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Contrast the character of Gertrude and Ophelia in Hamlet
The role of Gertrude and Ophelia in the tragedy of Hamlet
Hamlet's relationship with ophelia and gertrude
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In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, women are oversexualized, and are given no role other than to be the item of a man’s desire. The promiscuity of the only two women in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, detracts from their power and integrity, and allows Hamlet a certain amount of control over them. Gertrude’s sexual lifestyle is often mentioned by her son, Hamlet, and Hamlet uses his knowledge of Gertrude’s sexuality as a means to criticize her. Ophelia’s sexuality initially appears to be controlled by Laertes and Polonius, and Hamlet takes advantage of the naive image that she is required to keep. However, in her later madness, Ophelia taints this image by revealing that her innocence is feigned. By exposing the sexual natures of both Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet strips these women of any influence they may have had, and damages their once-honourable names.
Hamlet possesses an uncomfortable obsession with his mother’s sexuality. For this reason, Hamlet’s soliloquies provide most of the audience’s information about Gertrude’s sexual activities. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet refers to the relationship between Gertrude and Claudius when he exclaims, “Within a month…She married. O, most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (I, ii, 153-157). In saying this, Hamlet displays how hastily Gertrude has abandoned the late King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father, such that she has already married Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. In addition, Hamlet acknowledges that Gertrude and Claudius have quickly developed a very sexual relationship. Despite the very recent death of her husband, Gertrude is unable to control her sexual desires, and she remarries less than two months after King Hamlet’s funeral.
Much later in the play, Hamlet...
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...f the women takes away from their influence and their honour, giving Hamlet an extent of dominance over both women. Hamlet often discusses his mother’s sexuality, and he denounces Gertrude based on her sexual activities. Hamlet also takes advantage of Ophelia’s faked innocence, and exposes her sexuality. By revealing the truth about Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet deprives these two women of their authority, and destroys their formerly respected reputations.
Works Cited
Milner, Cork. “Sexual Ribaldry”. netplaces. n.p. n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. 1601. London: Harper Press, 2011. Print.
Vest, Rob. “Country Matters and Sins Remembered: Ophelia in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”. Indiana University Southeast. n.p. 22 July 2002. Web. 28 May 2014.
White, Noelle. Blessed Trinity Catholic Secondary School, Grimsby, ON. 22 May 2014. Personal Conference.
Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad and harmful. After this scene she becomes aware that Hamlet isn't mad and starts trusting him as opposed to Claudius. This is exactly how Shakespeare has presented women throughout the play: they are easy to convince, very meek and become submissive to the men (as we can see Ophelia and her response to her father and brother). They are depicted as weak and inferior in comparison to the male figures, who control their lives. After the closet scene Gertrude keeps faith to her son and lies to her husband Claudius for Hamlet saying he killed Polonius in his madness:
Ophelia and Gertrude are significant characters because it is their interactions with Hamlet that give the reader insight to Hamlet’s views and treatment of women—an indicator of his “madness.” Hamlet only seems mad when in the presence of his mother and Ophelia and this madness may be due to their hopelessness. There is an Ophelia complex, which many critics think Ophelia and Gertrude both experience. The Ophelia complex state that women are hopeless and succumb to the abuse of the patriarchal society they live in. Daphne Browning note, “The Ophelia complex not only represents repressed sexuality, but provides a critique of the same traumatic experiences it purports to represent” (Browning). Both Gertrude and Ophelia are weak due to their “divided loyalties” to different men (Findlay). These women’s weaknesses are Hamlet’s fuel for madness. Hamlet is aware of their divided loyalties. Both women throughout Hamlet act as lackey’s, informing Claudius and Polonius about the actions of Hamlet, even more reason for Hamlet to seem
Disgusted by her lack of showing emotion, a seemingly feminine quality in both Hamlet’s and society’s eyes, for his father’s death, he declares “O God, a beat that wants discourse of reason / Would have mourned longer!” to himself (Shakespeare 1.2.154-155). Gertrude, however, is not characterized as a frail feminine figure, and thus she is rather a depicted as the whore, the parallel to the virgin Ophelia in Hamlet. Along with the implication of the whore comes such connotations of a promiscuous and lowly women. This stereotype of women is deviant of social norms, as it disregards any sense of innocence and obedience present in the ideal Elizabethan women. Hamlet extends this idea even further, depicting his very mother in compromising positions with his uncle, her new husband, as he utters, “O most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” in disgust (Shakespeare 1.2.161-162). This vivid imagery characterizes Gertrude as a deviant sexual being, with the allusion to her apparent power as female, as she posts, or rides, Claudius, thus being in the dominant position. While she may have some power and autonomy because of this sexual hold, she can never truly be fully in charge because the inherent dominant nature of the man. So while he
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...g the relationship with Hamlet. Ophelia’s family members including her father perceive the Hamlet’s declarations of love for Ophelia as false and advise her to refrain from meeting Hamlet, in order to preserve her chastity and she agrees. Chastity is perceived as a woman’s most valuable belonging, which must be protected
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