In Hamlet, the main problem of the play is that Gertrude and Claudius were having an affair, which causes Claudius to murder King Hamlet and, in turn, causes Hamlet to seek revenge . On top of that, there is also the supposed love between Ophelia and Hamlet. Even if Hamlet only pretended to love Ophelia, this possibility was enough to draw Polonius into the story and contribute to the plot later when he kills. In Lord Hornblower, Hornblower betrays his wife Barbara abroad with a beautiful French woman named Marie whom he meets after conquering a vital French port and initiating the downfall of Napoleon. This is important to the story because after Napoleon's "defeat", he immediately gets back up and goes after Hornblower, but rather than fleeing, he stays and hides in France because he doesn't want to leave.