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The portrayal of women in Shakespeare's plays
Role of women characters in Hamlet
Role of women characters in Hamlet
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Shakespeare’s Hamlet, shows strong prejudice against woman especially with such characters of Ophelia and Gertrude. Shakespeare created an interesting character with Gertrude; he created a character that sits in the middle of all the conflict and appears to not partake in much of it. However Gertrude does seem intent in defusing it at every possible chance she receives. Gertrude is a central figure in the play. She appears a great deal but doesn’t say much – implying mystery and creating an interesting uncertainty in the audience. Hamlet spends a lot of time dwelling on her marriage to Claudius and Shakespeare leaves many questions unanswered with Gertrude such as did she have an affair with Claudius behind old hamlets back? Why does she drink the poisoned wine that is intended for her son? Does she know it is poisoned? Gertrude is the mother of Hamlet and although they do not have a typical mother son relationship she does love him. Queen Gertrude is often interpreted by many as an adulterate, incestuous woman. Catherine Belsey states that typical interpretations of Hamlet maintain: ‘Gertrude a slut; and Shakespeare a patriarchal bard’ (Belsey,1997:34). Gertrude’s actions throughout the play could be read to show her to be a very passive character, far from a strong independent woman. This is shown with her obedience to Claudius, three times during the play, Gertrude is told to leave and each times she complies without hesitation. In Act 1, scene 2 Claudius says to Gertrude, ‘Madam, come’ (122). Then again, Act 3, scene 1, Claudius says to her, ‘Sweet Gertrude, leave us .’ (28), she complies with ; ‘I shall obey you’ (37). And finally, in Act 4, scene 1, Claudius say, ‘O Gertrude, come away!’ (28). This obedience that Gertrude ... ... middle of paper ... ...anchester: Manchester University Press. 116-133. Belsey, Catherine. Feminism and Beyond. Shakespeare Studies 25 (1997): 32 - 41 Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing. Heilbrun, Carolyn G. (2002). Hamlet's Mother and Other Women. 2nd ed. West Sussex: Columbia University Press. Loberg, Harmonie. “Queen Gertrude: Monarch, Mother, Murderer.” Atenea 24.1 (June 2004): 59-71 Ouditt, Sharon. "Explaining Woman's Frailty: Feminist Readings of Gertrude." Hamlet. Ed. Peter J. Smith and Nigel Wood. Theory in Practice. Buckingham: Open UP, 1996. 83-107. Pearson, Patricia. When She Was Bad: Violent Women and the Myth of Innocence. New York: Viking, 1997 Uéno, Yoshiko. “Three Gertrude’s: Text and Subtext.” Hamlet and Japan. Ed. Yoshiko Uéno. Hamlet Collection 2. New York: AMS, 1995. 155-68
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.
Manning, John. "Symbola and Emblemata in Hamlet." New Essays on Hamlet. Ed. Mark Thornton Burnett and John Manning. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 11-18.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is set in the late middle ages, in Denmark. A time in history when women were not respected and thought of as the inferior sex. There are two women characters in Hamlet; Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest. Magda Romanska the writer of “Ontology and Eroticism: Two Bodies Of Ophelia”, argues that Ophelia represents the typical idea of women in the nineteenth century. I agree with this, but argue that it is not the only aspect of Ophelia’s character. Ophelia becomes the bearer of Hamlet’s hatred toward the world, and is also the character of lowest status because she is an average women. Ophelia surrenders herself to the cruelty of those around her, and sacrifices her sanctity to please and conform
Adelman, Janet. "Man and Wife is One Flesh": Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body.
William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a complicated story, which involves revenge, madness, and murder. The tale uses different styles to highlight concepts and complications. This essay will reveal the meticulous explanation of the complex images of a woman, which helps to understand the tales of Ophelia and Gertrude. Throughout the entire play, the misogynistic images of women in Hamlet’s life inform the readers about different opinions associated with the characters of the production. The women in the play have power to challenge the patriarchal society and figure out their own identities, which were much different from Hamlet’s perspective.
Gertrude influenced Hamlet significantly throughout the course of the play. Hamlet was very angered by his mother's remarriage. A few months after his father's death, Gertrude married Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. He was driven mad when his father's ghost appeared to him and revealed that Claudius was responsible for the death of Old Hamlet. Hamlet even termed the marriage as incest. Hamlet's fury is displayed when he throws his mother on the bed and says, "Frailty, thy name is woman" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). This shows his extent of anger because he makes a generalization that all women are weak. As a result of his mother's actions, Hamlet strives to seek revenge against Claudius for the death of his father. In order to marry Gertrude, Claudius kills his brother. Therefore, Gertrude is the driving factor for the whole setup of the play.
To begin, Gertrude is presented in differing manners throughout Hamlet the play versus Hamlet (2000) the film. In Shakespeare’s play, she originally is cast as a woman who has power due to her husband, but sits as a trophy wife. Craving power, safety, and comfort, she depends on men for her position and control. Seeming to have poor judgment, she never expresses self-reflection throughout the play and just seems to be a bit oblivious to everything, ultimately resulting in her death as an unaware victim of a game she ensnared herself
Gertrude has an obsessive need to keep her crown, and remain Queen of Denmark despite potentially sacrificing her relations with the ones who love her- but more specifically, her son. This desire, although unaware, heavily contributes to the plotted madness of Hamlet, and supports the theory of being a self-centred, and a weak individual. Within two months of her husband’s organized death, Queen Gertrude remarries to King Hamlet’s brother, Claudius. With very likely chances of Gertrude being a lover to Claudius while married to King Hamlet, she would have been certainly convinced to be a part of the plot of his murder- and therefore playing the role of a cold villainess. The ghost of Hamlet informs his son of what has taken place, and assigns him to “Revenge [their] foul and most unnatural murder... that
Leverenz, D. 1978. The Woman in Hamlet: An Interpersonal View. Signs, 4 (2), pp. 291--308.
Firstly, Gertrude is introduced as a queen that clearly lacks independency. In the beginning of the play, she is as a character that always in need of a male existence next to her. Just “within a month” (I.II.149) after the late King Hamlet deceased, she already hurried herself to get another husband. This attitude of hers sickens Hamlet terribly; he cannot come to comprehend how his mother could behave less than a beast, for a beast “would have mourned longer” (I.II.150). Shakespeare sets the play with this idea that women are corrupted with sexual drive—and always in lust for it. Because Gertrude obediently follows her lustful inner soul, she goes on ahead with the marriage with Claudius—which Hamlet refers to as “incestuous” and “rotten”. The moment the marriage is royally held, Gertrude loses her credibility as a mother in Hamlet’s eyes. Adding to this, Shakespeare uses the character Gertrude to show indecisiveness and hollowness of women. The character ...
King Claudius shows little respect for Gertrude in the play and tries to represent her as a materialistic character and puts her last before himself. “My fault is past. But O, what form of prayer can serve my turn? Forgive me my foul murder? That cannot be, since I am still possess'd of those effects for which I did the murder, my crown, mine own ambition, and my queen” (3.4.52-55). Claudius is saying all his sins, including the murder of his brother, Hamlet, but the last part of the quote is, “my crown, my own ambition, and my queen.” He puts his royalty and his ambition before Gertrude thinking that she’s always going to be there for him no matter what because she isn’t aware of what he’s done in the past. “Frailty thy name is woman!” (1.2.146). Hamlet supposedly has the stance to say this about women because only one, his mother, has given up so quickly and moved onto Claudius without a second thought. Hamlet considers every women to be weak, Ophelia. He treats women as if they don’t know what they’re doing and violently tries to get them to understand his logic as if they’re stupid. Most men in the play have the mentality that women don’t have the capacity of what they have, even if it’s on a subject they’re completely guessing on and don’t know all the details to. For example, back to when Polonius and Ophelia had a huge discussion about her and Hamlet, he said, “...Set your entreatment at a higher rate than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet, believe so much in him, that he is young and with a larger tether amy he walk than may be given you: in few, Ophelia, do not believe his brows; for they are brokers, not of that dye which their investments show, but mere implorators of unholy suits, breathing like sanctified and pious bawds...I would not
When Gertrude tries to protect Hamlet from Claudius in act IV, scene 1, when describing to Claudius about Hamlet 's killing of Polonius, Gertrude covers up Hamlets indifferent attitude by saying that he cried afterwards: “ Shows itself pure. He weeps for what is done” (IV.I.27). She knows that Hamlet did not show sorrow, but as a mother, she wants to describe him in a way that will make things easier for him. However, this does not change the conflict towards Gertrude and Hamlet. Hamlet is still enraged with vengeance and Gertrude’s nurturing act does not help the situation: “The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body. The king is a thing—Of nothing: Bring me to him. Hide fox, and all after” (IV.II.22-23, 25). Gertrude’s acts does not stop Hamlet from seeking revenge. She does not have the insight to distinguish between sincerity and deception in people. She seems to be more concerned with being caught in the middle of the two men in her life than with the possibility she has done something
“Frailty, thy name is woman,” a quote stated by Hamlet in the award-winning play “Hamlet,” written by William Shakespeare between the years 1599 and 1601. Many people argue the point that women are defined regarding their sexuality, and they typically have no power compared to stand against sexual expectations. Through analyzing the Hamlet text, it is evident that women are mistreated greatly, especially Ophelia and Gertrude, due to being degraded and are affected by Hamlet, and how he is using his actions for his gain.Gender inequality is a prominent issue in the work of Hamlet as the two leading women are portrayed as weak, obedient, and used as tools of manipulation by the male figures in their lives. Shakespeare demonstrates a sympathetic
Many see Gertrude as a voiceless character, that she is simple minded or witless. It is important to note, that whether she is a strong character or not in the play, she is innocent of murder. She has no part in the murder of her husband, but that does not mean she is not an adulterer. Hamlet sees Gertrude’s moral offence and is disgusted by it. In Hamlet’s mind, Gertrude was guilty simply by association with Claudius. Though, would Hamlet have condemned her to the same fate as Claudius in the end? Could Hamlet have murdered his mother if not for the ghost’s intervention on her behalf? The closest we may ever come to knowing is in act three in the closet scene.
Both Ophelia and Gertrude develop the theme of betrayal in the play. When Hamlet stages his vengeance plans and kills Polonius, he pesters the mother not to unveil what happened. However, Gertrude goes against her promises and opens up to Claudius concerning the action. Similarly, Polonius and Claudius arrange to capture Hamlet through Ophelia. She betrays her son by lacking concern about Hamlet’s life but instead becomes part of the evil plans. She is always ordered by Claudius the entire play, and obeys; a betrayal to her killed husband- King Hamlet, “Come away” (Shakespeare, I.II, 15). She always appears swayed and easy to convince in the whole drama- traits that show women as inferior and