Perception of Women in William Shakespeare's Hamlet
In Hamlet, Shakespeare carefully represents Getrude and Ophelia.
Individually, Gertrude is essentially seen as weak and immoral whilst
Ophelia is seen as meek and a victim of society. Collectively, they
are seen to fulfil a conventional 16th century role, and it is as our
beliefs and views of women change that we are able to perceive the
characters in a different angle.
At the beginning of the play, we get a very biased insight into the
character of Gertrude and how those around her perceive her. This is
because Hamlet and the ghost of Hamlet are both very biased as they
feel a sense of injustice at Gertrude's marriage to Claudius, her
brother-in-law. For example, Gertrude is chiefly seen as very uncaring
and "unrighteous," as the "incestuous" marriage, according to Hamlet,
was carried out with "dexterity" and scarcely a month after King
Hamlet's death. This depiction makes the audience form a very strong
opinion of Gertrude from the outset. It creates an ominous feeling
about Gertrude as the first insight we get into her character is given
by people who have been hurt by her in some way. This suggests that
she is someone to watch out for and that Gertrude is weak and unable
to live without a man who can provide self-protection. Hamlet
personifies this when he says that "frailty" is "woman" and thus a
theme that indicates women are weak runs through the play.
Gertrude's weakness and fickleness is shown in Act 3 Scene 4 where we
are given an insight into Gertrude's actions and personality. She
commences in an arrogant manner for the performance of The Mousetrap,
and then afrai...
... middle of paper ...
... ambiguous, to appeal to the different classes of people who would have
seen the performance in the 16th Century. This is because she is a
character that can be sympathised with, but more prominently, someone
that is easily criticized. This fallible characteristic reminds us
that Gertrude is merely trying to survive in an oppressed world and so
should not constantly be judged. This is effectively shown when
Gertrude is first introduced and emulates the role in society that
women were supposed to conform to during the 16th century. In this
way, Shakespeare manages to make the characters more lifelike, through
their respective weaknesses and strengths as characters.
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Bibliography:
1. 'Hamlet' - penguin popular classics
2. Notes from teacher
3. www.sparknotes.com
4. www.bbc.co.uk
William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet focuses on Hamlet, a 30-year old man who tries to seek revenge for his father. Reading the play and looking at it through a contemporary lens, one can assume the title character is homosexual. Even though Shakespeare does not mean for hamlet to be a homosexual, a contemporary reader can assume this argument; through Hamlet’s characterization, portraying his relationship with men all around. As well as his misogynistic relations.
Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear similarly experience an "unhooking" (Tompkins) in the eponymous plays. These tragic figures struggle with internal and external femininity: after realizing their emotions and labeling them feminine, they identify women as the source of this negative femininity. Their inability to deal with the female gender in any form destabilizes their masculinity, causing an unhooking/unlatching within them. The origin of Hamlet's psychological decay lies in his anger towards Gertrude and his inability to adjust to her marrying Claudius. From Hamlet's perspective, Gertrude giving herself to a new husband signifies her failure to honor his father and her abandonment of Hamlet; he is figuratively orphaned, and he resents his sole living parent. Additionally, Hamlet's emotional confidence has been significantly damaged: seeing his mother with another man substantiates the possibility that his future wife could leave him for another man and cause him serious pain. This realization compels Hamlet to mask his feelings for Ophelia with madness, a defense mechanism intended to conceal his vulnerability. Ophelia reports that he appeared "with his doublet all unbrac'd,/No hat upon his head, his stockins fouled,/Ungart'red, and down-gyved to his ankle" (2.1.75-7), but as Hamlet is well-aware of the dress code, he likely intended for his behavior to be viewed as unacceptable and thus mad.
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:
In every story, a female character always seems to play a significant position. No matter how big or minimal their role is, their impact will be of great importance. More than oftentimes the female character will be portrayed in a depressing manner, overall being weak. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the female protagonist Ophelia’s character is conveyed as an obedient woman who tries to please those around her all the while only displeasing herself and the man she loves leading her to live a tragedy that ends her life. This play focuses on Hamlet striving to avenge his father’s death; ruining his life and those around him because of his choices. Ophelia is the girlfriend that tries to abide by him and make him the happiest man he can be but Hamlet is a man full of doubts and internal dilemmas. In regards to
"Through the lens of Gender theory, Shakespeare's characterization of men and women in Hamlet demonstrate a patriarchal approach throughout the play. In particular, we may explore the female characters of Gertrude and Ophelia and how they challenge -or fail to challenge- the domination of male characters. Throughout the play, Ophelia is represented as incoherent, silent, and a quintessential mad woman. Whilst Gertrude is represented as solely dependent on men, and
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 ...
Even though women’s rights has evolved drastically, today and throughout history, women still largely adhere to men’s demands. Men, who withhold most of the power in relationships, tend to expanded their own power at the cost of these women, displaying that anybody in a position of power can become uncontrolled. A similar scenario of imbalanced power appears throughout Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays women as pawns in a mostly male world, due to their desire for acceptance from men, women are led to their downfall, showing that in seeking a man’s approval, they often fall victim to men’s greed and manipulation.
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.
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.
In this reading, as Showalter describes it: "Hamlet's disgust at the feminine passivity in himself is translated into violent revulsion against women and into his brutal behaviour towards Ophelia." Certainly there is a tradition of seeing Hamlet as rather “feminine” and a number of female actors have taken on the role, believing that they could more fully explore this side of his nature. It is also true that Hamlet berates himself for behaving in a too feminine manner asking why he is unable to act but must instead, "like a whore, unpack my heart with
Hamlet has the disillusion that women are frail after his mother’s rushed remarriage as shown by “Frailty, thy name is woman!” He also believes women do not have the power to reason. (“O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason.”) Ophelia has the power to change his view but her unexplained rejection of him only adds to Hamlet’s disillusion. The ghost’s revelation that Gertrude dishonored Hamlet’s father but also their marriage by the adultery with Claudius is contemplated by Hamlet until he goes into Ophelia’s room to look upon her. As Hamlet searches Ophelia’s face for some sign that might restore his faith in her, he instead believes her face shows guilt and thinks she is another false Gertrude.
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
Throughout Shakespeare 's Hamlet, the protagonist, Hamlet himself, is determined to achieve his ultimate goal by seeing that Claudius is put to justice for the crime of murdering the king of Denmark, Claudius 's very brother and Hamlet 's father, and figures that he must pretend to have been driven insane by his father 's death in order to gather the evidence needed on Claudius without anyone figuring out his true intent. However, this ultimately becomes the undoing of Hamlet and causes harm to everyone that comes in contact with him. The suffering of others in the story, inflicted by Hamlet, are examples of the motifs of misogyny (evoked by his mother), incest and incestuous desires (occurring between Ophelia and Laertes, Claudius and Gertrude, and even Hamlet and Gertrude), which compliments and help develop the main themes, such as, the impossibility of certainty,
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.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Gertrude who is Hamlet’s mother married to King Claudius (Hamlets Uncle) , immediately remarried after her husband’s death King Hamlet (Hamlets Father). Hamlet complained, “Within a month, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left…her galled eyes, She married-O most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity…” (Hamlet.1.2.155-158). Shakespeare makes Gertrude look like she has no virtues. For example, patience, sexual chastity and humility, because when she became widowed, she soon married again, coming to the conclusion that she is an adulterer in society’s views. Since that is completely opposite of the real women’s virtues who lived during the Renaissance, we can see that Shakespeare wanted to differentiate from the virtuous women to create Gertrude’s personality and character as being the total opposite of these women.