*
Clarissa Berrospe Adan Deladillo Brianna
Jimenez Taneisha Jimenez
**
The Oedipus complex (a term first coined
by Sigmund Freud) is said to appear in
psychosexual stages of development
describing a boy’s feelings of desire
towards his mother joined with feelings of
resentment towards his father.
HOWEVER…
“What Freud willfully omitted
from his theory of the
Oedipus complex … Sophocles’
play: Oedipus Rex begins with
parental aggression and
abandonment, not filial
patricide or incestuous
relations between a son and a
mother.”
* “(O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
would have mourned longer!), married with my
uncle, my father’s brother, but no more like my
father than I to Hercules.” (I.ii.150-153)
Hamlet plainly demonstrates his dislike of Claudius
and the growing distrust of his mother for marrying
“within ‘s two hours” (III.ii.127) of his father’s
death rather than choosing to mourn as long as he
has.
* Hamlet feels not only contempt for Claudius but
also for his mother due to her supposed betrayal of
himself and his feelings.
* Hamlet and his relationship to Gertrude
 The tearing of the relationship between them due to Gertrude’s
indifference about his father's death and his mourning
Suspicion towards all women caused by her hasty remarriage.
* Hamlet and his relationship to Claudius
 Hamlet and Claudius’s tense treatment of the other.
 The realization that the late king was killed and the throne
taken.
* The familial difficulties that surrounds Denmark’s royalty.
* Claudius’ knowledge that Hamlet presents a danger to himself.
* Hamlet’s evolving viewpoint regarding his mother.
*
* Hamlet feels threatened by Claudius’s new role
in his life not only for Denmark’s rule but his
new relationship with his mother.
*
* The first implications of Hamlet’s bond
with his mother occurs when bringing up
his continued mourning of his father.
While Gertrude attempts to comfort him
with the fact “all lives must die” (72) he
merely ignores her words claiming
“frailty, thy name is woman!” (146) and
notes that a mindless beast would have
mourned longer than her reducing the
depth of her sorrow as “unrighteous
tears” (I.ii.154) over his father’s death.
* The betrayal Hamlet feels extends to his
treatment of Ophelia claiming that she
and other women discard the face God’s
given them in order to “make
[themselves] another” (III.i.147) with
features they prefer alluding to the sin
Gertrude has committed with her
marriage to Claudius.
* While Hamlet retreats further into dislike towards
his mother Gertrude attempts to justify the actions
of her son’s perceived insanity as stemming from
the impact of his father’s death and her “o’erhasty
marriage” (II.ii.57) to Claudius throwing Hamlet’s
actions into resembling a temporary phase.
* Despite her hopes for her son’s well being Gertrude
steps in to gain insight towards what truly affects
her son and calls him to her only to receive
Hamlet’s scorning words “O wonderful son that can
so ‘stonish a mother!” (329) and his biting remarks
which behave like “daggers to her” (III.ii.399)
openly illustrating the tear between mother and
son.
* The relationship between Hamlet and Claudius
is strained not merely due to the way the
throne is gained but for the reason Claudius
has overshadowed Hamlet’s father and his role
in his life.
*
* Despite Claudius’ new role as the king of
Denmark and step father to Hamlet the two
share no deep connection or concern for the
other Claudius remarking on Hamlet’s
“unmanly grief” (I.ii.94) and Hamlet’s view of
Claudius as “a king of shreds and patches”
(III.iv.106) not even worth a comparison to his
father.
*
With the knowledge that the late king of
Denmark was murdered by Claudius, Hamlet
begins to plan the death of the “smiling,
damned villain”(I.v.107) who killed “so
excellent a king” (I.ii.139) and replaced him in
his role of a husband and father.
* With a plan to prove Claudius murdered Hamlet’s
father the prince plays his actions to convey
madness so perfectly that Claudius debates sending
him to England and have them “cure him” (IV.iii.70)
of the poison that the prince of Denmark has proven
to be.
* With Hamlet’s intense devotion towards avenging
his father he refuses to kill Claudius while he prays
instead preferring to murder him when “no relish of
salvation” (92) could be found and curse his soul to
remain forever “as damned and black as
hell”(III.iii.94-95) a punishment that he allowed his
brother to undergo in killing him so suddenly and
preventing his soul to rise to heaven.
* It should be noted that once after Gertrude is
killed, Hamlet takes no hesitation in killing
Claudius.
*The familial relation
between Claudius,
Gertrude, and Hamlet
remains in a constant
struggle. Gertrude’s
attempts to balance
Hamlet’s actions of
insanity and Claudius’
growing reasons to
remove him from
Denmark paired along
Hamlet’s resentment
of both individuals.
*
* In attempting to show his mother how
“much offended” (11) she has made her
husband’s memory Hamlet tells Gertrude
to look on “how pale [his father’s ghost]
glares” (III.iv.129) asking why she sees
nothing affirming to her that her son has
gone mad.
* Regardless of the actions Hamlet
demonstrates while confronting his
mother, Gertrude still claims his
innocence and tells Claudius that Hamlet
“weeps for what he has done” (IV.i.27) to
Polonius even if it’s clear that she
possesses enough evidence to declare her
son a danger to Denmark.
* Claudius’ observations of Hamlet give him
enough reason to want him dead
prompting Laertes to “requite him for [his]
father”(IV.vii.142) and his role in his
family’s death while Hamlet swears his
thoughts “be bloody or be nothing
worth”(IV.iv.68) utterly devoting himself to
his uncle’s demise.
* Hamlet clearly possesses an antagonistic
view of his uncle. As he moves forward
with his plans of revenge he also extends
that relationship of resentment to
Gertrude, grouping her into the
classification of his “uncle-father and
aunt-mother” (II.ii.381-382) and before his
death referring to her as a “wretched
queen”(V.ii.340) rather than his mother.
* Although the Oedipus complex isn’t held to an
exact definition, Hamlet refers to it in its own
style. While Hamlet does desire to kill his
“father” it is the death of his step father he
plots towards expressing nothing but devotion
to his paternal father though the other aspect
of the Oedipus complex is highlighted by his
desire to gain his mother’s attention.
* Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. N.p.: McDougal
Littell, 1997. Print
* Rubin, Jeffrey B. The Art of Flourishing: A New
East-west Approach to Staying Sane and Finding
Love in an Insane World. New York: Crown
Archetype, 2011. Print.
* "Dr. Freud's Hamlet." Dr. Freud's Hamlet. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.
*