Comparison between Gertrude and Ophelia within Hamlet Shakespeare developed 126 female characters in his plays. In his tragedy Hamlet there are Ophelia and Gertrude. This essay will explore the similarities or common aspects of these two characters. One obvious characteristic that both Ophelia and Gertrude have in common is that they are both recipients of Hamlet's malevolence. TS Elliot in his essay “Hamlet and his problems” explains how Gertrude is the object of the protagonist's disgust: Hamlet faces the difficulty that his disgust is caused by his mother, but that his mother is not an adequate equivalent; his disgust envelops and overcomes her. (25)LC Knight in “An Approach to Hamlet”, agreeing with TS Eliot, comments on the “obsessive passion” that the prince exercises in chastising Gertrude: I am of course aware that what Hamlet says to his mother in the cupboard the scene may be considered part of a necessary and dutiful attempt to break the alliance between her and the smiling assassin; but in all this runs the impure streak of the indulgence of an obsessive passion.[. . .] If with sincere, indeed passionate, concern you want to help someone who is in great need, someone who is desperately ignorant of his true condition, I wonder, do you say: «This is what you are: look how ugly you are? "? Well, perhaps so; but certainly not in such a way that she seems about to launch an aggressive attack. (70)Similarly, Ophelia suffers verbal abuse from the hero; and this episode will be explored further later. Introduction to Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, David Bevington enlightens the reader regarding the similarities between Gertrude and Ophelia as the hero sees them: Yet to Hamlet, Ophelia is no better than another Gertrude: both are soft-hearted but submissive to the will of importunate men, and so are forced into unusual vices. Both would be other than they are, and both receive Hamlet's exhortations to begin repentance by abstaining from pleasure you don't have it.” (9) As Bevington says, both Gertrude and Ophelia are “tender-hearted,” motivated by love and the desire for quiet family harmony among the members of their courtly society in Elsinore. At the first social function of the play, Gertrude is motivated from love for his son to advice: