Essay about Women’s Roles in Hamlet

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.

In today’s world, women of all ages are given equal rights and freedom. In Shakespeare’s time, woman’s obligations were to follow the rules of the men and obey the men in their lives’. “Frailty, thy name is woman;” Hamlet implies the powerlessness of the two women characters in the play. In Hamlet, the roles of Gertrude and Ophelia are very important in that they are the only two female characters in the play. Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark and mother of Hamlet, and Ophelia, the lover of Hamlet, are characterized as controlled and lost in their lives because they are being used by the men throughout the play. Fundamentally, Shakespeare illustrates the nature of Gertrude and Ophelia as powerless victims by the women being subjects of men,

Ophelia’s impression on Hamlet leaves her torn and eventually she takes her own life. Understanding her reactions to society in which she lives through her relationships with the men in her life, adds greater depth to the play. Through Ophelia we witness Hamlet's struggling journey into a man, convinced that all women are weak; that the women who seem to be good are inside bad, full of corrupt and sexual desires. In Act II, Polonius decides to use Ophelia to figure out why Hamlet is behaving so oddly. In Hamlet's distraught mind, there is no explanation: Polonius uses his daughter. And Hamlet tells Polonius so to his face, labeling him a "fishmonger." Both these characters, Ophelia and Gertrude play important roles throughout the play and their presence affects the actions of the men.

The death of this relationship can only be blamed on his mother and her actions which fuels Hamlet's hate. Hamlet toys with Ophelia's heart, and harshly tells her to go to a nunnery. Hamlet is rude to Ophelia at his play and also very explicit; "It would cost you a groaning to take off my edge." (3.2.255-256) Hamlet then chooses to go to the lengths to make Ophelia believe that he never had love for her: "You should not have believed me."

     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.

Ophelia is a young lady born to the King's faithful advisor, Polonius and sister to Laertes. The first time we see Ophelia in the play is in scene III, when she is saying goodbye to her brother who is going back to Paris. She is warned, by her brother, that she should beware of Hamlet's love because he is not just any regular man. In this scene, Ophelia's love is still strong towards Hamlet. She seems not to care too much when her brother is talking to her, but when her father talks to her, and she tells him about the strong love between them, Polonius makes her believe that there is not such thing. He orders Ophelia to end the friendship and, like the obedient daughter she is, she does. Later in the play Polonius is convinced that Hamlet is truly in love with Ophelia and as soon as he sees the Queen and King he starts telling them about the love between the two and how strong it is and he also reads a love letter, from Hamlet to Ophelia, that he has found: “Doubt thou stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love. O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers. I have not art to

However, later wishes to engage in sexual intimacy with her. His indecisiveness drives innocent Ophelia insane, which later becomes one of the causes of her suicide. Ophelia’s father, Polonius who is also the Lord Chamberlain of Denmark, is mistakenly murdered by Hamlet in an attempt of spying over Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude as they discuss about the cause of Hamlet’s strange behaviour. Polonius’s death and Hamlet’s betrayal causes Ophelia to lose her sanity and later becomes the very cause of her death, as she, while collecting flowers, falls into a sea of mud and drowns to death. Gertrude’s overhasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius and her incestuous relationship with Claudius irritates Hamlet to a point that he almost murders her and makes her feel guilty for her treachery.His lack of determination guided him to such paths of criticism and accusation directed towards other characters, which serve absolutely no purpose to his ambitions and also had detrimental impacts on the people around him. Harming others didn’t serve his ambitions as it made them loathe him and he destroyed any chances of them helping him pursue his goals. People criticise others when they themselves are afraid of being criticised. He sets his focus on appraising others despite of having several imperfections himself. This shows his lack of interest in himself and the fact that he fails to understand that disapproving of other’s actions would not help him accomplish his

Throughout the play, Hamlet longs for Ophelia’s affection. Polonius, Ophelia’s father and the King’s right hand, orders Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet. Ophelia is torn in the decision, but she loves her father and obeys. Although Hamlet and Ophelia never pursue the relationship, there were constant hints of admiration and flirting. Hamlet really loved Ophelia, but he hid it through rude statements and harsh insults.

Hamlet and perspective on women Hamlet presents to the audience a minimal amount of two female characters, Ophelia and Gertrude. Of the two characters, Ophelia held the opportunity of developing into a complex character but remains a one-dimensional character who is projected to have failed to overcome obstacles set in her way. She is unable to fight against the devastation that is tragically brought upon her when Hamlet denies their love, and when her father Polonius is killed by that of one whom she loved. Instead, Ophelia’s character crumbles both internally and externally when she allows insanity to wholly consume her, later leading to suicide, something that was frowned upon in the catholic realms. Hamlet’s perspective on women envelops

Ophelia has limited options as a woman and she is not allowed to express herself as well as her true feelings. After her father Polonius warns her to stay away from Hamlet, Ophelia simply replies: "I shall obey, my lord. (Falcon edition, I, iii, 135). Polonius does not hesitate to use his daughter for his own needs. He infers Hamlet's madness is from love to Ophelia, and he attempts to use Ophelia as a platform to exploring Hamlet's madness; in return, owns King Claudius's trust.

From the outset and throughout, Shakespeare in his tragedy ‘Hamlet’ presents the plight of women through the leading ladies of the play, Ophelia and Gertrude. In the patriarchal society Shakespeare presents, misogyny is far from uncommon, as both women are treated as puppets and pawns in the games of the men central to their lives. As per the context of the play, Ophelia is under the control of her father as she is not yet married, her youth also leaving her vulnerable to foul play. However, when a woman becomes married she is now under the direction of her husband which is evident in the treatment of Gertrude by Claudius. The passive acceptance of things these women endured all their lives eventually leads to their own destruction, and as

Aside from making Hamlet upset, the people he truly cares about have been betraying him. For instance, when Hamlet was alone in a room, Hamlet said to himself, “yet even so, within a month of my father’s death, even pancakes before she had broken in the shoes she wore to his funeral… there she was marrying my uncle, my father’s brother,” (Shakespeare 29). Hamlet feels this abandonment from his mother because Hamlet is still depressed and his mother quickly moved on and married her brother-in law. Hamlet is hurt that she did not help him overcome his father’s death and she only cared about herself and her happiness. In addition, Hamlet is not only deceived by his mother, but also by his girlfriend Ophelia. In the same way, when Polonius and Ophelia were speaking, Ophelia agreed by saying, “i’ll do as you say father,” (Shakespeare 49). Ophelia letting down Hamlet by obeying her father because she needed to stop taking and distant herself from Hamlet when he needs her the most which caused him to act in a foul way. Even though Hamlet has been emotionally unstable, he was also inspired by others to take

Shakespeare's Hamlet portrays the harrowing love story of Hamlet and Ophelia. Ophelia, daughter to Polonius and sister of Laertes, is constantly controlled by the men in her life and the medieval precept that the father's word is unquestionable governs Ophelia. Submissive and compliant, Ophelia obeys nearly everything her father tells her to do. This follows her in through her relationship with Hamlet, as she stays with him despite his abusive nature. Ophelia’s submissive nature is a product of the conservative time and the patriarchy. She had no option but to follow the every demand of Hamlet and her family because she was not permitted to have a voice of her own. Because of the male dominated world that she lives in, Ophelia can not govern her sexual or romantic relationship. The authority the many men in her life have over her cause Ophelia’s downfall.

Her father is very controlling of everything she does and everyone she encounters. When Polonius sees a romance rising between Ophelia and Hamlet, he demands her, "This is for all:/I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth,/Have you so slander any moment leisure,/ As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet (I.iii). She is not permitted to have any kind of interaction with him. As an obeying child that she is, Ophelia agrees to not see him anymore. She agrees to not do so, but their continued private sessions show otherwise. After finding out that Hamlet sends her lover letters, Polonius advises her, "And then I prescripts gave her,/That she should lock herself from his resort,/Admit no messengers, receive no tokens" (II. ii). She is not only not allowed to talk to him, but she especially is not to receive any kind of gifts from him. Polonius believes that Hamlet is only a charming guy who uses his good looks and fancy clothing to attract all women only to lead them on and fool them. He wants someone who will treat his daughter with respect and think highly of her, so Hamlet would not be the man who is capable of doing this. Polonius would do anything to separate Ophelia and Hamlet. He is successful at doing so because they do not end up

In the book Hamlet by William Shakespeare, there are many characters who are of major importance and those who are important but do not get shown off as much. Boys are the consistent gender role in Hamlet, however, the women of Hamlet are a crucial component of the story. These women are hardly ever scene in the play, but even though they have a scarcity of lines, whatever they do reflects how the rest of the plot moves forward. Ophelia and Gertrude are the two main females who are portrayed in the book and who are going to be analyzed in this journal.