I have this BBC play on cd as well, and it is terrific.

] "She has a great deal of spirit - otherwise Hamlet would never had loved her - but her reactions to him are fuelled by fear and insecurity.

I don't know. I don't see where she's spirited. I see her as very passive. As I mentioned somewhere else, she doesn't act, she reacts. She is buffeted by circumstance and used by everyone. This doesn't seem spirited to me.

I will agree that I think she shows the greatest strength by just getting through the play scene without falling into pieces or hauling off on Hamlet. But even then, she didn't show spirit, giving back to Hamlet as good as she got, but gives placating replies.