Foto. Frontespizio dell’opera di Thomas Hobbes Leviatano.
[...] l’esame della vicenda della monaca di Monza “alle genti svela / di che lagrime grondi e di che sangue” una società basata sulla proprietà e sul maggiorasco e mostra di essere, senza alcun dubbio, un contributo critico di altissimo livello, degno di stare a fianco del Discorso sull’origine della disuguaglianza di Rousseau e della cosiddetta “accumulazione originaria” del Capitale di Marx (ma anche, se si (...)

TEATRO E METATEATRO DEL DRAMMA STORICO D’EUROPA:

"AMLETO", LA TRAPPOLA PER TOPI ("THE MOUSETRAP"), "A TALE OF FOUR GERTRUDES", E LA MEMORIA DI SANTA GERTRUDE DI NiVELLES.

Una nota a commento della "Part 30 (Interlude/Prelude): A Tale of Four Gertrudes" del lavoro in corso di Paul Adrian Fried (February 06, 2024)

• There are as many interpretations of Gertrude as there are readers, spectators, and actors. My next four posts will explore just four readings of Gertrude, especially regarding motivations for drinking from what she may or may not know is the poison cup intended for her son.
• Whether Ophelia and Hamlet influence Gertrude or not can only be determined by scrutinizing what really happens with Gertrude.
• A brief summary of just four of many possibilities (I prefer # 4):

• 1. Gertrude as Protestant allegory for a corrupt Catholic Church. Gertrude drinks because she is a slave to her animal passions as mother, as incestuous adulterer, and as slave to drink. For an example of this reading, see Linda Kay Hoff, Hamlet’s Choice: A Reformation Allegory.
• 2. A surprised Gertrude as queen of wishful thinking [1]: Gertrude sees “The Mousetrap” and hears Hamlet accuse Claudius of murder, but thinks Hamlet is mad; she doesn’t tell Claudius of Hamlet’s accusations to protect her son. If she feels guilt, it may be that her hasty remarriage upset her son and kept him from the throne. When Hamlet apologizes to Laertes, she thinks that all may still be well, both with Hamlet and with Claudius. When Hamlet gets the first hit and wins the bet for Claudius, she is so proud, she cannot help but ignore Claudius’ request that she not drink, so she is surprised to find it was poisoned. Examples, see the Branagh directed Hamlet with Julie Christie as Gertrude, or Glenn Close as Gertrude in the 1990 Mel Gibson film, dir. Zeffirelli.
• 3. Suicidal Gertrude: In the 2018 BBC film with Lia Williams as Gertrude and Andrew Scott as Hamlet, dir. Icke, Gertrude eavesdrops on Claudius and Laertes, so she knows of their plan to poison the rapier and cup. Because she is certain of poison, when she decides to drink from the chalice instead of her son and to finish off so much of it, replacing mystery and suspicion with certitude and suicide. .
• 4. A more nuanced Gertrude: She is attentive, suspecting poison but uncertain, so she sets a mousetrap for her new husband by announcing that she will drink to her son, to see if Claudius will stop her and confess, if it is poisoned. If it is not poisoned, all may be well; if it is, she’d rather be the one to prove it and die instead of Hamlet. Film examples: 2008 (Penny Downie, dir. Doran); and 2000 (Diane Venora, dir. Almereyda).[2] [...]" (Paul Adrian Fried, cit.).

TEATRO E METATEATRO: MEMORIA DI SANTA GERTRUDE DI NIVELLES.

UNA DOMANDA:

  MA DALLE TANTE INTERPRETAZIONI DELLA #HAMLETICA FIGURA DI GERTRUDE, NON NE EMERGE ALCUNA CHE PONGA L’ACCENTO SUL TEMA DEI TOPI E SULLA FIGURA DI SANTA GERTRUDE DI NIVELLES? "Eccola assalita dai topi neri, uno dei quali le morde un orecchio. Così appare Gertrude in un’illustrazione del XVI secolo che fa senso, ma che testimonia una singolare tradizione: Gertrude è stata a lungo venerata come protettrice contro le invasioni di topi. La narrazione, priva di base storica, è tuttavia segno dell’ammirazione che l’ha sempre accompagnata." (https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/45800).

• Paul Adrian Fried
• Federico LA Sala - Yes, and so this adds another dimension of Hamlet using the "Murder of Gonzago" as the "mousetrap" to catch the consciences of his mother and uncle... Thanks, Federico!

• Paul Adrian Fried
• Federico LA Sala - There is also Saint Gertrude of Helfta, a mystic who considered herself a "bride of Christ," which is a contrast with the Protestant idea of Gertrude as the "Whore of Babylon"...

• Federico LA Sala
• Paul Adrian Fried ... non solo, ma da parte di Amleto richiamare la memoria dell’antica Gertrude appare essere un tentativo per risvegliare la coscienza della madre che un tempo proteggeva il re dai topi e che, ora, al contrario, si è sposata e alleata con il re dei topi. O no? Cfr. "La santa dei gatti, Gertrude di Nivelles" (Ilaria Sabbatini, Medievista, 17 marzo 2018).

Federico La Sala