Linguistics and Literature Studies 3(3): 91-99, 2015DOI: 10.13189/lls.2015.030303 The Condemned and Condoned Mona Lisa: The Unique Characterization of Shakespeare’s Gertrude Ahmed T. Hussein Al-Ali Department of English language & Translation, University of Applied Science, Jordan Copyright © 2015 Horizon Research Publishing All rights reserved. Abstract Among the most interesting female charactersin Shakespeare’s oeuvre isHamlet's Gertrude. Many studieshave been conducted on the critical study of the character ofHamlet's mother. Critics have split in their views of Gertrude. Many condemn her and view her as an embodiment of the"frailty" her son used to describe her "weak" and "shallow"gender; some even go far enough to suggest a role in herhusband'smurder.Othercriticshaveacceptedtheapparition's word "adulterate" to convict her. On the otherhand, other critics condole with Gertrude and see in hercharacter marks of the "dull and shallow" type to think ofmurder. She is the malleable, weak character. Feministcritics, however, came forward to highlight traits in her character deliberately ignored by male critics and insist that Gertrude is "intelligent, penetrating, and gifted with remarkable talent for concise and pithy speech". This paper focuses rather on Shakespeare's unique depiction of Gertrude's character. Such excellence in the representation of this character is strikingly brilliant by making the depiction of a character that provides ample textual proof equally to either side of the critics, condemners and condolers. In this, Gertrude stands matchless. She is the Mona Lisa who keeps smiling wherever you stand to look. No other Shakespearean character is exclusively undecided, providing critics and readers with enough substance for the two opposing factions. Thus, the unconventional character of Gertrude is another manifestation of Shakespeare's brilliance. Keywords Shakespeare,Hamlet, Gertrude, Characterization 1. Introduction Forcenturies,Shakespeare'sHamlethasattracted extensive studies. Like in all Shakespearean tragedies, Hamlet's characters are generally classified between forces of goodness and forces of evil. Not two critics would disagree in classifying Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus, Barnardo, Francisco as the faction of goodness. The faction of evil would compromise of Claudius and all other who back himinclude Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and later Laertes. The character of Gertrude, however, stands alone defying the conventional classification of either virtuous or evil. It is, indeed, unique in being framed undecided and genuinely unsettled. Shakespeare's depiction of this female character has been the topic of many lengthy studies. However, little is said, if any, on Shakespeare's excellence, as a playwright, in shaping a character that stands remarkable in providing critics, who are “cleft in twain”, of the conflicting standpoints with ample textual evidence to support either view. This paper aims at highlighting Shakespeare's brilliance in sketching the exceptional
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