Oppression And Victimization Of Women

Throughout history, there is not one group that has more stringent cultural norms than women. In the Elizabethan Era, women were subservient to men in almost all aspects of life, both public and domestic.In the eyes of a man, a woman was a piece of property to be owned; a tangible piece of property that one had rights to. Such is the case with Ophelia in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Hamlet forces social constraints of typical womanhood onto Ophelia, which in turn exacerbates her madness. Due to this pervasive sexism, Ophelia and Hamlet’s death’s are views in sexist lights that make readers view Hamlet’s death one that was heroic, and Ophelia’s one of a damsel in distress.

In A Thousand Splendid Suns, men do not hate women, in fact, the author shows women’s oppression and physical abuse are rooted in the society. For instance, wearing burqa symbolized the beginning of women’s oppression in the Islamic culture. In the novel, Rasheed says, ‘“I’m a different breed of man, Mariam. Where I come from, one wrong look, one proper word, and blood is spilled. Where I come from, a woman’s face is her husband’s business only. I want you to remember that. Do you understand?”’ (70). When Rasheed says these words to Mariam, it shows that Rasheed is traditionalist, has a conservative mind and is oppressing Mariam in every movements and words of her and one wrong mistake, she will be punish by him. In other words, his words means that Mariam is now a married woman, her body belongs only to him and it also shows she has no power and no equal rights as him. In Islamic culture, there’s a belief that men own women once they are married and that her everything belong only to them. Upon reading the novel, the readers can see that there are physical abuses which occurred to women and show that women are not allow to self-defend themselves from the abuse. In Chapter 8 Part 1, it foreshadows that physical abuse is a most common occurrence in the Islamic culture. For instance, the narrator says, “Mariam’s hands shook when she tried to slip the band onto his finger, and Rasheed had to help her. Her own band was a little tight, but Rasheed had no trouble forcing it over

The feminist school has various goals when being used to scrutinize a piece of literature. As Gillespie points out, historically texts were written by males with primarily male protagonists, and thus, the male sentiment is most dominantly expressed in many works of literature. The lessened representation of women in literature is usually confined to typical stereotypes of the historical period. This can be seen in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, and this will be further explored and discussed. Through the feminist lens, women’s presence and portrayal in the play, as well as the common stereotypes about women in Shakespearean society, can be studied carefully, despite the centuries that have passed between the play’s conception and the present. Additionally, as stated in Literary Theories: A Sampling of Critical Lenses,

The first instance of Polonius’ overbearing nature is seen in Act 1, scene 3, where Polonius is giving “advice” to his daughter about Hamlet. Once Laertes heads to the ship, Polonius instantly demands Ophelia to tell him what her brother told her. Polonius hears his daughter talk about Hamlet and immediately states her reputation in the eyes of others. He states, “Have of your audience been most free and bounteous…you do not understand you so clearly as it behooves my daughter and your honor,” (Act 1, scene 3, 93-98). He makes it clear that she is making herself very available for Hamlet and not conducting herself in a fashion that is appealing to her name. It’s obvious that Ophelia fancies Hamlet’s romantic advances on her, but Polonius doesn’t care for her independent thinking. He ridicules her calling her a “green girl” a “baby” for thinking that Hamlet’s offers of affection are real (Act I, scene 3, 101-105). The scene ends with Polonius reminding Ophelia that Hamlet’s intentions are not to love, but empty promises sought to advance in sexual acts. Although Ophelia strongly feels love for Hamlet, she listens to her father’s advice and ends the scene with “I shall obey, my lord,” (Act 1, Scene 3, 136).

For my Final project in WS, I have chosen to talk about the oppression of women, and women of color. To narrow more in on the topic, I have chosen to discuss the oppression of women in the work force and all the different forms of oppression women face. Oppression is defined as, “A situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom,” (dictionary.cambridge.org). Oppression can be caused by many different things. People can feel oppressed because they are being compared to the opposite gender. People can be oppressed being compared to other age groups. And people can feel oppressed when being compared to different races. Women of color feel oppressed because they are constantly being compared to white women, and some may say they do not always have the same privileges as others. I have enjoyed reading and researching about this topic, but at the same time have had a hard time truly understanding it. To be completely transparent I am a privileged white girl and throughout my whole life I have never felt that I faced oppression. I have witnessed it, but never experienced it. The oppression I have witnessed has only been in the work force; which I will discuss later on.

Reflecting upon your inquiries on the first paragraph, the male dominated perspective does not seem to serve men either. You mentioned sexual assault and violence in your post. Associating victims with female gender as well as perceiving female victims as weak does not seems to help understanding how to support male victims of assault and/or violence.

Throughout history, a system of patriarchy and sexism has over time replicated itself across the world. From this system of male-superiority, emerged misogyny. Referring to the hatred or dislike of women, misogyny has taken many different forms throughout William Shakespeare’s published works. In specific, Shakespeare’s play Hamlet features various examples of misogyny, portrayed by the tragic hero Hamlet and his relationships with the women in his life. This underlying theme of misogyny heavily influences his course of action, and contributes nothing but conflict between his female counterparts and himself.

Throughout history, womankind has been forced to endure misogyny in many forms; and, innumerable examples of inequality in society’s treatment of men and women can be found in the world’s past and present. From foot-binding to slut-shaming, from harems where women were treated like property to jobs where women receive lower salaries than their male counterparts, and from the women’s suffrage movement to the fight for women’s right to make their own choices about their reproductive health, the “fairer sex” has often been treated unfairly. This theme of oppresion has been explored in many works of literature, both contempory and classical, and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, written at the turn of the 16th century, is no exception. In Hamlet,

The oppression of women has been brought into light in the recent years but it was the norm in many societies in early history especially in premodern east Asia. During that time, the roles of men and women in society were determined by great scholars that had the power to get their voice to be heard and set general rules in society. In China, scholars like Confucius, Mencius, and Mozi had great impact on the way people divided the roles between men and women. The overall oppression of women in premodern east Asia can be seen through quotes from great scholars about how women should be obedient to men, should not make important decisions in their families, and are not spoken of equally to men in society.

Polonius further displays his self-interest through his attempt to advance his cause by using his conversation with his daughter to gain favor with the king. Polonius meets with King Claudius and Queen Gertrude to inform them that the reason why their son, Prince Hamlet, is crazy is due to his love for his daughter, Ophelia. Here, Polonius is willing to sacrifice his daughter’s happiness to score points with the king. He presents to the king and queen a letter that Prince Hamlet has written to Ophelia. He replies, “I have a daughter- have while she is mine-Who, in her duty and obedience, mark, Hath given me this”(II.ii.106-108). The letter shows that Prince Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia as he writes to her, “To the celestial and my soul’s idol, the most beautified Ophelia “(II.ii109-111)

The discourse of gender in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet presents an undoubtable polarity between the behaviour and socialization of male and female characters. This process thus accounts for the mores and norms which each gender is accustomed to, be it deriving from position in society, actions, or sins. For the characters in the play, following the ‘natural order’ which positions men at a higher social standing than women, is crucial in avoiding chaos for both the individual and the community and thus any disruption of this hierarchy is met with fearful consequences. The Shakespearean societal structure is an example of Patriarchy at its finest. Hamlet is a Shakespearean tragedy which creates

Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, reflects some of the societal issues that had plagued his time, most notably the imbalance of the standards between men and women. Hamlet’s attitude and actions towards women reveal the effects of a patriarchal society. In addition, it highlights the inward struggle Hamlet faces in finding the balance between his femininity and abiding to the standards of their society. Hamlet’s poor treatment of women helps pave the way for awareness of the social injustice, dysfunctional relationships and miscommunications that contribute toward the tragic ending.

It is evident that women are perceived as the inferior sex with their character shaped by the demands of the men in Hamlet. There is a pattern of female oppression and the prominence of gender

Polonius also acquires his daughter to stop courting Hamlet by ordering her to instead of allowing her to decide for herself. He is looking out for his daughter. The King and Queen were very troubled at Hamlet’s superficial insanity. They tell Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that discovery of what is hypocritical with Hamlet would be “the supply and profit of our hope “(Hamlet 2.2.24). They are noticeably embittered at his behavior, and Polonius knows this, and tries to use his daughter to demonstrate his notion. When Ophelia approached and pronounced to him her get-together with Hamlet in Act I, Polonius instantaneously brought her to the King. Polonius, performing on his duty to “both God and to gracious king” (Hamlet 2.2.45) took Ophelia to Claudius to understand if he could be any assistance in demanding to find out what is iniquitous with Hamlet. He rapidly tells the King that he will “loose my daughter to him“(Hamlet 2.2.161) and fabricates a premeditated plan to do so. This plan, and Polonius’ role of Ophelia, is all to gratify the Royal Court, and has no space in it for Ophelia’s feelings. Polonius treats his daughter practically like one would use a mare, with his loos of her and organizes it so just to try and get on the respectable side of Claudius and Gertrude.

Women are a very important part of this world although they are sometimes not portrayed that way. One would think they would be seen as significant because of the fact that women make up almost half of the world’s population. Throughout all of history, females have been considered the weaker sex. In the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, women are portrayed as weak minded and unfaithful. The inability to correctly make important life decisions, a weakened mental state, and complete obedience to men all contribute to this point.