The Portrayal Of Women In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

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Hamlet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare consists of many themes such as madness, portrayal of women, masculinity, imagery and suicide. In this play Shakespeare portrays women inferior therefore they receive a lack of respect from men. In the play, Shakespeare characterizes women as dirty and disgusting and refers to them as prostitutes. Women are also seen weak and obedient which are identified by the only two female characters, Gertrude who is the Queen of Denmark and Ophelia who is Hamlet’s love interest. William Shakespeare expresses women as dirty, low and as disgusting human beings. There are various lines in the play where this is shown. It is seen when Hamlet speaks to Polonius about being careful in letting Ophelia wander …show more content…

But, come, for England! Farewell, dear mother” (4.3. 48-49). This is a big insult to Claudius because Hamlet addresses him as a female and indirectly calls Claudius dirty and disgusting. Another perception of women seen by Hamlet is women turn their husbands into monsters and those women are unfaithful and cheat on their husbands. Hamlet says to Ophelia,
If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go: farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell. (3.1.11)
Due to this, he tells Ophelia to go to a nunnery. Hamlet believes that women deceive men by behaving a certain way, for example walking, talking, playing dumb and acting in a manner which attracts men. Hamlet says,
I have heard of your paintings too, well enough; God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another: you jig, you amble, and you lisp, and nick-name God's creatures, and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I'll no more on't; it hath made me mad. I say, we will have no more marriages: those that are married already, all but one, shall live; the rest shall keep as they are. To …show more content…

The character Gertrude in the play is the Queen on Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, the wife of the King of Denmark who has been murdered by his younger brother Claudius and is now the wife of Claudius, the current King of Denmark. Gertrude is written by Shakespeare as weak, unfaithful, shallow, and sensuous. It is seen that Gertrude is shallow and sensuous when the Ghost of Old Hamlet appears to Hamlet and says, “So to seduce! – won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming- virtuous queen” (1.2. 45-46). This proves that Gertrude is shallow and sensuous because she’s easily won over by Claudius. Gertrude wasn’t able to resist her temptations in marrying Claudius, especially so

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