In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Gertrude is portrayed as a passive character whose thoughts and expressions are not dwelled upon so that attention is retained on the emotional catastrophe of Hamlet; however, Shakespeare never cleared her intentions which would eventually fuel the fire of vengeance and hatrRead more
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Gertrude is portrayed as a passive character whose thoughts and expressions are not dwelled upon so that attention is retained on the emotional catastrophe of Hamlet; however, Shakespeare never cleared her intentions which would eventually fuel the fire of vengeance and hatred in the heart of Hamlet. Also, in the “closet scene”, Hamlet accuses Gertrude of treason and she is to some extent guilty; but her thoughts remain unsaid so that the audience sympathise with Hamlet and doubt her loyalty; and also doubt whether she knows the role that Claudius had played in the murder of king Hamlet.
Although all the tragic events occurred, Gertrude did witness everything, including the death of Ophelia but Shakespeare did not mention her suffering and emotions for that would have sidetracked from Hamlet; his feigned madness and thirst for revenge. Gertrude in the Gravedigger Scene does speak for herself by scattering flowers upon Ophelia’s grave but says not a single word of speech or a Soliloquy, she is portrayed by Shakespeare as keeping away from things that could be unpleasant for her, unlike Hamlet who is drowning in his own exclusivities of having to live with death.
Therefore, Shakespeare decides not to let people see the point of view of Gertrude. With this thought, great decisions were taken by Shakespeare such that the thought being made inside Gertrude should not be known by the people. Instead, Shakespeare gives importance to the emotional disorder of Hamlet and makes Gertrude a riddle for the audience.
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The word 'Thanatos' means a figure representing it's own destruction or death. Sigmund Freud used this term to define an instict or a fundamental force in an organism's mind to take it's own life out of aggression or depression, in other words called the 'death drive'. Here in the novel 'Mrs. DalloRead more
The word ‘Thanatos’ means a figure representing it’s own destruction or death. Sigmund Freud used this term to define an instict or a fundamental force in an organism’s mind to take it’s own life out of aggression or depression, in other words called the ‘death drive’.
Here in the novel ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ by Virginia Woolf we see some characters dealing with this psychological aspect.
In the character portrayal of Clarissa Dalloway. Clarissa physically doesn’t cause any harm to herself but is struggling with her thoughts in her mind. She struggles to fit in the society and her thoughts often revolve around decline, aging and death. The passing of time is what that scares her.
Clarissa’s self doubt and her feelings of emptiness and disconnection with world might be seen as a subconscious desire to escape the burdens of life.
An excellent example we’ve got in the novel is the Character of Septimus Warren Smith. A character suffering from Shell Shock and trauma. He faces problems accepting the present because of the trauma he’s been through during the World War 2 and the loss of his best friend.
Septimus sees death as an escape from the struggles of real world and a source of salvation. He is fixated on death that makes him intense long for annihilation. He wants to escape and be free from the trauma and experiences of his past.
Obsessed being an escapist , he takes his own life leading to his own destruction reflecting Sigmund Freud’s theory of Thanatos.
Therefore, this explains how we can perceive “Mrs.Dalloway” from the perspective of Sigmund Freud’s theory of Thanatos.
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