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Representation of women in Shakespeare
Treatment of women in hamlet
Treatment and portrayal of women in hamlet
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Recommended: Representation of women in Shakespeare
While William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, undeniably can be classified as a timeless piece of literature, it is clear that this tragedy stimulates countless questions about the treatment of women. Throughout the course of the play, the portrayal of the only two female characters demonstrations an understanding of the representation of women whom are unable to take action based off their own thoughts and beliefs due to the pressure of the society around them, which is primarily dominated by strong, fearless male figures. Shakespeare’s characterization of women displays the viewpoint of how this 17th century scenery would value a female’s perspective on the surrounding world. The theme of gender presents a critical …show more content…
She struggles to choose between what her father and her brother want her to do and between her own beliefs, to be with Hamlet. Ultimately, Ophelia’s struggle drives herself to madness; she is unable to cope with the pressure to make a choice. Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, says, “If with too credent ear you list his songs Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open To his unmastered importunity. Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister (Shakespeare Act I, Scene 3, Lines 31-33)”. The men in Ophelia’s life are pressing to keep her virginity and bluntly tell her that her boyfriend wants nothing to do with her. Morally, Ophelia is unsure what decision has best interest in mind. She wants to follow her father’s wishes but also wants to find a way to attend to her own desires. She knows that without her father’s approval she will be unable to be truly happy but without Hamlet she will still lack the love she craves. In addition to being controlled and pressured, Ophelia often takes the brunt of being not being respected or valued by the men around her on multiple occasions. For example, Hamlet says to her, “That’s a fair thought to lie between maids' legs (Shakespeare Act 3, Scene 2, and Line 108)”. Through these words, readers gain better comprehension of how the men in the play value Ophelia. Hamlet has no regard for Ophelia’s reputation because this use of sexual innuendo. He …show more content…
Throughout the play, Gertrude chief issues stem from her previous husband’s death and her new marriage to Claudius. Though Gertrude lacks speech in many areas of the play, readers can still comprehend Gertrude’s place in society by looking to how the men around interact with her. For example, Hamlet says, “Let me not think on't—Frailty, thy name is woman!—(Shakespeare Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 146)”. Hamlet is expressing to his mother that she is weak! He is establishing his perspective based off his mother’s decision to remarry his own uncle, Claudius. Hamlet is very upset and distraught because of his mother’s choice; he in turn uses these emotions and takes them out on his mom. Throughout the play, Hamlet’s focal point is his absence of endorsement for his mother’s relationship with Claudius. He expresses his beliefs when he explains, “Come, come, and sit you down. You shall not budge. You go not till I set you up a glass where you may see the inmost part of you (Shakespeare Act 3, Scene 4, Lines 18-20)”. Hamlet is speaking to his mother and attempting to open her eyes to what she is blind to. He wants her to recognize the ugly interior he has witnessed since her marriage to Claudius. In addition to Hamlet’s lack of approval, readers can comprehend just how much Claudius actually values Gertrude when he says, “It is the poisoned cup. It is too late (Shakespeare Act 5, Scene 2, Lines
Although steps have been made towards equality in the aspect of gender, plays such as Hamlet contain views of the past. Hamlet was written in the early 1600’s, which is known as the Renaissance period. In this time period, women were treated differently than they are now. During the
As the play opened, Hamlet and Ophelia appeared as lovers experiencing a time of turbulence. Hamlet had just returned home from his schooling in Saxony to find that his mother had quickly remarried her dead husband's brother, and this gravely upset him. Hamlet was sincerely devoted to the idea of bloodline loyalty and sought revenge upon learning that Claudius had killed his father. Ophelia, though it seems her relationship with Hamlet is in either the developmental stage or the finalizing stage, became the prime choice as a lure for Hamlet. Laertes inadvertently opened Ophelia up to this role when he spoke with Ophelia about Hamlet before leaving for France. He allowed Polonius to find out about Hamlet's courtship of Ophelia, which led to Polonius' misguided attempts at taking care of Ophelia and obeying the king's command to find the root of Hamlet's problems. Ophelia, placed in the middle against her wishes, obeyed her father and brother's commands with little disagreement. The only time she argued was when Laertes advised her against making decisions incompatible with the expectations of Elizabethan women. Ophelia tells him, in her boldest lines of the play:
She always did what she was told. She had no other choice she spoke her mind not for she was to do what her father said. It didn 't end there the all the other male in her life perceived her as an item. In Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays Ophelia as a character that is used as an object that is being manipulated. She is dehumanized by male figures, and the play rejects the sexist treatment of Ophelia. She is used as bait by male characters in the play to bring others into a means of a selfish end.
Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad and harmful. After this scene she becomes aware that Hamlet isn't mad and starts trusting him as opposed to Claudius. This is exactly how Shakespeare has presented women throughout the play: they are easy to convince, very meek and become submissive to the men (as we can see Ophelia and her response to her father and brother). They are depicted as weak and inferior in comparison to the male figures, who control their lives. After the closet scene Gertrude keeps faith to her son and lies to her husband Claudius for Hamlet saying he killed Polonius in his madness:
In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, it is possible for the audience or reader to come to
Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing.
Misogyny holds the title of the oldest prejudice, and its adverse force blemishes countless pieces of literature. Misogyny and the prejudice against femininity presents itself as an issue during the renowned tale of Hamlet. The potential wife of Hamlet, Ophelia, is subject to struggles from her gender throughout the play. Consequently, Ophelia rests wholly at the mercy of male figures due to the potent grip of the patriarchy, and whittling her features down to a stereotype exposes her character to diminution.
In the Shakespearean era, certain pressures can cause one to become enclosed in expectation, making conformation the only viable alternative. “Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain, / If with too credent ear you list his songs, / Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open / To his unmastered importunity” (1.3.32-35). Laertes reminds Ophelia that as a woman she must be careful around men, certainly Hamlet, and sustain her chastity in order to appear favourable to the public. As a woman of her time, Ophelia is expected to be obedient, submissive, and spiritless. In order to be approved by society, she is required to remain untarnished until her father finds an appropriate suitor to give her away to. She is literally viewed as an article in her father's possession. Ophelia later challenges her brother's notion by saying, “Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, / Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven” (1.3.50-51). In her view, she holds the same set of expectations for her brother rather than accepting that she must blindly follow his (or anyone else's) guidelines simply because she is a woman. Even though Ophelia verbally expresses her disdain towards these formalities, it is inevitable that the pressure placed on her by society will prove too much to bear. Subconsciously, Ophelia has the desire (instilled in her throughout her upbringing) to find a husband and start a family while she is still at an ideal age. Despite all of the warnings she receives, Ophelia falls prey to Hamlet's words, giving up the entirety of herself to him: "I a maid at your window, / To be your Valentine. / Then up he rose, and donned his clothes, / And dupped the chamber-door, / Let in the maid, that out a maid / Never departed more" (4.5.50-55). Ophelia suggests that she innocently allows herself to be intimate with Hamlet. Prior to this, Ophelia believes that Hamlet is that one
Hamlet shows much anger and disrespect to the women in his life. Ophelia’s believing her father’s words breaks Hamlets heart, being the reason for his treatment towards not just her but his mother. Ophelia
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Shakespeare prevails to us in the play that female characters are being innocently killed. The women are the real victims in the play because both Ophelia and Gertrude are killed for no reason. Ophelia and Gertrude are the only female characters in the Hamlet and they both are quite vulnerable and open to the evil society of Denmark. The play is filled with dominant male characters who all are deceitful towards the female characters. Both female characters are victims of lies which end up costing them their lives.
The relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude is strained at first. From the beginning of the play to act III, Hamlet is bitter with his mother. He feels this way because it has been less than four months since the death of his biological father, yet she is already remarried to Claudius. He feels his father is being betrayed from her lack of mourning. She tells her son to "cast thy nighted color off" (I.ii.68) and "all that lives must die" (I.ii.72). Clearly, she isn't grieving over her late husband's death and instead puts forth an optimistic attitude to her new husband and life. Gertrude's concern with Hamlet's odd behaviour after his encounter with Ophelia in act II scene i also shows the strain in their relationship. For example, she agrees with Claudius' words that "of Hamlet's transformation" (II.ii.5) and suggests Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy and find out the underlying cause of her son's problems. In addition to that, she consents Polonius to hide behind the tapestry in act III scene iv without Hamlet knowing. These two decisions suggest their inability to communicate. Instead, spying is required for Gertrude to find out about her son's inner mentality. The mother and ...
It is evident that Hamlet defines Ophelia by her sexuality. Hamlet does not value her as the woman she is. Instead, Hamlet views her as a mere object. Hamlet makes various sexual innuendos towards Ophelia. For example, this is apparent in 2.3, when Hamlet is speaking to Ophelia. Hamlet says, “It would cost you a groaning to take off mine edge” (3.2.250). Hamlet is making this regard to her in public and Ophelia lets him continue. Ophelia because of her gender continues to let Hamlet exploit and oppress her. Ophelia embodies a mutual assessment of femininity. Author Pragati Das writes, “Ophelia, it would seem, wholly at the mercy of the male figures throughout her life, is certainly a victim character” (Das 38). Ophelia does not have any alternative thoughts; she only responds with a simple sentence, “Still better and worse” (3.2.251). Ophelia is not standing up for herself, instead of she “…expresses acquiescence, uncertainty, and obeisance; she utters half lines” (Fischer 2). The power of Hamlet is manipulating Ophelia and it this shown through from her dull reaction of such crudities. Hamlet sums his vulgar and suggestive speech with, “For, oh, for, oh, the hobby-horse is forgot” (3.2.23–24). After Hamlet’s pressures of sexual suggestions, Ophelia is found to be under the absolute dominance of Hamlet’s demands, and as a result, her sanity diminishes. Ophelia’s song reflects on Hamlet, her father, and life
Melancholy, grief, and madness pervade Shakespeare's great tragedy, Hamlet. The emotional maladies presented within Hamlet, not only allow the audience to sympathize with prince Hamlet, but also with the tragic lady Ophelia as well. It is Ophelia who suffers at her lover's discretion because of decisions she was obligated to make on behalf of her weak societal position.
Two of Ophelia’s difficulties arise from her father and brother. They believe that Hamlet is using her to take her virginity and throw it away because Ophelia will never be his wife. Her heart believes that Hamlet loves her although he promises he never has (“Hamlet” 1). Hamlet: “Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness. This was sometime a paradox, but not the time gives it proof. I did love you once.” Ophelia: “Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.” Hamlet: “You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock ...
Another significant female character is Ophelia, Hamlet's love. Hamlet's quest for revenge interferes with his relationship with Ophelia. There is much evidence to show that Hamlet loved her a great deal, but his pretense of madness drove her to her death. Ophelia drowned not knowing what was happening to her. This can be deduced by the fact that she flowed down the river singing and happy when in truth she was heartbroken. Ophelia was very much afraid when she saw Hamlet "with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd, Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). She described him as being "loosed out of hell" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). In addition to that he scared her when he left the room with his eyes still fixed on her. She is especially hurt when Hamlet tells her that he no longer loves her and that he is opposed to marriage. He advises her to go to a nunnery and avoid marriage if she can.