Ophelia's Treatment Of Women In Hamlet Essay

In the play Hamlet, women are often degraded; this is Shakespeare’s way of displaying the gender roles during the Elizabethan era. Ophelia is a naïve girl who is dominated and controlled by men, thus portraying Shakespeare’s views. Ophelia, like many women in Shakespeare’s plays, was expected to be a silent observer (Petrut 2) even when addressed with disrespect. Women’s opinions were often silenced due to their given roles during this time and lacked many social rights women have today. When Hamlet says to Ophelia, “Lady, shall I lie in your lap?” (Shakespeare, 3.2.107), he disrespects Ophelia in front of her father and his own mother by making sexual notions. Ophelia, simply and respectfully, replies with “No my lord” (Shakespeare, 3.2.108).

Ophelia, on the other hand, is quite a bit different than Gertrude, and her relative foil in the play. At times, Ophelia’s madness is misunderstood as being sexually fixated, which is incorrect if this is the only portion of her madness that is being examined. In order to truly understand Ophelia’s madness, the reader must understand fully the references Ophelia is making, and the connection between the sexuality and religion of the times. In the 1400s, sexuality was inextricably linked to religion – within the confines of

     Abstract: This essay employs Feminist Criticism, New Historicism, and Marxist Criticism, to analyze the portrayal of Queen Gertrude and Ophelia.

The women in Hamlet are affected greatly after being exploited by the men in the play. Ophelia goes mad – her nature is “indeed distract”- not only because of the exploitation, but also because of her Father’s death,

When looking at Hamlet through a feminist lens, Ophelia and Gertrude gain the spotlight. However, with the spotlight on them, they are shown to be dependent upon men and men’s affection, Gertrude needing the affection of Claudius, and Ophelia needing the affection of Hamlet. This shows the women in the play to be seen as weak minded and easily exploited. In the end, not only is Claudius the reason for Gertrude’s death, but Hamlet is the reason for Ophelia’s death. The men they are dependent on control Ophelia and Gertrude’s stories; yet, those men are what drive them to the grave.

While the stage was seen as a way to break the barriers of gender norms during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare both defies these gender norms by creating characters in Hamlet, both male and female, that do not seem to be able to apply reasoning to their abilities and enforces the concepts of gender roles by writing Ophelia as a quiet and subordinate woman. The Great Chain of Being dictates that logic and reasoning are the defining factors that separate animals from humans. However, both Ophelia and Hamlet, two of the leading characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, seem to comply with the idea of reasoning, and thus, reinforcing the ideas set forth by the Great Chain of Being.

   Poor Ophelia, she lost her lover, her father, her mind, and, posthumously, her brother. Ophelia is the only truly innocent victim in Hamlet. This essay will examine Ophelia's downward spiral from a chaste maiden to nervous wreck.

During the time of Shakespeare, women did not have as much freedom and power as they do today. In the 1500’s women were dominated by men. Decisions that impacted women were decided by men. This dominance is evident with Ophelia in Hamlet. Ophelia was controlled by her father and brother. They told her to stay away from Hamlet; however, Ophelia wanted to continue to see Hamlet. This is an external conflict that Ophelia faces. The internal conflict Ophelia faces is her continuing love for Hamlet, after their breakup. Ophelia eventually went mad and killed herself because she struggled with an internal and external conflict that eventually overwhelmed her.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is the most static character in the play. Instead of changing through the course of the play, she remains suffering in the misfortunes perpetrated upon her. She falls into insanity and dies a tragic death. Ophelia has issues surviving without a male influence, and her downfall is when all the men in her life abandon her. Hamlet’s Ophelia, is a tragic, insane character that cannot exist on her own.

Perhaps the most common feminist struggle, even to-date, is regarding a female’s agency over her own body, and her own time. The two leading female characters in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Getrude and Ophelia, both exemplify different aspects of this struggle—Gertrude as the married widow, whose dead husband, Ole King Hamlet, seeks to claim her sexuality, and current husband, Claudius, who seeks control over her; with Ophelia as her contrast, in the role of Hamlet’s peculiar love interest. These women work to develop, within Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the relationship of both Ophelia, as the classic objectified female, to the overarching storyline, and of Claudius and Gertrude as a defining male-female relationship that lends itself to an analysis of gender roles, denial of subjectivity, and woman’s place within the domestic sphere.

Shakespeare's Hamlet is a tale of mortal revenge, lost souls, love and infidelity, and murder in the royal family. Hamlet, his father having recently died, is mourning the marriage of his mother to his uncle. When his father's ghost appears to him and tells him he must avenge the former king's spirit so that it may pass on to Heaven, he decides to put on an "antic disposition" so that no one will know what he is thinking. As time goes by, he cannot move himself to act upon his revenge and is tormented by his indecisiveness and ineptitude. Among all of this, what is the role of Ophelia, the young maiden, and daughter of the King's advisor, Hamlet's former sweetheart? She seems to appear out of

   Concerning the Ophelia of Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet, is she an innocent type or not? Is she a victim or not? This essay will explore these and other questions related to this character.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet can be read as a feminist play given Ophelia’s experiences within the Danish society. Through Ophelia’s interactions with the men of the play, the audience can see that the male-dominated society brings inequality, distrust, and destruction. As Ophelia interacts with her brother, her father, and Hamlet, she is completely unable to assert her own independence, and her lack of personal autonomy eventually drives her to madness. These three men all deny Ophelia’s individuality and desire for self-control because they are accustomed to their male-dominated world. However, once Ophelia is driven to madness, she is regarded as an individual and finally has political and social power. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a feminist play located within a misogynistic culture that Ophelia struggles to escape.

As a child born and raised in the age of tolerance I found myself confused by the blatant sexism so heavily featured in Hamlet. The modern woman being depicted as strong and self-sufficient I wondered how women could have been depicted as weak and submissive. Once my confusion cleared I realized that the depiction of women in Hamlet was one sided, controlled by the misogynistic males dominating the narrative. Gertrude and Ophelia, the only women featured in the play are only characterized by the male influence in their lives and lack full characterization. They are depicted as weak and considered supporting characters in a narrative that requires their involvement.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is by all means a troubled young man. He seeks revenge for the murder of his father and has to deal with the incestuous relationship between his mother and uncle. In order to hide his motives, he pretends to be mad. Is it under such circumstances possible for him to return Ophelia’s feelings for him? And in what way does Hamlet’s struggle with himself affect Ophelia?