HAMLET’S FATAL FLAW: THE ROLE OF OEDIPAL COMPLEX, IDEALISM, AND INDECISION IN SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET
by
Khai Nguyen
Paper #2B: Research Paper. Draft #2
Prepared in Partial Completion of Requirements for English 201
with Professor Floren at MiraCosta College
6 October 2005
Table of Contents
Thesis: His idealism in combination with his repressed desires for his mother cause Hamlet severe internal conflict. This internal conflict causes Hamlet’s appearance of insanity and his indecision. It is Hamlet’s indecision which causes the delay in killing Claudius and is the single most contributing factor to the developing of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
I. Introduction
II. Sigmund Freud and The Oedipal Complex
A. The Oedipal Complex was first developed by Sigmund Freud.
i. The theory revolves around the concept that individuals have a hidden desire for sexual interaction with a parent of the opposite sex. At the same time the child feels a rivalry with the parent of the same sex.
ii. He writes, in The Interpretation of Dreams, the play is seems to be about Hamlet seeking revenge for his father’s murder, but Shakespeare, within the text of the play, does not show a reason for why Hamlet waits so long to kill Claudius.
A. Ernest Jones Interpretation of Hamlet
i. Dr. Ernest Jones offered one of the first indepth presentations of the theory that Hamlet suffered from the Oedipal Complex.
ii. He asserted, in Hamlet and Oedipus, “The story thus interpreted would run somewhat as follows: As a child Hamlet had experienced the warmest affection for his mother, and this, as is always the case, had contained elements of a more or less dimly defined erotic quality” (98).
A. Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a bright young man with many talents.
i. His aptitude for all things calls into question why there is a great delay between Hamlet’s decision to avenge his father’s murder and the actual revenge.
ii. This grief is compounded by Hamlet’s repressed romantic love for his mother.
I. The Problem Revealed : Hamlet Identifies with Claudius
A. It is Hamlet’s Oedipal Complex which leads to indecision and the reevaluation of his choice to kill Claudius.
i. In Conscience of a King, Bertram Joseph (28) believes that Hamlet “showed all the signs of a noble and well-balanced sanguine temperament.” Joseph assumes that Hamlet is not experiencing insanity and he is in perfect mental health – the embodiment of everything a good Elizabethan should be. Incest was not acceptable in Elizabethan times.
ii. Hamlet is not upset over his father’s death but is jealous because his mother choose Claudius (her brother in law) instead of Hamlet (her son) to marry.
A. Hamlet’s Idealism Defined
i. Hamlet actions should not attributed to mental illness but a repressed desire for his mother.
ii. Hamlet believes fully that men were born good and were meant to do good things.
A. He finds it difficult to resolve his illusions of what he feels and what he should feel. It is his Oedipal Complex and the living out of his fantasies through Claudius which allows him to conceal his bitterness while his internal moral will pressures him to avenge his father’s death.
i. Hamlet struggles with idea that he may be a coward for his inaction and a sinner for his cardinal thoughts
ii. He understands that if Claudius did kill his father he must kill Claudius.
I. Symptoms of Oedipal Complex within Hamlet
A. Shakespeare slowly reveals Hamlet’s complex through a series of subtle yet functional hints.
i. Claudius comments on the relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude “The queen his mother lives almost by his looks” (Act IV, sc vii). implying an unnaturally close interaction between the two of them.
ii. Hamlet is drawn to Ophelia because she, in some ways, resembles his mother. It is for this same reasons that Hamlet takes out anger for his mother on Ophelia.
A. John Mills, in Hamlet on Stage: The Great Tradition, states “”He was openly abusive to Ophelia and Gertrude in the play scene, delivering the sexual innuendos loudly enough for the whole court to hear”(Mills 236).
i. The conversation symbolized Hamlet and Gertrude essentially “in bed” together and hints to a sexual relationship.
ii. Hamlet speaks like a jealous lover chastising his girlfriend for sleeping with a different man and making their bed “enseamed”
iii. Hamlet’s jealous orders restrictive his mother from being sexual with his “father,” making all Queen’s attention to be given to Hamlet.
I. Fantasy Becomes Reality
A. Hamlet’s inability to understand the motives of evil in actions and thought can also be attributed to his sole idealistic viewpoint
i. The mental degradation of Hamlet, is believed to be insanity by the other characters but it was clear to the audience that he is merely coming to terms with what he believes to be right.
ii. Choosing to appear mentally impair is good strategy because if the characters believe he is unwell, he will not be able to figure out the true.
A. It is those idealistic qualities which causes the postponement of Claudius’ death.
i. It is in the moment that Hamlet allows his emotion to dominate over his intellect that Claudius was killed
ii. This also further supports that the Oedipal Complex can be applied to Hamlet, because he succeeds in killing “his father” (Claudius)
I. Conclusion
A.
Introduction
The essential component to any tragedy, Greek or Shakespearean, is a protagonist with a fatal flaw. In Greek tragedy this is called hamartia. This Latin term translates directly into the word “flaw” but is usually used to describe an excess of a personality trait – virtue or vice (Cave 68). The protagonist’s fatal flaw pushes the the plot and action of the tragedy forward. It is this tragic flaw, which leads to the eventual downfall of the character, his circumstances, and the denouement of the drama. In examining the bulk of the literature’s protagonists, no other character embodies the essential role of the flawed protagonist like Hamlet. Without the flaw there would be no drama, and no irony and “would have ended dismally with a sense of utter frustration and inadequacy” (Wilson 236). Many critics believe that Hamlet’s fatal flaw is his Oedipal Complex.
Overview of the Difficult in Interpreting Hamlet
Many people who study Shakespeare believe that Hamlet, is one of Shakespeare’s best plays. It is representative of Shakespeare’s genius as a poet and playwright. Regardless of it’s popularity the play, Hamlet, still remains a puzzle which scholars for centuries have been analyzing and debating. Authors, of any genres, simply can not guarantee how their writings will be interpreted by future generations. Much of the criticism surrounding the play Hamlet, deals with the duality of Hamlet’s personality. Hamlet is, in some ways, a sweet and noble prince. He is a poet and it dedicated to truth and justice. The other of Hamlet’s personality is strikingly different. The other Hamlet is cruel and nasty. He treats women very poorly. This can be seen in his intense relationships with Ophelia and his mother. He kills Polonius and talks about dragging his guts across the castle. Hamlet also knowing sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths.
The audience usually connects with Hamlet. They feel sympathy for him and in one way or another identify with him. Students, critics, and professors have all tried to find a single uniting theme which would example Hamlet in character and in play form make sense. Unfortunately, no one interpretation satisfies everyone. Most interpretations of Hamlet start in similar place – Hamlet is a tragic hero. Critics agree that Hamlet is aware of his moral and societal obligation to kill Claudius, the sooner the better. Therefore the difficulty in interpreting Hamlet lies in why it took him so long to kill Claudius. After all if Hamlet had committed murder, immediately, upon returning home, no one but Claudius would have died. Therefore critics believe that there must be a single effective explanation for Hamlet’s long delay.
In this research paper the argument will be made that it was a combination of character attributes which cause Hamlet’s delay. Hamlet is a noble prince who is an idealist. He believes that every man is inherently good. His idealism in combination with his repressed desires for his mother cause Hamlet severe internal conflict. This internal conflict causes Hamlet’s appearance of insanity and his indecision. It is Hamlet’s indecision which causes the delay in killing Claudius and is the single most contributing factor to the developing of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Sigmund Freud and The Oedipal Complex
The Oedipal Complex was first developed by Sigmund Freud. The theory revolves around the concept that individuals have a hidden desire for sexual interaction with a parent of the opposite sex. At the same time the child feels a rivalry with the parent of the same sex. It may be that Freud named the oedipal complex after the infamous king of Thebes not because Oedipus’s childhood experience mirrored the developmental phase he described but simply because Oedipus was readily recognizable as a man who killed his father and had sex with his mother.(Sugiyama 121). Freud intensely studied Hamlet, and wanted to be known as the man who diagnosed Hamlet’s mental disorder. He writes, in The Interpretation of Dreams, the play is seems to be about Hamlet seeking revenge for his father’s murder, but Shakespeare, within the text of the play, does not show a reason for why Hamlet waits so long to kill Claudius. Freud states “According to the view which was originated by Goethe and is still the prevailing one today, Hamlet represents the type of man whose power of direct action is paralyzed by and excessive development of his intellect.” (98).
Ernest Jones Interpretation of Hamlet
Dr. Ernest Jones offered one of the first indepth presentations of the theory that Hamlet suffered from the Oedipal Complex. He asserted, in Hamlet and Oedipus, “The story thus interpreted would run somewhat as follows: As a child Hamlet had experienced the warmest affection for his mother, and this, as is always the case, had contained elements of a more or less dimly defined erotic quality” (98). There are two qualities which the Queen has which supports this reasoning. Shakespeare clearly shows her sensual nature. He also explains that she has a great deal of intense love for her son. Jones believes “The former is indicated in too many places in the play to need specific reference, and is generally recognised” (98). Hamlet is a study of “the powerful influence of infantile sexuality on the patterns of unconscious thinking in the lives of adults.” (MacCary 114). Hamlet’s fatal flaw is his Oedipal complex which leads to indecision. The rising action, falling action, and resolution, in Hamlet, can be attributed to the theme of indecision.
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a bright young man with many talents. He is an academic, a witty orator, and a flawless actor. Certainly, he has the potential to do anything he wants which may have included, in the future, being the King of Denmark. His aptitude for all things calls into question why there is a great delay between Hamlet’s decision to avenge his father’s murder and the actual revenge. Hamlet laments over his indecision:
O that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
(Act I, sc ii)
He continues, condemning his mother for leaving his father and more importantly choosing Claudius over him:
Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good.
But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue!
(Act I, sc ii)
Knowles, in his article “Hamlet and Counter-Humanism,” states “Hamlet’s father’s death, his mother’s concupiscence and hasty marriage to her husband’s murderer, produce a grief and loathing of such a profound degree that a sense of being created by emotion estranges him from the previous identity of a princely role” (1046). This grief is compounded by Hamlet’s repressed romantic love for his mother.
The Problem Revealed : Hamlet Identifies with Claudius
It is Hamlet’s Oedipal Complex which leads to indecision and the reevaluation of his choice to kill Claudius. Claudius was able to kill Hamlet’s father and sleep with Hamlet’s mother. He was able to do what Hamlet could not. Hamlet is living out his Oedipal fantasies through Claudius (Joseph 26). Killing him would end Hamlet’s fantasies. Hamlet is disgusted by his mother marrying his uncle. In Conscience of a King, Bertram Joseph (28) believes that Hamlet “showed all the signs of a noble and well-balanced sanguine temperament.” Joseph assumes that Hamlet is not experiencing insanity and he is in perfect mental health – the embodiment of everything a good Elizabethan should be. Incest was not acceptable in Elizabethan times. When reflecting on the thought of his father and mother sleeping together, Hamlet states” Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him, as if increase of appetite had grown.” He wishes he does not remember how his mother hung onto his father. His uncle and mother married at a “most wicked speed” and now sleep in “incestuous sheets”. The literal interpretation may be that his belief system is causing his anger. However, Hamlet goes on to say “It is not nor it cannot come to good; But break, my hear, for I must hold my tongue.” Hamlet is not upset over his father’s death but is jealous because his mother choose Claudius (her brother in law) instead of Hamlet (her son) to marry.
Hamlet’s Idealism Defined
Hamlet actions should not attributed to mental illness but a repressed desire for his mother. Thomas MacCary asserts, in Hamlet: A Guide to the Play, “Shakespeare’s Hamlet, has its roots in the same soil as Oedipus Rex…. the secular advance of repression in the emotional life of mankind” (104). He continues thats “In Hamlet it remains repressed; and — just as in the case of a neurosis — we only learn of its existence from its inhibiting consequences. . . . Hamlet is able to do anything — except take vengeance on the man who did away with his father and took his father’s place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized (MacCary 105). Hamlet believes fully that men were born good and were meant to do good things. His strong belief system contrasts strikingly with the reality and corruption of the world when he returns home and his own fantasies. He comments on the state of Denmark and more specifically his father’s house, “‘Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed; Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely” (Act I, sc ii). He is disgusted not just by his home community but the evil which existed in his family. Upon the realization that the world was cruel, and that he will never actually be with his mother, he describes life as a “prison” (Act II sc ii). He finds it difficult to resolve his illusions of what he feels and what he should feel. It is his Oedipal Complex and the living out of his fantasies through Claudius which allows him to conceal his bitterness while his internal moral will pressures him to avenge his father’s death.
Hamlet attempts to use logic, a typical idealist characteristic, to determine what course of action he must take (Gresset and Samway 7). Shakespeare uses Hamlet to “provide new and revealing insights into the evolving Renaissance codes of honor, for Shakespeare creates characters in Hamlet that represent various stages in the evolution of a changing honor system.(Terry 1070). Hamlet struggles with idea that he may be a coward for his inaction and a sinner for his cardinal thoughts. Despite his nightly supernatural chat with the ghost of his murdered father, he is still unsure if justice should be done by his own hand. Fendt comments, in Is Hamlet a Religious Drama? An Essay on a Question in Kierkegaard, that “The plot shows Hamlet to be a first class detective — he uncovers a criminal who has committed a perfect crime, and only in his more scholarly moments of soliloquy has he time to consider despising himself” (60). Fendt makes a good point in that Hamlet has to figure out for his own peace of mind what truly happened to his father. He understands that if Claudius did kill his father he must kill Claudius. He understands that in a world of lies it was hard to tell truth from fiction, and a sinner from a saint.
Hamlet states, “the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought”(Act III sc i), and concludes that the death of Claudius must be based on justice not emotional revenge. Therefore, Hamlet must have independent proof that his uncle murdered his father. “Other Shakespearean plays exploit the device of the play-within-a-play as a form of recognition ‘token’,” (234) comments Cave in Recognitions: A Study in Poetics. Cave is correct, play with in plays is a common tool used by Shakespeare. It is also the only way Hamlet, besides direct conformation, is going to be able to tell if Claudius is guilty. In addition Hamlet is able to prolong his Oedipal fantasies. It is for this reason that Hamlet invites players in to perform a “murderous” play to ferret out the truth from his mother and new father.
Symptoms of Oedipal Complex within Hamlet
Shakespeare slowly reveals Hamlet’s complex through a series of subtle yet functional hints. Claudius comments on the relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude “The queen his mother lives almost by his looks” (Act IV, sc vii). implying an unnaturally close interaction between the two of them. This shows that Hamlet must have a place within his mother’s life. His deep desire for his mother attributes to his inability to love Ophelia. Hamlet is drawn to Ophelia because she, in some ways, resembles his mother. It is for this same reasons that Hamlet takes out anger for his mother on Ophelia. This accounts for Hamlet’s mistreatment of Ophelia throughout the play. Polonius believes that Hamlet’s is love sick over Ophelia and that is why he is going mad. Alexander Welsh, in Hamlet in His Modern Guises, believes that Polonuis “diagnosis of Hamlet’s madness as being due to unrequited love for Ophelia was not so far from the mark, and he certainly recognized that his distressful condition was of sexual origin. Thus Polonius had the right idea though the wrong woman” (Welsh 138). Even the ghost urges Hamlet to “Let thy soul contrive against they mother” (Act I, sc v) and give up his desires for her, so that Hamlet can avenge his father’s murder. In it within Act III, that Hamlet’s Oedipal complex is directly seen. John Mills, in Hamlet on Stage: The Great Tradition, states “”He was openly abusive to Ophelia and Gertrude in the play scene, delivering the sexual innuendos loudly enough for the whole court to hear”(Mills 236). In this scene Hamlet is hiding in her closet, watching her carefully. He confronts his mouhter about the murder of his father and speaks explicitly about her sexuality. He screams:
This was your husband. Look you now, what follows:
Here is your husband; like a mildew’d ear,
Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes?
And batten on this moor? Ha! have you eyes?
You cannot call it love; for at your age
The hey-day in the blood is tame, it’s humble,
(Act III, sc iv)
He explains that she could not love Claudius and that his father would not approve of her choice. He continues on, with the play’s most explosive dialog:
Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
Stew’d in corruption, honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty,–
(Act III, sc iv)
It is important to note that this scene takes place in the Queen’s bedroom. The conversation symbolized Hamlet and Gertrude essentially “in bed” together and hints to a sexual relationship. Hamlet confronts his mother with his sword drawn which Freud considered a phallic symbol (Maccary 114). The conversation between Hamlet and Gertrude, is not a son talking to his mother. Hamlet speaks like a jealous lover chastising his girlfriend for sleeping with a different man and making their bed “enseamed”. The Queen is extremely upset and actually asks Hamlet to help her figure out what to do. At this point when Hamlet should have told her to confess, he urges her to stop her relationship with Claudius, “Not this, by no means, that I bid you do: Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed” (Act III, sc iv). Hamlet’s jealous orders restrictive his mother from being sexual with his “father,” making all Queen’s attention to be given to Hamlet.
Fantasy Becomes Reality
Hamlet’s inability to understand the motives of evil in actions and thought can also be attributed to his sole idealistic viewpoint. He does not understand why anyone would commit murder and therefore he is uncertain that he had ability to violently kill a man. Murderous revenge represents everything that Hamlet is not. Hamlet’s rational intellect allowed him the clarity of mind to understand both the good and bad in the act of the revenge and perhaps what his true motives for waiting are. The mental degradation of Hamlet, is believed to be insanity by the other characters but it was clear to the audience that he is merely coming to terms with what he believes to be right.
Hamlet is a religious man and murder was a sin. Hamlet is a man of classical philosophy and revenge is not rational. In “The Mind of Man in Hamlet”, Levy writes “In Hamlet, man is still the rational animal, but a revolution in understanding the operation of thought occurs”. Hamlet is a man of classical philosophy and revenge is not rational (Levy). Choosing to appear mentally impair is good strategy because if the characters believe he is unwell, he will not be able to figure out the true. Hamlet’s true character remains unblemished. Hamlet is a man who believes in chivalry, and slaughter is not gentle. Hamlet is trying “to be worthy of the times in which he lives is not so far in essence from the protagonists of Greek drama. His fear of the risk of damnation is not something that can be called a moral flaw ; yet it acts like one, paralysing his will, making him behave like a coward” (Joseph 129). It is those idealistic qualities which causes the postponement of Claudius’ death.
It is in the moment that Hamlet allows his emotion to dominate over his intellect that Claudius was killed. He is consumed by the thoughts of his father’s demise and is haunted by the knowledge that his father’s soul will not be able to rest until his death is avenged. Hamlet willfully concludes, “My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth” (Act IV sc iv). It is then that Hamlet finally had the ability to suppress his idealistic nature, and do what is right. The murder is not a well planned scheme and occurs in the heat of the moment. Hamlet, after the murder of Claudius never once wavers in his decision. He has done what is right and believes that “There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow” (Act V sc ii). Oddly enough fatalism is part of idealistic theory and therefore Hamlet always remains true to himself and his idealism. This also further supports that the Oedipal Complex can be applied to Hamlet, because he succeeds in killing “his father” (Claudius). Jones comments “And we have assumed as well that the final murder of Claudius also represents, in its actual psychological significance, the murder of the mother’s husband, made possible by the theme of vengeance for the father. This is the basis of the drama” (124). The act of killing his mother, even directly, could symbolize the act sex. Therefore, Hamlet has finally succeeding in attaining his subconscious need to have a sexual relationship with his mother.
Conclusion
Hamlet’s indecision caused his desire for his mother makes him the perfect tragic protagonist and leads to theme of indecision. Reta Terry, in her journal article “Vows to the Blackest Devil”: Hamlet and the Evolving Code of Honor in Early Modern England“, believes “Hamlet’s tragedy is, in part, that he is forced to attempt to balance these “rival ethical legacies” as he struggles to remain honorable” (Terry 1). Without his intense regard for the ideals of truth, justice, goodness and beauty being in conflict with his most basic physical desires there would be no play. His fatal flaw of indecision and his desire to sleep with his mother create a moral dilemma which the characters, and plot revolves. Even Hamlet, the academic, comments on the presence of hamartia in human nature. He states:
oft it chances in particular men
That for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As in their birth, wherein they are not guilty,
By the o’ergrowth of some complexion,
Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,
Their virtues else, be they as pure as grace,
Shall in the general censure take corruption
(Act 1, sc 4).
Hamlet continues late in the resolution of the play, “though I am not spleenative and rash Yet have I in me something dangerous” (Act V. sc i.) Critics believe while Hamlet is “Normally not rash at all, he is capable of extreme rashness when provoked extremely. The “something dangerous” is the proud impatience that there is in his otherwise noble sense of public mission.”(Elliott 25).
Freud states “Hamlet is able to do anything but take vengeance upon the man who did away with his father and has taken his father’s place with his mother – the man who showed him in realization the repressed desires of his own childhood” (101). The pain which should have caused him to take immediate revenge was replaced by pity for himself. Freud continues “by conscientious scruples, which tell him that he himself is no better than the murderer whom he is required to punish” (102). It is Hamlet’s idealistic nature mismatched with his pragmatic circumstances of his Oedipal Complex, that creates the ultimate theme and driving force behind all the rising action, falling action, and resolution of this tragedy.
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