Hamlet A Misogynist Analysis

Previously to this class, I have read Hamlet one other time but this time when going through it I couldn’t help but feel more emotion towards the woman in this play. Specifically, I dove deeper into the character of Ophelia and Gertrude. I took a big interest in how they have developed and how Hamlet has affected them and vice versa. Hamlet being the lunatic character that he is has a very distinct way of feeling about women, more specifically, I would say, he is a misogynist.
Hamlet’s hatred for women all starts with his mother, Gertrude. When the ghost of the King first shows up and speaks about Hamlet’s mother it seems as though they had a very meaningful and for the most part “normal” mother/son relationship. Because of Gertrude marrying Claudius shortly after the King passing away it changed Hamlet’s entire perspective not only on his mother but also the other

women in his life. Hamlet showed disgust whenever the mother's new marriage was brought up. The thought of Gertrude having any sexual encounters was horrid to Hamlet. Not only did he feel strongly towards the new couple but because of the way Gertrude spoke about the passing it leads him to believe that the relationship between Gertrude and Claudius was present long before the King’s passing. All of these combinations of emotions lead him to believe that women were misleading and untrustworthy because of his mother. Hamlet’s new feelings towards women not only affected his mother's relationship but also Ophelia.
Ophelia is Hamlet’s love in the play.

She swears by everything in her that Hamlet loves her truly while everyone else around her, including Hamlet, is telling her that he doesn’t love her. Hamlet writes Ophelia a not very well constructed letter on how much he loves her, which is one of Ophelia’s driving motivations to prove that he does love her. As the scenes go by we take a look at another perspective in their relationship, the nunnery scene. By this point, Hamlet has taken a turn for the worst and while speaking to Ophelia he is indirectly speaking to his mother because he knows they are being spied on. He speaks passionately about women having “two faces”. He then makes the claim that he doesn’t believe that anyone should get married because it would prevent men from getting hurt. For Ophelia, Hamlet’s resolution is to send her to become a nun, that way she could live a pure life where she cannot procreate and have a chance to hurt another man. Their relationship settles when Ophelia dies and Hamlet confesses his longing and meaningful love for her, claiming he loved her more than anyone

else.
These two important female roles in the play bring a very interesting dynamic to the play. His views on women does a complete turn around as the play develops and we see how both women are affected by it. I think that bringing these two important women into the play shows not only the strength in women but also the weakness men have for women. He went from having two loving relationships to saying that he wants to ban marriage completely. A turn around like that can only show that while in society men were supposed to be the “leaders” a woman can cause a man to go crazy.