For years, gender equality has been a major issue in the world. Women considered to be weaker and less significant than men were as they did not have the same right and women were supposed to stay home and watch the children. Shakespeare is one of the few people of his time to support gender equality, as the role of women has been a theme in several of his famous plays such as Macbeth and Hamlet. In Hamlet, Shakespeare promotes support for gender equality by creating empathy by displaying the downfall of the women as a result of their obedience, dependence on men, and mistreatment by men.
Throughout the play, the men use Gertrude and Ophelia as tools in their schemes, in which creates empathy for them since they die alongside the men. As the
…show more content…
Women, just like Ophelia and Gertrude, were obedient as followed the orders and rules set upon them from the male population. In addition, they lack control of their own life since the men made the decisions and thoughts for them. Not only did women lack power, their male counterparts are aggressive and verbally abused them. The suffering from these characters creates empathy to promote the need to have a gender equal role. Shakespeare wants the men in the audience to treat women with respect and for women to stick up for themselves. Shakespeare uses Ophelia and Gertrude to represent women with their obedience, dependence on their man and the mistreatment to shed a light on this issue. In the end, the purpose of the female characters and their demise was to promote gender equality in the …show more content…
Women, just like Ophelia and Gertrude, were obedient as followed the orders and rules set upon them from the male population. In addition, they lack control of their own life since the men made the decisions and thoughts for them. Not only did women lack power, their male counterparts are aggressive and verbally abused them. The suffering from these characters creates empathy to promote the need to have a gender equal role. Shakespeare wants the men in the audience to treat women with respect and for women to stick up for themselves. Shakespeare uses Ophelia and Gertrude to represent women with their obedience, dependence on their man and the mistreatment to shed a light on this issue. In the end, the purpose of the female characters and their demise was to promote gender equality in the
In both texts, the two main female characters; Ophelia and Daisy, are subject to the stereotypical gender roles. Ophelia is inclined to be dependent on the males in her life. Polonius orders Ophelia, “I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, Have you so slander any moment leisure, As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet.”(Shakespeare 1.3.132-134). Ophelia obeys his orders and this demonstrates how
Hamlet is one of the most controversial characters from all of the Shakespeare’s play. His character is strong and complicated, but his jealousy is what conduces him to hate women. He sees them as weak, frail, and untrustworthy. He treats Ophelia, the women he loves, unfair and with cruelty. Similarly, he blames his mother for marrying her dead husband’s brother, who is now the King of Denmark. Hamlet’s treatment for women stems from his mother’s impulsive marriage to his uncle who he hates and Ophelia choosing her father’s advice over him.
...She had lost her father and her lover while her brother was away for school, and she was no longer useful as a puppet in a greater scheme. Ophelia was displaced, an Elizabethan woman without the men on whom she had been taught to depend. Therein lies the problem - she lacked independence so much that she could not continue living without Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet. Ophelia's aloneness led to her insanity and death. The form of her death was the only fitting end for her - she drowned in a nearby river, falling beneath the gentle waters. She finally found peace in her mad world. That is how Ophelia is so useful as a classic feminist study - she evokes imagery of the fragile beauty women are expected to become, but shows what happens to women when they submit as such.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia and Gertrude are both passive women that are considered vulnerable and spineless by the men in their lives. The two women lived their lives in the shadows of the male characters while their thoughts and opinions are oppressed by a patriarchal society. Ophelia embodies the flaw of obedience, but deeper than that, the flaw of dependence. Ophelia is completely dependent on her father, Polonius, and proves this when she agrees to stay away from Hamlet and his false feelings.
...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.
Shakespeare shows how the women characters are not strong minded, but shows how their love and deception towards the male characters leads them to their behavior. Lead to their own demises due to the flaws such as dependence they have. The male characters bossed the women around and the women did as they were told. Shakespeare used Gertrude and Ophelia to show how the men seemed to do as they wished and women were forced to follow. It provides the power that the male towards the woman. The dependence of women on men may have traditionally been a factor in their lives; however, in today's ever-changing society, women have become more and more independent to overcome circumstances such as these. Not only were the women manipulated by the male characters, but they were also controlled by their beloved ones.
Mostly, men are the ones included in the dialogue while rarely women were allowed to make their own decisions in this play. Hamlet by William Shakespeare shows that females are often looked down upon and mistreated, this is shown through the two female characters Ophelia and Gertrude. Often, women are looked at as objects; this happens to Ophelia when she returns love letters to Hamlet. In act three, Ophelia tries to give Hamlet his love letters that he had written for her back.
William depicts the females in the play less than positively, and as a result, lead to their own demise. Through the play, Shakespeare illustrates the fallout Queen Gertrude creates for herself as a mother, a wife, and a woman herself through the sacrifice of her own happiness and wellbeing. Works Cited Bierman, David. A. The “Women In Hamlet.”
Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is a timeless work of literature that explores human nature, society's hierarchy, and the quest for power. The two main female protagonists in this story, Ophelia and Gertrude, navigate a society dominated by patriarchy and cultural expectations. Examining these individuals illustrates the many ways in which they navigate and are bound by their society's patriarchal systems. The extent to which Ophelia and Gertrude are powerful or powerless is a contentious issue, reflecting the larger contradictions between independence and subjection that women suffered during Shakespeare's period. The daughter of Polonius and Hamlet's love interest, Ophelia, is a prominent symbol of powerlessness in this play.
William Shakespeare incorporates many themes and ideas into his play, Hamlet. Of the multiple important ideas, one potentially overlooked is the role of women. Only two of the characters in the play are female. Their lines are scarce, but hold huge importance in relation to the progression and plot of the play. Ophelia, the implied lover of Prince Hamlet, and Queen Gertrude, his mother, do not appear significant, but their actions and characters allow for other events to unfold. Gertrude and Ophelia are manipulated and belittled. In their weak will, they end up betraying Hamlet. Observing their manipulation by other people, Hamlet is able to justify and go through with his actions.
For many years, in the older eras, women had always been categorized as insignificant, and worthless. Because of this, women were forced to conform to the stereotype of depending on men, and were subjected to what the men said. William Shakespeare demonstrates this in the play Hamlet. The women are portrayed to deserve their fate because of their inability to be independent and their ability to be easily influenced. In the play, Shakespeare demonstrates that both Gertrude and Ophelia deserve their fate.
For many years in the past women played a small role socially, economically, and politically. As a result of this many works in literature were reflective of this diminutive role of women. In Elizabethan theatres small boys dressed and played the roles of women. In contrast to this trend, in Shakespeare's Hamlet the women in the play are driving factors for the actions of many other characters. Both Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet's love, affected many of the decisions and actions done by Hamlet.
William Shakespeare’s famed tragic, Hamlet, is a story centered around sin, suffering, and death. This popular piece is a highly controversial work of interest for critics concerned in regards to gender rights. Hamlet is a play, written from a male-centered viewpoint, and that which primarily stresses the male characters and their experiences as a replacement instead of assimilating the views and impacts of the women as well. Gender inequality is a dominant theme in Hamlet, in which women are considered and labeled as feeble and submissive because control and manipulation use them, by male dominance.
This idea of the classic husband – wife relationship, could quite possibly be the reason why Gertrude and Ophelia played out their roles as they did. Women were not to take precedence of the authority of the men. Gertrude had a man holding her back and Ophelia had a man holding her back.
Throughout Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” women are used as method for men to get what they want. The men in Hamlet, either directly or indirectly continuously use women to acquire something from other men. The only two women in the entire play are Gertrude and Ophelia, who are consistently used by the current king, Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet. Ophelia is exploited by Polonius and the King (mainly together), and is also used by Hamlet. Gertrude is used by the King, as well as Polonius. In “Hamlet,” the women throughout the play are used as pawns for men to get what they want, mainly from the other men.