Theme Of Loss In Shakespeare’s Tragedy Hamlet And John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole

Loss of anything can be hard. It can hit you like a rock. The loss of a loved one is potentially one of the hardest types of losses. This is explored in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, as well as Rabbit Hole, a movie with a similar foundation. While the tragedy and the movie are slightly different, they both have cases of some sort of loss. In both Hamlet and Rabbit Hole, the themes that everyone deals with loss differently and loss has the power to change loyalty in relationships are displayed in both works.

Shakespeare’s tragedy as well as John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole both exemplify that there are differences in how people deal with loss. For instance, in Hamlet, there is a distinct difference in the ways Hamlet and Gertrude cope with the death of King Hamlet. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy, he expresses his disgusted feelings concerning his mother’s marriage to her uncle saying that “a beast that wants discourse of reason/Would have mourned longer” (1.2.154-155)! Hamlet calling out Gertrude in such a way implies that he still wants to mourn his father, and he is extremely upset by the idea of Gertrude remarrying within such a short time. Hamlet clearly wants to hold onto whatever he can from his father’s life and is enraged that his mother isn’t doing the same. He can’t bear to simply just move on from his father’s death. On the other hand, Gertrude appears to be happy in her new marriage; she has done her best to put King Hamlet and the life they had together out of her mind. It’s almost as though she wants her memory of King Hamlet to die and act like that part of her life never existed, whereas Hamlet never wants to move on and always carry the memory of his father.

A similar situation is seen in Rabbit Hole with people handling loss differently. Becca and Howie have lost their son, and Howie wants to hold onto every piece of his son that he can. He does this by watching videos of Danny quite frequently. There is a moment when he suspects that Becca deleted one of the videos, and he screams “I said it’s gone”, throws his phone, and questions if the video was legitimately deleted on accident. Howie is extremely upset over the death of his son, and watching these videos is a way for him to hold onto the memories of him. He is so determined to maintain Danny’s memory that he lashes out when he suspects that Becca is trying to do the opposite. Howie cannot bear to let go of his son. Letting go of his son is like tearing his entire world to pieces. Becca, on the other hand, cannot bear to see reminders of Danny. She removes the paintings and drawings Danny made from the fridge, and she goes to his room and cleans out his dresser, washes his clothes, and eventually gives them to Goodwill. Becca hates the memories of her son. She hates being reminded that he was once consumed her life but is now gone forever. While Howie tries to hold onto the death of Danny, Becca will do absolutely anything she can to rid the reminders of him from her life; the ways in which they grieve are polar opposites.

Along with the theme that people cope with loss differently, there is another common theme in Hamlet and Rabbit Hole that loss has the ability to change a person’s loyalty in a relationship. With Hamlet, the death of King Hamlet has strained the relationship between Queen Gertrude and Hamlet. Quite possibly the most glaring change in loyalties in the relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet is Gertrude’s new loyalty to Claudius. With Claudius being Hamlet’s uncle, Gertrude marrying him is enough on it’s own to display disloyalty to Hamlet. The disloyalty Gertrude displays is further exemplified after the incident where Hamlet accidentally killed Polonius. Hamlet told Gertrude not to tell anyone that he killed Polonius, and she agreed to do so. However, following this interaction, she immediately went to tell Claudius that Hamlet “Whip[ped] out his rapier…And in this brainish apprehension kill[ed]/The unseen good old man” (4.1.10-12). Before the death of King Hamlet, Gertrude’s loyalty lay within Hamlet. But with the loss of King Hamlet, Gertrude’s loyalty shifted to Claudius-for a true reason unknown to Hamlet. Hamlet was under the impression that his mother would stay loyal to him for his entire life, and he is shocked at how their relationship changed because his father died.

The same is true in Mitchell’s movie. The loyalty of a relationship, in this case, Becca’s and Howie’s, is changed following the loss of their son. When Howie told Becca that he was going to group therapy, he got in the car and drove to Gabby’s house, making sure to check that he looked good on the way there. At the same time, Becca drives to Jason’s house. The tension in their marriage increased very quickly once they lost Danny. This tension reaches a breaking point, and Becca and Howie both place their loyalty in other people. Instead of working to improve their relationship, they formed relationships with others, and lied to each other-something one would not expect a married couple to do. This was all due to the loss of Danny. Had he not died, Becca and Howie might not have strayed from their loyalty to each other.

As clearly seen in both Shakepeare’s Hamlet and Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole, the ideas that people cope with loss in different ways and loss can drive loyalty in relationships to change are both displayed. The two themes, however, are not specific only to these works. They are present in the lives of most people. Everyone at some point will experience loss crashing down on their life like a tsunami. The severity of the loss does not discredit that it will have an effect on a person. It is important to remember that the changes loss forces will vary between people, but no change is wrong, it is just different. However, people should learn that loss is a chance to come together, despite these differences, instead of forcing yourselves apart.