How Does Gertrude's Change In Hamlet

Some things are inevitable. Prince Hamlet is depressed, having been summoned home to Denmark from school in Germany to attend his father's funeral. He is shocked to find his mother Gertrude remarried two months after her husband’s death. Gertrude has wed Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, the dead king's brother, who killed Hamlet Sr. in order to get the throne. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the relationships Claudius has with others and the failed rituals that he partakes in surrounding his court exemplify the shortcomings of his regime and his power struggle with Hamlet for that regime, ultimately signifying his demise and Denmark’s inevitable collapse.
Broken rituals such as marriage versus a funeral and Claudius’ failure to pray demonstrate his power

During Hamlet’s play, Hamlet addresses Gertrude, asking her about what she thinks about the player queens morality. She responds, “The Lady doth protest too much, Methinks" (3.2.254). She rejects role of the player queen Hamlet has set for her. She protests Hamlet's view of her in that she says it is her right to continue living and not dying when her first husband dies. She also says to Hamlet that she did not have a choice to be with Claudius; she proves she does not have as much freedom as the player queen does. Regardless of how deep one reads into her line, one can tell that something is “off.” Something wrong in the way Claudius not only got the crown, by forcing Gertrude to marry him, but in the way he treats Gertrude. Now that she is married to Claudius she doesn’t have as much power as she used to have. It is generally not good to rule by force. Hamlet’s power struggle with Claudius is also present in his questioning of Gertrude. Hamlet’s actions towards Gertrude are mainly for revenge on Claudius. Hamlet’s ultimate goal is to get a reaction out of Gertrude to indicate that Claudius is guilty. Hamet desires to destroy Claudius, regardless of whether he actually wants the crown or not; again, it is their power struggle that distracts Claudius from what he should actually be doing as a ruler. Furthermore, one may say that Gertrude only responds in the way she does because she is around many people. However, one thing to take into account is the setting of Hamlet’s play, which is that the player queen is in her bedroom with only the player king. However, Gertrude is in front of many people in the court when she responds to Hamlet. Gertrudes one liner is in contrast to the player queens long exclamations of her freedom. It is as if because Gertrude is in front of so many people her language is censored. The question is: would she have acted the same if she was in the same environment