I have to admit I’d never thought of this. How, exactly, does Gertrude offer such a perfect description of Ophelia’s apparently lengthy death? Did she basically watch it?
My first thought is, “There’s no motivation.” But if Gertrude didn’t directly kill her, then she certainly watched her die.
So I offer it up as a valid question – what’s the deal with Gertrude sitting there and watching Ophelia die? Does anybody have any rationale for that, how she came to be watching, why she didn’t summon help or try to go in after her, or anything like that? Does anybody think the “Gertrude did it” argument has any legs? If so, what’s her motivation? Jealousy over her son’s lover? Putting the crazy girl out of her misery, like a mercy killing? It’s obviously not a new idea, but it’s new to me.
Gertrude's report back mentions her seeing broken branches from a tree, therefore Ophelia must have been contemplating suicide by hanging herself on a tree. However in order for the tree branch to break it must have had Ophelia's weight pulling on it therefore, she must have hung herself and then drowned after the branch broke.
We never actually see Hamlet come into Ophelia's room when she first reports his madness. It is entirely possible that he told her of the betrayal and his plan. Once Ophelia is deemed to be mad, Horatio states "she may strew dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds", giving some truthfulness to what had been thought to be ravings of a madwoman. Ophelia first reveals her knowledge of the treachery of the queen through "How should I know your true love from another one?". Finally, in her encounter with Laertes, she does try to warn him. Her whole flower speech is laden with metaphors. Rosemary means remembrance of the dead or between lovers, fennel symbolizes infidelity, columbine means pretense, rue is repentance, daisy is forsaken love, and violets are faithfulness. She points out all the treachery of the queen, and indicates a lack of faithfulness on the queen's part by saying that the violets withered away. Finally, Gertrude conveys the message that she did indeed cause Ophelia's death in her speech about the drowning. The willow also represents forsaken love, crow-flowers mean ingratitude, and nettles symbolize pain, all things that are connected with the infidelity of the queen and come back to haunt Ophelia.
I cam across this post on a site search while looking for another post. Wow, I totally didn't realize this before! Of course, she AT LEAST watched me die. You've totally changed the way I see that bit now. Although I agree there seems to be no motivation, here's a conversation I actually had with the Gertrude actress after reading this that offers a possible explanation.
enter OPHELIA, reading on her computer.
OPHELIA: What? Gertrude murdered me? Oh my gosh, how did I not see that?
enter GERTRUDE, preparing for rehearsal.
OPHELIA: Gertrude! You killed me, didn't you?
GERTRUDE: What are you talking about?
OPHELIA: You have a speech that goes 'there is a willow grows aslant a brook'. Right? So you killed me, or else watched me die and did nothing!
GERTRUDE: Yeah, that speech is a bit weird. I think I did.
OPHELIA: So why?
GERTRUDE: Well, I was mad at you for driving my son crazy.
OPHELIA: What, me drive HIM crazy?! You've got it backwards!
GERTRUDE: You sort of drive each other crazy…
OPHELIA: No, Claudius drives him crazy.
GERTRUDE: But I don't know that. My only theory is Polonius' he's-mad-for-Ophelia's-love idea.
A possible motivation for Gertrude killing Ophelia could be that her new-found madness made Ophelia a liability at court. Gertrude strikes me as the sort of woman who doesn't like trouble and will try to smooth things over in order to avoid a scandal.
If Ophelia is now wandering around court singing about her dead father, she's a problem to be sorted out. Maybe she wants to make things easier for King Claudius, if things aren't easy for him, they won't be easy for her. She also strikes me as a weak character who relies on other powerful friends (Claudius). For her to retain her power he must keep Claudius clear of any possible scandal.
@Russel: I think that's one of the more convincing reasons. And given that, it totally makes sense that Gertrude immediately rushes to Claudius (who happens to be with Laertes at the moment) to say, "Well, will you look at this, honey! Ophelia just drowned… um… on accident." But she sure does a good job pretending to mourn later. (We rehearsed the graveyard scene today, and anyone would believe she really is sad Ophelia died.)
Okay, as far as I'm concerned, Gertrude certainly watched Ophelia die (or else killed her) in order to have given that speech. But now I'm thinking that that simply doesn't make sense. First of all, Gertrude seems really upset about Ophelia's death, especially during the funeral scene. So if she's the murdress, Shakespeare is being awfully subtle. Secondly and more importantly, if she killed Ophelia, wouldn't she hesitate to be the one to tell Laertes about what happened, for fear that he would reason the way we all have and see what Gertrude had done?
It's gotten to the point where this question keeps me awake at night– I jest not. When I try to ask for my family's opinions, the usual response is, "Look, nobody in the world except you even considers that Gertrude could have killed Ophelia." So what do YOU guys think of this paradox? How could Gertrude know without having (effectively) killed Ophelia, but how could Gertrude risk revealing her guilt by telling Laertes?
Gertrude is as much a woman of inaction as is her son. She would never do the deed. She is buffetted from event to event throughout the play, and knows not which end is up. Besides, she is queen, and if she were out following Ophelia about, there would likely be an entire entourage with her. So murder is out. And if there were others with her, why didn't they do anything to help the poor unfortunate soul?
So, my guess on all of this is that Gertrude did not actually witness the drowning herself, but is retelling what was reported to her by one who did witness it. And if the bough Ophelia was on was too far toward the middle of the stream, I could see someone calling to her from the bank, trying to snap her out of her trance, not wanting to get into the freezing water themselves, knowing their garments would not permit anything like swimming, and becoming a victim themselves. So the poor wretch drowns.
What are the most shocking, disturbing, and dramatic possibilities? This is play filled with incest, adultery, murder, madness, and suicide. Does it not follow that Shakespeare would write Gertrude as a most sinfully compelling character? Come now. She is whorish woman who has been sleeping with her brother-in-law. She understands entirely the game of power. Does it stand to reason that she is so naive and passive as to be ignorant of the manner of her husband's death, wistfully daydreaming of her son marrying down to a woman of lesser station, and timidly begging forgiveness of her murderous and incestuous lover… for being thirsty? Those who view Gertrude as a bystander and victim of circumstance would do well to remove their blinders so as to revel in the masterful portrait of debauchery and villainy that the bard has gifted.
I absolutely think that Gertrude killed Ophelia. Some people stated that Gertrude did not have a motive, but I disagree. Here is my crazy thought: I believe that Ophelia was pregnant with Hamlet's baby. When she was collecting herbs, she got rid of all of them except for the one that could cause a self induced abortion. This also explains many of Ophelia's mood swings. If Ophelia was pregnant, then their child would be the next heir to the throne, which means that Gertrude would no longer be queen. Gertrude was the last person to see Ophelia alive. This also explains how Gertrude was able to give such explicit details of Ophelia's death.
If Gertrude were there at Ophelia’s death (how else would she know so much?), why did she not try to rescue her? Did Danish queens wander about without entourages, escorts or guards?
The description “there is a willow grows aslant a brook” is enticingly vague. She’s not saying, “You know that tree by the fosse from the moat?” “A willow” – not “THE willow”, and “a brook” is curiously vague, and suggests it was not well-known, as if stumbled upon while wandering.
So, was Gertrude following Ophelia? If so, why? You’d think someone would be following the poor girl given her recent dippiness.
[I have never heard the suggestion that Ophelia was attempting to hang herself. I doubt if she knew how to tie a knot. This interpretation comes from associations with Judas and willows, no doubt.] I had always supposed she’d climbed there as she had done as a child, possibly to jump in when playing; with Hamlet, perhaps. A childhood meeting place? A safe place, away from the adult world? That could explain why Gertrude knew it. A place of innocent fun and fond remembrances?
I like that idea. And then, it was a case of when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.
Were they not already dead, I would have blamed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. As it is, Gertrude has a case to answer.
As for motive, earlier commentators have failed to ask the right questions: What as Polonius doing in the queen’s bedroom anyway? Would he have been there alone with her? Gertrude probably feared (or knew) that they’d been discovered by Ophelia and she couldn’t risk a scene like the one she had with Hamlet.
The girl had to go!