In his soliloquy, Hamlet reflects on the relationship of his mother and Claudius, cursing Gertrude ("O, most wicket speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!") Later on, the ghost makes the same claim, concluding that the marriage is in violation of the laws against intercourse between close kin. However, other members of the Danish court imply that the marriage is not only lawful, but morally acceptable. The relationship that a widow can have with the kin of the deceased was a heated debate topic in the sixteenth century, in part due to the divorce trial of Henry VII and Catherine of Aragon (Henry VII married his brothers widow). Furthermore, the Bible doesn't give clear commands regarding this matter.
The conversation revolving around this relationship continues today as readers try to determine how they should view such a marriage. Personally, even though its far from Oedipus status, I think these sorts of marriages still seem a bit creepy. That being said, I don't think I would classify it as "incest" as there is no blood relation between the two getting married.
What do you think?
4 comments:
Personally, I find every aspect of Claudius’ marriage with Gertrude distasteful. For starters, as you point out, the very fact that Claudius is the brother of Gertrude’s deceased first husband is very uncomforting. Although societal and religious laws in many cultures are unclear about marriages of this nature, I think it’s fair to say that these marriages are entirely immoral. Furthermore, despite many critics arguing that Gertrude is unaware that Claudius murdered King Hamlet, I am convinced that Gertrude, if she wasn’t involved in the planning, at the very least knows Claudius killed Hamlet. The main reason I believe this is the fact that the ghost of King Hamlet tells Prince Hamlet to let God and consciousness take care of Gertrude, implying that she, too, is guilty. Overall, Gertrude and Claudius’ marriage is an incestuous and murderous union.
I would also agree that from today's viewpoint there is nothing specifically incestuous about Claudius' and Gertrude's marriage, but that the marriage is morally wrong within itself. Though there is debate on Gertrude's involvement in King Hamlet's murder, there is no denying the fact that she at the very least must of had some knowledge of it. This is one of the many inconsistences of Shakespeare's most well known, but arguably flawed plays. It is mentioned on several occasions within the play that their marriage is incestuous, and it would have been commonly agreed upon similarly when the play came out in the early 17th century, but no one other than the ghost and Hamlet ever bring up this fact. In this situation there should have been some sort of uproar of the people, or gossip and disgust in the royal court, but none of this is shown.
I also agree that Claudius and Gertrude's quick betrothal was super suspicious. In several ancient cultures, it's usually customary for a woman to mourn for at least half a year over her deceased husband. The short time between the king's death until Gertrude and Claudius' marriage definitely leads to suspicions that Gertrude either was directly involved with the murder plot, or at least knew Claudius was the murderer.
This post actually reminds me of something I'm sure most of you are familiar with: Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. We all know that the reallll reasons he wanted a divorce from Catherine were 1) he wanted to marry the younger Anne Boleyn, and 2) he wanted a male heir to his throne (which Catherine couldn't produce). However, Henry tried to use an "incest" claim to try to get the Pope to annul his marriage. (He was unsuccessful.) Basically, before Catherine married Henry, she was married to Arthur, his older brother. After Arthur died, Henry decided to marry her. Apparently, some did have the concern that the marriage was incestuous, but since Arthur and Catherine's marriage hadn't been consummated, the Pope (and others) ignored it. Now let's fast-forward twenty years or so. For the reasons I just discussed, Henry wanted a divorce. So, what did he do? He claimed his marriage to Catherine was incestuous in nature. Not cool, dude!
Like in Hamlet, this situation was not technically incest. However, I do agree with Bennett and Elise that these types of marriages are not the most moral things on the planet.
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