Gertrude and Claudius

Gertrude and Claudius Summary

The characters' names change in each part of the novel to reflect the evolution of the traditional Danish revenge tale. In part one, the spelling of the characters' names comes from Saxo Grammaticus's 12th-century Historiae Danicae (1514) text. Part two is inspired by Francois de Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques (1572). Finally, the spelling of the names in part three comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Part One

In the bloody medieval world of the Vikings, the King of Denmark (Rorik) marries off his sixteen-year-old daughter (Gerutha/Gertrude) to Horwendil the Jute (old Hamlet). Horwendil is a warrior with very little interest in domestic life, but the people respect him and Rorik thinks he will make a suitable successor. Although Gerutha does not love Horwendil and wants more for herself than to be Horwendil's trophy wife, she eventually agrees to the marriage to fulfill her duties as princess.

Horwendil is not unkind to Gerutha, but he is oblivious to her emotional needs. On their wedding night, Gerutha strips in front of the fire only to discover Horwendil has fallen asleep. They do not consummate their marriage until the next morning. Gerutha feels snubbed and rejected for many years because of this incident.

Fig. 2: Horwendil is depicted as a warrior king who cannot satisfy Gerutha's emotional needs.

Despite her ambivalent feelings toward her husband, Gerutha does her best to be a good wife and princess. She soon becomes pregnant. Unfortunately, Rorik dies before her son is born. Horwendil is crowned king, and when the baby is born, he names the child Amleth (young Hamlet) after a military victory. Gerutha's resentment for her husband only grows; she wants to name their child after her father, but Horwendil overrules her.

Amleth is sickly and distant from his mother, even as a baby. Her breastmilk is sour and he cries constantly. In his youth, Amleth is prone to both illness and arguments. Arguing with everyone he sees, Amleth's only friend is the disreputable jester, Yorik.

Amleth and his father grow closer as Amleth and his mother grow further apart. She is left feeling like an outsider in her own family. Gerutha yearns to have more children, but she cannot conceive again.

Horwendil's brother, Feng (Claudius), returns from years of traveling the Holy Roman Empire. Feng's confident, easygoing demeanor quickly draws Gerutha in, and the two become inseparable. They tell one another stories, talk about their past, and discuss their dreams for the future. For the first time, Gerutha finally feels understood and wanted. To Feng's dismay, he finds himself infatuated with his brother's wife. Not wanting to hurt Horwendil, Feng leaves Denmark to prevent himself from acting on his feelings. Amleth leaves home a year later to further his studies.

Part Two

Over a decade goes by before Fengon returns to Denmark. Geruthe, now 47, argues with Horvendile over their son's future. Geruthe wants Hamblet to marry Ophelia, but Horvendile believes Ophelia to be too dim-witted. Hamblet, for his part, is still at school and rarely home.

When Fengon and Geruthe reunite, the sexual tension that once existed between them is still there. Fengon declares his love and reveals the real reason why he left Denmark. Geruthe is taken aback, but she soon realizes she loves him too. She goes to Corambis, the King's counselor, and asks for his help.

Geruthe convinces Corambis to allow her access to his cottage, away from the eyes of the castle. There, she and Fengon begin a passionate love affair. Geruthe feels everything she never had with Horvendile when she takes Fengon as her lover. At first, Horvendile is completely ignorant, but after months of secret meetings in Corambis's cottage, he learns of the affair.

Fig. 3: Geruthe and Fengon sneak to Corambis's cottage to be alone.

Horvendile confronts Fengon and threatens to separate him from Geruthe and harm them. Horvendile tells Fengon he will be forced to wander the earth apart from Geruthe, who will remain in Denmark as Horvendile's wife. Horvendile also threatens Corambis's life and position.

Fengon goes to Corambis, and together the two men plot to poison Horvendile. After killing him, they make it look like he died from natural causes while sleeping.

Part Three

Old Hamlet has been dead for only a month, but Claudius is poised to take control of Denmark. Claudius convinces Gertrude to marry him, despite her fear that it is too early. To Gertrude's dismay, Claudius also demands Hamlet finally return from school and rule Denmark with them as a family. Gertrude reveals that she is scared of Hamlet and his quiet anger.

After the wedding has passed and Hamlet has returned home, Claudius naively thinks to himself that he has gotten away with the murder and life will be happy for him and his new family. However, Claudius and Gertrude hear rumors of old Hamlet's ghost appearing, positioning the novel to end at Act I, scene ii of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Gertrude and Claudius Analysis

Updike based Gertrude and Claudius on the classic revenge story in Danish literature. The first record of this story comes from the 12th century CE in Saxo Grammaticus's Historiae Danicae. The story was re-recorded several hundred years later in Francois de Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques. Shakespeare's Hamlet, the most famous record of this story, was inspired by the writers that came before him. As Gertrude and Claudius evolves with the tales in each part, their changing names reflect the change in Denmark's social identity.

The first part, featuring Gerutha, Horwendil, Feng, and Amleth, is set in the medieval world of the Vikings. Horwendil is chosen as Gerutha's husband, not because he is a king or has royal blood, but because he killed the Norwegian king, Denmark's biggest rival. In fact, as the narrator states, he is

There is a clear social divide between Gerutha and her future husband, but the marriage is a purely tactical one. Because Gerutha is a woman, she has no say over her betrothed. Gerutha marries the man her father chooses for her based on his propensity for violence alone. Gerutha has no voice in her marriage, her child's upbringing, or even the foundation of her life.

Part two sees a slightly more modern Denmark and slightly more modern characters. Geruthe talks back to her husband (even if he has the ultimate say) and develops a relationship with Fengon. Even though she knows her affair would have steep consequences if discovered, Geruthe finally begins to make choices for herself anyway. At the same time, Denmark is becoming increasingly Christianized. The role of the king is said to be dictated by God, and Christian sensibilities temper the brutish ways of the Vikings.

Fig. 4: Denmark becomes increasingly civilized, modernized, and Christianized.

By part three, Denmark and the characters have been almost entirely modernized. Each character is fully formed and unique, with agency and autonomy over their lives. Gertrude talks openly with Claudius and influences his decisions as king. Claudius, for his part, is happy to embrace his untraditional role as Hamlet's stepfather and pass on the crown to Hamlet after his death. Denmark has become a Christian country—with duty, guilt, and pride all understood in terms of Christianity:

Gertrude and Claudius: Relationship to Hamlet

Gertrude and Claudius is positioned as the prequel to William Shakespeare's (1564-1616) Hamlet. Updike's novel ends at the close of Act I, scene ii in Shakespeare's drama. While Claudius and Gertrude are the antagonists of Hamlet, they are given a much more sympathetic light in Updike's novel.

Updike's novel begins about 30 years before Hamlet, when Gertrude is only 16. Gertrude and Claudius presents an intimate glimpse into Gertrude's character that is not offered in the Shakespearean account. Instead of an opportunistic adulteress, Gertrude is presented as a neglected wife who loses her sense of self in her marriage to old Hamlet. Her relationship with Claudius is built over the years as the two try to stay away from one another but cannot control their passion and connection.

Figure 1: Gertrude and Claudius is a prequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The circumstances surrounding old Hamlet's death also differ between the two tales. In Hamlet, Claudius kills old Hamlet and marries Gertrude to steal the Danish throne. In Gertrude and Claudius, however, the defense of his love and life is Claudius's primary factor in killing his brother. Claudius's biggest fear is that old Hamlet will tear Claudius and Gertrude apart. While Hamlet suggests Gertrude may have been an accomplice in her husband's murder, in Updike's novel, she is entirely unaware of Claudius's crimes.

The other significant difference between Gertrude and Claudius and Hamlet is Claudius's relationship with Hamlet. In Gertrude and Claudius, Claudius wants to get closer to the young Hamlet after old Hamlet's death. Claudius believes he has gotten away with his crime and wants to groom Hamlet to succeed him as a proper Danish prince. Gertrude, not Claudius, wants to keep Hamlet away, believing him to be a threat. In Hamlet, however, Claudius schemes to get Hamlet out of the castle and killed to avoid the threat to his throne.

Gertrude and Claudius Quotes

The most important quotes in Gertrude and Claudius examine the theme of female oppression, which Gertrude can escape only through her adulterous relationship with Claudius.

Gerutha/Gertrude says this quote when her father tells her she is to marry Horwendil/Hamlet the elder. Even as a 16-year-old, Gerutha yearns to have a meaningful life with autonomy and agency. She rejects her father's choice of Horwendil because he doesn't view women as his equals, and Gerutha knows she will be little more than a trophy wife to him. This quote foreshadows Gerutha's unhappiness in her marriage and the sexism that controls life in Denmark.

While Hamlet positions Claudius's marriage to Gertrude as merely a means to become king, Gertrude and Claudius paints a much more sympathetic picture of passionate, life-changing love. Feng tries to stay away from Gerutha and do right by his brother, but they cannot deny their feelings for one another. While Gerutha's and Horwendil's relationship is forced and built on duty, Feng genuinely loves Gerutha and wants to see her succeed.

In this quote, Geruthe expresses disdain because her very being has always belonged to the men in her life. As a woman, Geruthe is unable to serve herself or seek her own happiness. Her wants and needs have always been sacrificed to serve others. It isn't until she enters into an affair with Fengon that Geruthe finally does something for herself alone.

The ending lines of the novel are ironic as readers of Shakespeare's Hamlet know Claudius's vision for the future is brought to a bloody end by Hamlet, his stepson/nephew. This quote also positions Claudius's relationship with Hamlet in a completely different light: Claudius wants to live the rest of his life peacefully with his wife and then see Hamlet as his heir. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Claudius, Hamlet's thirst for revenge has him hell-bent on murder.