Hamnet - A Family’s Love, Stronger than Death
'He has, Agnes sees, done what any father would wish to do, to exchange his child’s suffering for his own, to take his place, to offer himself up in his child’s stead so that the boy might live.' (Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet)
Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, published in 2020, has quickly risen to widespread acclaim both critically and publicly. It reimagines the life of William Shakespeare’s family, inspired by the untimely death of his son, the titular Hamnet. It’s widely theorised that Hamnet’s death inspired one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, Hamlet. There isn’t much historical record of Hamnet outside of his birth and death, yet O’Farrell manages to create a vast, colourful world of love, grief, and family based on his tragic passing.
One of Hamnet’s strengths is its emotional core, led by Shakespeare’s wife Agnes. The book switches between the events surrounding Hamnet’s death and the early days of Agnes and William’s relationship, allowing the reader to establish an emotional connection to the characters. The narrative finds itself haunted by well-timed reminders of what’s to come. Whilst readers fall in love with the vivid, well-written characters, O’Farrell doesn’t let anyone forget the tragedy that’s still to come.
Agnes is a character I found myself relating to and feeling strongly for. She’s first seen through the eyes of her future husband, who sees her as captivating, unique, and wild. Throughout the novel, from girlhood to motherhood, she deals with prejudices of the society around her. Her innate connection to nature and paganism is a well-communicated theme that reflects her periods of emotional and mental distress. She is connected to nature in periods of happiness such as the birth of her first child, and is disconnected in periods of struggle such as in the deepest part of her grief and mourning for her son. It is a mother’s love that drives the emotional stakes of this book, and that is where its strongest impact lies.
Hamnet is another well-written character. He opens the novel searching for an adult to help him look after his twin sister, Judith, who has suddenly been taken ill with the plague. O’Farrell competently finds Hamnet’s narrative voice. He’s a child but not too infantilised, and his willingness to find help no matter the repercussions illustrates his strong bond for his sister well. The reader feels for Hamnet’s distress, even more so anticipating his tragic passing. Hamnet’s bond with his sister haunts the narrative even after his passing, with Judith once asking her mother whether she is still a twin without Hamnet. Not only is it heartbreaking for someone so young to experience such a close and impactful loss, but for Agnes to have to stay strong and explain everything makes it hit even harder.
Another fascinating area of Hamnet is the relationship between William and Agnes. Obviously, William Shakespeare is one of the most known and celebrated playwrights of all time. It’s the elephant in the room of the novel, and one O’Farrell navigates cleverly. William Shakespeare is only named at the very end of the book. Elsewhere, he is defined by his occupation or relationships - e.g. ‘the tutor’, ‘the father’. O’Farrell clearly presents Agnes as the focus of the book, not letting her husband’s reputation or status detract from her own identity.
This is particularly interesting as the novel spends a large amount of time with the Shakespeare family before William’s fame. He is first a tutor, then works for his father selling gloves, and it is only when he leaves Agnes and their children to make a life for himself as a playwright that we begin to see him as the man we all know from GCSE English Literature. It provides a window into who Shakespeare might have been before the fame. O’Farrell’s William was desperate to escape his father’s shadow and pursue his passion for plays. It challenges any preconceived notion the reader might have about Shakespeare, and humanises the man, the myth, the legend.
Hamnet’s death comes around the midpoint of the book, and after spending over a hundred pages reconstructing the mystery and tragedy around his death, the reader is left to wonder where the novel will go next. It is at this point you realise - Hamnet is not a novel about death, but the aftermath. O’Farrell handles the complicated and difficult situation of intimate family grief in an adept and sympathetic manner. Grief is exposed from all angles - from William’s mother, who until this point is generally mean and unpleasant but has trauma from the death of her own daughter; to Judith and Susanna, Hamnet’s sisters who show grief from children's perspectives; to Agnes and William, who navigate grief through marital struggles and William’s increasing fame. Expanding her focus from Agnes to the whole family really drives home the impact of Hamnet’s death.
The conclusion of the novel is bittersweet, hopeful, and left me in absolute bits. Agnes feels more and more disconnected from William, whilst he is in London throwing himself into his work. O’Farrell presents this conflict solely from Agnes’ perspective, which allows the final scene to hit even harder emotionally. We find out, through Judith as Agnes can’t read, that the play William has thrown himself so deeply into is the one and only, Hamlet. Agnes embarks on an angry and spirited journey to London, furious at her husband for putting their dead son’s name on a play for all to see. Only when Agnes sees the play does she realise what he’s doing - creating a world where he as Hamnet’s father is the one to die and his son lives, even just a few minutes longer. The reader is left with hope that William and Agnes will finally speak of their grief, and mend their broken connection in honour of their son.
Hamnet is a beautifully-written novel, if a bit slow at first, which deals well with heavy themes of grief, love, and family. It brings to mind the saying that someone dies twice - first the physical death, and then once again when their name is spoken for the last time. Shakespeare ensured his son’s name would live on through Hamlet, and over 400 years later, Maggie O’Farrell picked up the baton. I really would encourage you to give Hamnet a read, the hype is true! And if not, I've heard good things about Chloé Zhao’s film adaptation which is in cinemas this January, led by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.
