How Does Gertrude Present Hamlet's Anger At His Mother

In Act 3, scene 4, lines 49-60, Hamlet’s anger at his mother can be interpreted in many different ways. He uses language that is associated with purity and beauty, such as “grace,” “blush,” “virtue,” “rose,” and “fair” to describe the things that his mother’s remarriage has ruined. The word “blur,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary, can also mean to blemish the purity of something. When Hamlet tells Gertrude that her actions “blur the grace and blush of modesty,” he condemns her actions for the way that they defile her beauty. This language lends itself to the oedipal interpretation of Hamlet because his words indicate an unusual obsession with his mother’s sexuality, beyond feelings of betrayal from her marriage to his uncle. In saying that she has ruined or lost her blush of modesty, he essentially

Moving on from her deceased husband so quickly is inappropriate for a woman. Hamlet also specifies that her virtue, which is defined as being chaste and having sexual purity, is sullied. This obsession with his mother’s sexual status is influenced by the modesty standards for women at the time, but enhanced by his desire to replace his uncle’s role and marry his mother. Another definition of “blur” is to sully something with a liquid, often blood. This specific definition could be used to indicate that Hamlet’s rage stems from a belief that his mother played a role in his father’s death, especially when combined with the language of purity and beauty. He may be making derisive comments about lack of purity due to perceived hypersexuality since Gertrude's remarriage is not modest