Love or Ambition: the Plutonic Pursuit of Claudius, Callimaco, and Hamlet
Love or Ambition:
The Plutonic Pursuit of Claudius, Callimaco, and Hamlet
Humanism is the reflection of the qualities pertaining to being human, for better or for worse. Throughout the books: Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike, Mandragola by Niccolo Machiavelli, and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, various human conditions are seen, especially those related to personal ambition. In analyzing the three primary male characters in each of these works and their plutonic pursuit of women, one can ascertain that their intentions are not virtuous, striving to obtain the woman’s favor out of an unconditional love that they hold for them, but rather their pursuit is fueled primarily by the pursuit itself and the prize to be won at the end of their trials. Through justification and by methods which give little to no concern for others, these three lead characters will do almost anything to obtain the object which will make their vain pursuit successful.
In the book Gertrude and Claudius by William Shakespeare, Claudius is hopelessly drawn to his brother’s wife Gertrude who is also the queen of Denmark. Claudius and Gertrude’s relational beginnings are of a seemingly innocent nature, being founded upon good discourse, whereas Gertrude doesn’t possess any plans to have a more intimate relationship with Claudius beyond friendship and has no desire to be unfaithful to her husband. For many years, Claudius attempts to hold back his desire for Gertrude knowing that she is his brother’s wife and is therefore unattainable in both terms of practicality and righteousness. Claudius travels to foreign lands for long periods of time, placing great distances between him and Gertrude, perhaps in part because he fears that he will act upon his feelings if they are too close. But eventually when Claudius is older, he begins to lean more heavily toward the idea of pursuing Gertrude and eventually surrenders to his desires as he attempts to use all of his efforts to obtain her for
The Plutonic Pursuit of Claudius, Callimaco, and Hamlet
Humanism is the reflection of the qualities pertaining to being human, for better or for worse. Throughout the books: Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike, Mandragola by Niccolo Machiavelli, and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, various human conditions are seen, especially those related to personal ambition. In analyzing the three primary male characters in each of these works and their plutonic pursuit of women, one can ascertain that their intentions are not virtuous, striving to obtain the woman’s favor out of an unconditional love that they hold for them, but rather their pursuit is fueled primarily by the pursuit itself and the prize to be won at the end of their trials. Through justification and by methods which give little to no concern for others, these three lead characters will do almost anything to obtain the object which will make their vain pursuit successful.
In the book Gertrude and Claudius by William Shakespeare, Claudius is hopelessly drawn to his brother’s wife Gertrude who is also the queen of Denmark. Claudius and Gertrude’s relational beginnings are of a seemingly innocent nature, being founded upon good discourse, whereas Gertrude doesn’t possess any plans to have a more intimate relationship with Claudius beyond friendship and has no desire to be unfaithful to her husband. For many years, Claudius attempts to hold back his desire for Gertrude knowing that she is his brother’s wife and is therefore unattainable in both terms of practicality and righteousness. Claudius travels to foreign lands for long periods of time, placing great distances between him and Gertrude, perhaps in part because he fears that he will act upon his feelings if they are too close. But eventually when Claudius is older, he begins to lean more heavily toward the idea of pursuing Gertrude and eventually surrenders to his desires as he attempts to use all of his efforts to obtain her for
Cited: A., Mike. “Summary of Machiavelli’s La Mandragola” Web. 18 October 2009. http://www.emachiavelli.com/Mandrasum.htm Veitch, Jonathan. “Gertrude and Claudius: A Novel by John Updike” The Los Angeles Times 20 February 2000. Web. 18 October 2009. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-bk-gertrude-and-claudius,0,4496055.story