claudius and gertrude by john updike essay Gertrude and claudius by john updike 212 pp new york: alfred a knopf $23 ''she in an unbelted gown not so long it hid the bareness of her feet, a pink bareness implying an entire body flushed still with the languid heat of sleep just shaken off, pink on the sides and white in the toes and at her bare heels thickened to a tallowy tint'.