Patriarchy In Hamlet Essay

The Patriarchy is defined as the social system that evokes male dominance over women through social, political, or economic power, according to the Oxford dictionary (Definition). Present in today’s society, it was present in Shakespeare’s 1603 Hamlet even more so. Through Claudius’ authority over Queen Gertrude and Polonius and Hamlet’s demands to Ophelia, complex struggles are outlined between whether or not women admit to free will. The women in Shakespeare’s Hamlet are constantly under the control of their patriarchal superiors, who belittle their potential. Critics such as scholars like Wendy J. Rogers from the University of Delaware and St. Norbert College may claim that the women were more than what men made of them. However, women such as Ophelia and Gertrude were “pawns” to their men and doomed upon experiencing independence.

This is used in effect for the implication that women are good for pleasure, but not good enough to explore their independence. Hamlet constantly toys with Ophelia’s emotions once she cuts her deep connections with him. He especially ridicules and demeans her by demanding that she “get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” (I.III.131-132). This evokes a feeling of irony, as Hamlet is outraged at the course of recent events that he suggests Ophelia pursue the extreme. Essentially, generalization is created that it is smarter to follow the rules of God than to experience independence. This further reflects the resentment of a woman’s liberty throughout the Elizabethan era. In addition, Gertrude is often taken advantage of in a physical way throughout the play. Gertrude is played by Claudius’ charm and believes that he is a good man, enabling him to hastily marry her and satisfy himself as he pleases, extending the claim that much like a pawn in a game of chess, women have the smallest value in the game of