Women in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In this essay I will look at Hamlets perception of women in general but particularly Gertrude and Ophelia. I will also look at the historical presentation of women, comparing Hamlets time to today and seeing if the symbolic role that the females characters have is related to the period. Also I will look at Hamlets madness, whether it was real or not and also whether women could be the cause of it. Finally I will look at a possible ‘Oedipus complex’ in Hamlet. ‘Hamlet’ as the title suggests is based around the character Hamlet Prince of Denmark. This is why women are often presented the way that Hamlet sees them. Also Hamlet lives in a very enclosed world with only a small circle of friends and family. Only 2 women, Gertrude and Ophelia, enter into his world, so he used their characters as a complete character assessment of all women. Hamlet directs the insult ‘frailty thy name is women’ at Gertrude, and in some ways this remark is justified. Hamlet is disillusioned with her because of her ‘o’erhasty marriage’ to Claudius. He thinks it is incestuous and at times seems angrier about it then his father’s murder, ‘in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed.’ This is why often people say that Hamlet has an Oedipus complex. This is an idea developed by Freud who says all sons want to sleep with their mothers and kill their fathers. There are many arguments that go against this though. Hamlet is very outspoken about Gertrude’s ‘incestuous behaviour’ so isn’t likely to want it himself. Hamlet seams repulsed by sex. Also Hamlet seems to view his father as a type of god and so isn’t very likely to want to kill him. In fact the exact opposite, as he is trying to revenge the murder of his father. Gertrude is also suspected by Hamlet of being involved in the murder of Old Hamlet although we are led to believe that she is not. This is because the ghost of Old Hamlet tells Hamlet to say nothing against her as though she is an innocent party in Claudius plan ‘against thy mother aught; leave her to heaven’ She also she turns to support Hamlet at the end of the play, even by saving his life by drinking the poison intended for him. Hamlet only sees the ‘incestuous behaviour’ from Gertrude though and as for him, she represents women in general, he is suspicious of all women. We do get a view of Gert...
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...odshed that he predicts is going to happen. Hamlet is often sceptical against women. He says to Ophelia ‘or is thou wilt need marry, marry a fool, for wise men know what monsters you will make of them.’ This shows how bitter he is towards women and how bitter he is towards the world. This bitterness may be because he feels he has been betrayed by the 2 main women in his life. His mother by marrying Claudius and Ophelia by rejecting him. Women often have symbolic roles in Hamlet. Gertrude isn’t an evil character but is tainted by Claudius. This proves that Shakespeare presents women as being morally week, and led by men, rather than making their own choices. Even when Gertrude breaks away from the evil of Claudius she is led by another man in her son Hamlet. Although this is a more positive reflection of Gertrude/women it still shows how women are shown as easily led and not able to make their own decisions. It isn’t decisive whether Shakespeare is showing this presentation of women as a way of showing that this is wrong, or whether it is just a part of the play that fits in with historical setting. Or he may have been agreeing that this is the way that women should be portrayed.
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 ...
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 “Hamlet” Claudius the King of Denmark kills his own brother King Hamlet. Queen Gertrude who is King Hamlet’s ex wife and Hamlet Prince Of Denmarks mother later goes on and gets remarried to Claudius which is extremely awkward. Hamlet is full of envy for his Uncle’s conniving character and disgusted in his mothers sexual desire. Gertrude completely loves Hamlet but she is a frail woman who seeks affection and status rather than integrity or truth. The ghost of King Hamlet calls her his “most seeming virtuous queen” he then tells Hamlet to “Leave her to Heaven, and to those thorns that in her bosom lodge to prick and sting her.” Indicating she has reason to be found at fault, that she is not innocent. Hamlet is awfully upset with his mother for marrying his uncle immediately without hesitation, and he rejects Ophelia a woman he previously “declared to love.” His words generally pinpoint his repulsion and mistrust of women in general. Although Claudius loves Gertrude dearly his logic behind marrying her was to benefit him in winning the throne away from Hamlet following the death of the king. As the play goes on Claudius’s fear of Hamlet’s madness leads him to an even higher state when Gertrude notifies him about Hamlet killing Polonius. Claudius does not mention Gertrude’s danger, but only he would of been in trouble had he been in the room...
One way that feminism is shown is through how the characters think that the men in the book act like women. Since the beginning of the book the author subtlety hint that the way Hamlet acts loses his respect because of the way he acts. Such as when the king states” ‘Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, to give these mourning duties to your father.... but to persever in obstinate condolement is a course of impious stubbornness. 'Tis unmanly grief. It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, a heart unfortified, a mind impatient, an understanding simple and unschooled” (1.2.90-92; 96-101). For this reason just because he shows his emotions he gets called a girl. Meanwhile hamlet soon starts making horrible comments about how he acts.
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:
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.
The mindset of the unequal genders in the past is thought to have influenced the way playwright William Shakespeare portrayed females in his plays. Shakespeare exemplified this in his revenge tragedy Hamlet, written in 1601 with one of the most significant characters, Gertrude. She is central to the plot due to her relationship with the main character, Hamlet, being his mother. However, not only is she the mother to the tragic hero Hamlet, she is also widow to his laid father, King Hamlet Senior, and also newly wed to Hamlets uncle, Claudius. In this tragic play, we witness not only the downfall of women of the play in general, but specifically the falling out of Gertrude as a mother to Hamlet, as a wife to the new King Claudius, and as a woman herself.
...course, ultimately infuriates and intensifies his urge for revenge. Because of Gertrude’s refusal to acknowledge her sins, Hamlet becomes even more personally motivated to kill Claudius for revenge. Queen Gertrude, though ignorant, has a huge impact on the play because her betrayal and abandonment motivates Hamlet to get revenge.
In theory women during the Elizabethan Age had no power in their homes. In royal families the women are the breeders, they had the responsibility to keep the royal bloodline flowing by having male children to keep the male dominance. “A woman whose job is to represent the family, is doing the traditionally female job of being wife or mother.” (Billig) Gertrude’s role in the play had fairly little significance, besides that she was a mother and wife. She showed no reasons as to why she was in such a rush to remarry after her husband, King Hamlet’s death. Claudius, being the wicked man that he was, may have been so eager to claim the thrown as King that he married the widow to rule Denmark. This whole ordeal of his uncle sleeping with his mother made Hamlet infuriated and ill to his stomach. Hamlet showed his emotions when he said:
The Role of Women in Hamlet in William Shakespeare's Play Gertrude and Ophelia, the only two women in Hamlet, reflect the general status of women in Elizabethan Times. Women were suppressed by the males in their lives (brothers, fathers, and partners) and were always inferior. Ophelia and Gertrude have little or no power due to restricted legal, social and economic rights that were found in Elizabethan society. The male characters in Hamlet reflect this sexist view point, represented by Hamlet’s judgement that “frailty, thy name is woman”. This view was not uncommon in Shakespeare’s time and heavily influenced Shakespeare to present women the way he does in Hamlet.
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.
If women were the ones to have power over men, it would change the plot completely. Gertrude wouldn’t have even considered marrying Claudius, Hamlet would not seek revenge, and Ophelia would be the one playing with Hamlet's mind. In all, since this is a fictitious story, Shakespeare is to blame for this horrid portrayal of women. In reality, women weren’t as dependent on men as the play states. They were obedient, but they wouldn’t so insane and drown themselves if their father died.
In Shakespeare’s dramatic works there is no room for the heroic or the strong woman, and therefore many of his plays can be perceived as being antifeminist. Often he portrays women as weak, mad, sexual, and as even witches. Hamlet is no exception. The only women in the play, Ophelia and Queen Gertrude, are given confined and limited roles. These roles are from a male-dominated viewpoint and only add focus to the male characters instead of incorporating the insight and the impact of the women as well.
Throughout Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” women are used as method for men to get what they want. The men in Hamlet, either directly or indirectly continuously use women to acquire something from other men. The only two women in the entire play are Gertrude and Ophelia, who are consistently used by the current king, Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet. Ophelia is exploited by Polonius and the King (mainly together), and is also used by Hamlet. Gertrude is used by the King, as well as Polonius. In “Hamlet,” the women throughout the play are used as pawns for men to get what they want, mainly from the other men.
For many years in the past women played a small role socially, economically, and politically. As a result of this many works in literature were reflective of this diminutive role of women. In Elizabethan theatres small boys dressed and played the roles of women. In contrast to this trend, in Shakespeare's Hamlet the women in the play are driving factors for the actions of many other characters. Both Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet's love, affected many of the decisions and actions done by Hamlet.