Lesson 9/2- What I think of Gertrude

After reading Margaret Atwood's Gertrude talks back, I've definitely been shown a new interpretation of Gertrude's character.
 In Atwood's work, Gertrude begins by calling Hamlet's father 'selfish'. Straight away I have to say, although he may well have been selfish, Gertrude is fairly obviously being potrayed as malicious as she insults someone who is not long dead. However, I do like the line 'I wanted to call you George', as George is the name of several Kings of the past, and so maybe this shows that if Gertrude had been allowed to make more decisions, Hamlet would have been a successful King.
 I like the paragraph comparing the two Kings- I think this shows that all Gertrude needed was to feel loved, and Hamlet senior never showed love wheras Claudius does. She says she loves Claudius despite his faults, 'he likes a drink' and has a 'slight weight problem'. I agree this is a possible interpretation of Gertrude, one suggesting that she is not as shallow as Hamlet thinks she is. Also, the line about Ophelia, 'any little shock could push her right over the edge' shows Atwood is suggesting that Gertrude is wise and clever, because she is right about this.
 When Gertrude suggests that Hamlet should 'roll in the hay' and get a girlfriend and have some fun, I realised for the first time that maybe she's right, and maybe Hamlet just needs to lighten up. If his father truly was like Gertrude has described, then it's fairly obvious Gertrude is happier with Claudius, and a good son would want their mother to be happy.
 However, when Gertrude says 'it was me' and that she killed Hamlet's father, I don't agree at all with this interpretation of her character. She may have been in on the deed, for example may have played a Lady Macbeth kind of role and encouraged Claudius to do the deed, but I don't believe Gertrude actually comitted the murder. Mainly because Claudius admits that it was him.