Hamlet Inferior Parent- Gerturde or Polonius

Inferiority: Hurting you or who you surround yourself with?

According to The Guardian, 92% of people say parenting is the hardest job in the world. The never-ending sleep deprivation, long days, car-pools, friends, laundry and many more tasks prove that parenting is truly the most demanding and time- consuming job. Because parents raise their children based off of their own personal morals, they tend to critique other parents ways of bringing up their children. Everyone has a different style of parenting, however, not all of them are beneficial to their children. This concept is prevalent in Hamlet, one of William Shakespeare’s most recognized plays. Characters Gertrude and Polonius support this notion throughout the play through their relationships with their children, their betrayal for selfish needs, and the way they die, proving them both to be immoral parents. Gertrude proves that being naïve is not always the right approach while Polonius proves that meddling in everyone’s business leads you only to your death, which is why Polonius is the inferior parent in the play.

Gertrude and Hamlet demonstrate a dysfunctional mother-child relationship. In the beginning of the play, it is quite evident that the bond between the two is not off to a great start. Hamlet is in a very troubled state after the death of his father and Gertrude makes it harder for him when she marries his uncle Claudius. “Why, she (would) hang on him as if increase of appetite had grown.” (1.2. 147-148). Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius is considered to be an incestuous marriage and Hamlet feels that it only adds to his father’s tarnished memory. Hamlet feels that Gertrude is rejoiced in a new marriage instead of mourning his father’s death, thus tarnishing his father’s memory. This corrupts the impressions Hamlet had about his mother who supposedly loved King Hamlet so dearly. Hamlet had never thought of the possibility of his mother marrying again, especially with...