Gertrude's character in the first half of the play seems to be aweak character.though it has itys importance, as her actions play an important part in the life of her son, hamlet.
gertrude, in the first half on the play, is a woman who seems to have no opinion of her own and is less intelligent than a queen is expected to be.for example her hasty marriage after her husband, king hamlet's death, and that also with her husband's brother, turns her own son against her and she loses her respect as a mother in the eyes of hamlet.if she would have been intelligent, she would not have showed so much haste in marrying.this covinces us that she was not blamed wrongly by hamlet for marrying out of lust.
it is only after she has an important conversation with her son, that her character gains some stength.she is a kind of woman who does not know what she does and what would be the effect of her actions on the lives of the people around her.when hamlet acuses her of marrying claudius out of lust, she admits her faults.her love for her son overshadows her love for her new husband, claudius and she decides to do whatever hamlet asks her to do.now we see a new gertrude who knows what she is doing.from this time onwards her role becomes more important than before.she helps hamlet in his pretence of madness.
in the end, before she dies, when she drinks poison which was meant for her son, she informs hamlet that the drink was poisonous and his life is in danger.