was envious of another’s crown? - Primarily Claudius, who poisoned his brother, usurped the throne and stole his brother’s wife.[3] Ophelia had bestowed crowns on branches and triggered the envy of one “sliver”; she could have been Hamlet’s wife and borne him another heir, helping to bestow that heir’s crown. What does this en...