Women Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare

Throughout centuries men have been seen as the gender that have more rights than women. According to Diane Elizabeth Dreher’s 1986 book, Domination & Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare, she explains that a woman during renaissance England, “was to conform patiently and silently to the will of her father and, later, to that of her husband, accepting commands, correction, physical abuse, with sweetness and humility” (16). As a result of a renaissance society that promotes and even encourages this type of behavior, men believe that they have more power. When someone believes that they have more power than another person a pattern of disrespect, and in the most extreme cases, physical and emotional abuse are likely to follow. In Hamlet, Shakespeare contrasts two female leads of the play, Ophelia and Gertrude, through reduction to appearance, instrumentality, and silencing in order to show that during this time period, the objectification of women in the play was parallel to the objectification of women during renaissance England.

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.

Hamlet can be viewed through a feminist lens by focusing on Ophelia and Gertrude and how various other male characters treat them. Ophelia and Gertrude are dismissed as characters through the entire play because they are women. Hamlet refers to women as “frailty,” implying that they are weak and are dependent on men. Reason suggests that with out the males, Ophelia and Gertrude would simply have no story.

In the play Hamlet written by Shakespeare, a young prince is trying to avenge the untimely murder of his father. Later on, Hamlet pretends to be insane, when finding that his father is dead and then uses others to get what he needed. As this happens a girl about Hamlet’s age struggles with Polonius her father and Laertes her brother. Poor Ophelia is unable to fight back all those against her as she slowly goes insane. Ophelia has the idea that she doesn’t like to be undermined and tries to create this new image of herself. When this play is read from a feminist perspective, the way it is interpreted the work is in the mindset of advocating for women 's rights. The feminist side of things shows how women are represented, but we would rather have a fair representation. Ophelias’ death was caused by the raging madness of Hamlet.

In the words of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, “Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are”. Even though in this day and age, this is a concept almost every women can agree on, in the age of Shakespeare, it was a belief women would not dare support. Today, there are still several misogynistic issues that all women struggle with, and it is very evident that the misogyny present in Denmark during the Middle Ages was much more suppressive and aggressive. In Hamlet, Shakespeare explores the idea of male chauvinism in the 17th century and how it forcefully and severely distorts the lives of the female characters in Hamlet in different ways. Specifically, he depicts how the actions, views, and criticism

     The treatment of women in Hamlet is very troubling. The leading female characters, Queen Gertrude and Ophelia, are pawns or puppets for the men around them. Like chess pieces, they are moved about and influenced by the men they love with little say of their own; in fact, Shakespeare does not even develop their characters.

Regardless of whether it is Gertrude or Ophelia, the women within William Shakespeare’s Hamlet are used to advance the interests of men within the play by being portrayed as mere tools as opposed to their own desires. Additionally, the playwright includes stereotypical traits that are believed to be inherently feminine as an explanation for the patriarchal events within the narrative. Despite the realization of these sexist portrayals, Hamlet illustrates the power hierarchy which continues to exist within present

‘Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ continues to engage audiences through its dramatic treatment of the role of women’ through Shakespeare’s characterisation of Gertrude and Ophelia. Within my studies, I had interpreted the tragedy of Hamlet as universal and a critical discussion of women within Elizabethan England, a misogynistic time where man were deemed strong and independent in comparison to women who were deemed to be weak and dependent.

In the play Hamlet, author William Shakespeare points out a few differences between the men and women of this time. They were treated very differently based on their gender. This goes to show that men are favored more than women. Almost all of the women in Hamlet are either disrespected or taken advantage of by men. The women in Hamlet may be disrespected and denied many privileges, but they still worked their hardest to earn more equality with men.

As Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, the fiction was set in the Renaissance era and therefore the persona of women was reflective of that period. The natural stereotype of that time viewed women as weak, fickle, and dependent of the men in their society and subject to the decisions that men make for them. It was an exceedingly common depiction and very rarely was it proven wrong to the men of that time. Women’s rights were nonexistent in this time period so it wasn’t unusual for the portrayal of women to be so negative and offensive. Given that women of that age had known nothing else they attempted to fit the stereotype to please the ‘natural order’.

The play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, is set in an anti-feminist era. Women traditionally have been seen inferior to men. This was an intellectual as well as a physical issue. Women were to raise a family, cook, clean, be pretty and not be smarter than any man. The main characters Ophelia and Gertrude are both depicted with these characteristics as powerless and frail people. This illustration of helpless women affects one's understanding of what their true selves could be.

“Frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2. 150)! This controversial line, followed by several more from the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, displays a common view towards women that portrays them as being weak and reliant on men. Throughout the play, two women, Ophelia and Gertrude, are shown to be dependent on the men in their lives. They both take on a senselessly obedient state of mind. Even though they share this common characteristic, Ophelia and Gertrude are very different characters. Ophelia is a beautiful, young woman who is the love interest of the protagonist, Hamlet. Ophelia obeys her father, Polonius, without hesitation and has very little experience with making her own decisions. Gertrude was the wife of Old Hamlet, and is now the wife of Claudius, the current king and Old Hamlet’s brother. Gertrude desires affection and status more than she cares about the truth of what happened to her late husband. The men in this play have no sense of how they treat the females. This patriarchal way of life was prominent in the late 16th century and early 17th century which was about the time that Hamlet was written and performed. This relationship between the genders is interconnected within the play and with society during that particular time period. The characters of Ophelia and Gertrude were solid examples of how women were viewed as inferior to men during this time in history.

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

Women are truly the backbones of society. They continue to bloom and flourish, helping to further grow and expand communities and the world, but are often cast to the shadows because of stereotypes placed on them dating from centuries ago. It is no secret that Shakespearean plays set basis for these stereotypes, but because of the world views on women's rights in Shakespeare's time, his female characters were allowed to break free from the confines of society. In Shakespeare's most famous play, Hamlet, the two leading ladies, Ophelia and Gertrude, break free from the standard by showcasing various acts of defiance, choosing their own paths and _______________________________. Shakespearean plays often portray women as fragile, negligible and untrustworthy people. Because of the dynamics of Hamlet, the women in the play closely fit the accepted stereotype but, prove to be the strongest characters written in this tragic tragedy by defying the restrictions placed upon them.

For many years, in the older eras, women had always been categorized as insignificant, and worthless. Because of this, women were forced to conform to the stereotype of depending on men, and were subjected to what the men said. William Shakespeare demonstrates this in the play Hamlet. The women are portrayed to deserve their fate because of their inability to be independent and their ability to be easily influenced. In the play, Shakespeare demonstrates that both Gertrude and Ophelia deserve their fate.