Shakespeare's Hamlet shows a strong prejudice against women, especially with the characters of Ophelia and Gertrude. Shakespeare created an interesting character with Gertrude; he created a character who finds himself in the middle of all the conflict and seems to take no part in much of it. However, Gertrude seems intent on defusing him at every possible opportunity she receives. Gertrude is a central figure in the play. He appears a lot but doesn't say much, implying mystery and creating an interesting uncertainty in the audience. Hamlet spends a lot of time dwelling on his marriage to Claudius and Shakespeare leaves many unanswered questions with Gertrude, such as whether he was having an affair with Claudius behind the old burgs? Why does he drink the poisoned wine intended for his son? Do you know it's poisoned? Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and although they do not have a typical mother-son relationship, she loves him. Queen Gertrude is often interpreted by many as an adulterated and incestuous woman. Catherine Belsey states that typical interpretations of Hamlet hold: 'Gertrude a whore; and Shakespeare a patriarchal bard” (Belsey, 1997: 34). Gertrude's actions throughout the play could be read to show her as a very passive character, far from a strong, independent woman. This is demonstrated with her obedience to Claudius, three times during the play, Gertrude is told to leave and each time she obeys without hesitation. In Act 1, scene 2 Claudio says to Gertrude, “Lady, come” (122). Then again, Act 3, Scene 1, Claudio tells her, “Sweet Gertrude, leave us.” (28), respect ; “I will obey you” (37). And finally, in Act 4, scene 1, Claudio says, "O Gertrude, come away!" (28). This obedience that Gertrude......middle of paper......anchester: Manchester University Press. 116-133.Belsey, Catherine. Feminism and beyond. Shakespeare Studies 25 (1997): 32 - 41Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist criticism: female characters in Shakespeare's plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing.Heilbrun, Carolyn G. (2002). Hamlet's mother and other women. 2nd ed. West Sussex: Columbia University Press.Loberg, Harmonie. "Queen Gertrude: Monarch, Mother, Assassin." Atenea 24.1 (June 2004): 59-71 Ouditt, Sharon. "Explaining the Fragility of Woman: Feminist Readings of Gertrude." Hamlet. Ed. Peter J. Smith and Nigel Wood. Theory into practice. Buckingham: Open UP, 1996. 83-107.Pearson, Patricia. When she was bad: violent women and the myth of innocence. New York: Viking, 1997 Uéno, Yoshiko. "Three Gertrudes: Text and Subtext." Hamlet and Japan. Ed. Yoshiko Uéno. Hamlet Collection 2. New York: AMS, 1995. 155-68