Whitney 1Gregory WhitneyMrs. KittredgeH Eng. 102/19/14Queen Gertrude is at the center of the conflictOne of the most important characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet would be the mother of Hamlet himself, Gertrude. Queen Gertrude played a terrible and devious role, causing many to question the strength of her honor and dignity. She led a life of prestige and luxury, but found happiness in neither. Gertrude is the cause of the conflict in Hamlet because in her quest for happiness she married her brother-in-law shortly after her husband's death, she was one of the driving forces behind the king's murder and she is the motivation of much of Hamlet's rash. actions.Gertrude had to put someone back in her life by quickly leaving the man she loved, King Hamlet, for her brother Claudius. In the play, we learn that Gertrude is very dependent on the men in her life. When her husband died, she quickly moved to Claudius to fill the void. She only thought of herself and no one else. Both Hamlet and the Ghost King condemn the relationship and marriage between Claudius and Gertrude as "incestuous" (Act 1, Sc. 2, line 157; Act 1, Sc. 5, line 42). This is from the Bible. In the Bible it is said: “If a man take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing; he discovered his brother's nakedness; they will be childless. (Leviticus 20:21) This is intended to end any affiliation between the wife and the former husband's brother. As Claudius says: “Therefore our once sister, now our queens…have we…taken as wives.” » Claudius was essentially marrying his sister when he married Whitney 2Gertrude. To the people of that era, who were devout Christians, this allegation of incest was not faded law. This affected their lives, the throne...... middle of paper...... down and all his hatred and grief is unleashed as he stabs Claudius with a poisoned rapier then forces him to drink the poison while crying "Here, you incestuous murderer, damned Dane, drink this potion. Is your union here? Follow my mother! without major involvement in the play, she is truly the center of the conflict within the play. She married her brother-in-law after her husband's mysterious death, setting off the entire chain of events in the play. She is one of the driving forces, among others, that pushes Claudius to go out and murder his brother Finally. , she has been the primary motivation for many of Hamlet's rash and dangerous actions, whether willingly or not, creates and increases conflict and challenges, making her the source of conflict in the play..