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Hamlet Gender Roles

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Gender Analysis of Hamlet Gender roles have always had a presence in society; it started from the inception of life and will live into everlasting eternity. The tragedy of Hamlet is no exception; Shakespeare revealed the expectation of male and female’s behavior, attitude, and obligations. The characters within Hamlet were in constant strife, endeavoring to become the ideal character of their gender. These internal battles they fought caused a multitude of conflicts and calamity throughout the plot. Shakespeare's patriarchal tragedy of Hamlet presents archetypal women characters, who challenge the gender ideals of their society, resulting in their demise Hamlet was released in the early 1600s; from then gender roles have changed tremendously. …show more content…

Gertrude provoked the start of her son’s anger towards women, “Hamlet’s sexual disgust at Gertrude and women in general can be read both in oedipal terms and in terms of cuckoldry without conflict. In both contexts, Hamlet as son shares his father’s sense of shame at having been sexually betrayed by a woman he loved” (Faber 134). The marriage of Claudius and Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, was perceived inappropriate by Hamlet; he thought not enough time had passed, and it was unethical for his mother to marry his uncle. Gertrude corrupted Hamlet’s perspective on women, forcing his views of women to be permanently distorted into hatred and …show more content…

Ophelia’s madness provides her a voice that had been missing from the effect of her patriarchal society; she uses this insanity as a tool against the gender domination that dictates her life. Ophelia characteristic are symbols describes as, “her madness and death symbolize the breaking of her patriarchal chains. Her innocence is representative of the patriarchal view of the temperamental, childish emotions of women and her madness is symbolic of the fear of, and fascination with, women’s sexuality that has pervaded western culture since ancient times.”(Frazer 6). Ophelia’s rebel against gender expectation ended to be her ultimate downfall— once she had finally set herself free of the archetype of women she was sentenced to

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