Incest and Sexism in Hamlet

1034 Words3 Pages

In my readings of Hamlet, sexism was a immense element in the story. It is not fairly unambiguous where the incest comes in and who is involved, but the unorthodox relationships that have taken place shows how things were during the Elizabethan Age, or were they? My goal in this paper is to research the gender roles between the males and females in the story and to prove how women were treated during these times, and to determine who was involved in incest and sexism. The characters in focus will be Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and son of the deceased King Hamlet; Polonius, counselor to Claudius; Laertes, Polonius’ son who has returned home due to King Hamlet’s death; Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother and Queen of Denmark; and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius and the sister of Laertes, also Hamlet’s girlfriend. In theory women during the Elizabethan Age had no power in their homes. In royal families the women are the breeders, they had the responsibility to keep the royal bloodline flowing by having male children to keep the male dominance. “A woman whose job is to represent the family, is doing the traditionally female job of being wife or mother.” (Billig) Gertrude’s role in the play had fairly little significance, besides that she was a mother and wife. She showed no reasons as to why she was in such a rush to remarry after her husband, King Hamlet’s death. Claudius, being the wicked man that he was, may have been so eager to claim the thrown as King that he married the widow to rule Denmark. This whole ordeal of his uncle sleeping with his mother made Hamlet infuriated and ill to his stomach. Hamlet showed his emotions when he said: “That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this! Bu... ... middle of paper ... ... the other characters lives that it cost them all their own life. Works Cited Billig, Michael. A Woman's Realm. Talking of the Royal Family. London: Routledge, 1992. 173. Print. Blackmore, Simon Augustine. The Riddles of Hamlet. Boston: Stratford & company, 1917. Shakespeare Online. 2 Aug. 2011. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/opheliaandpolonius.html >. Resetarits, C.R. "Ophelia's Empathic Function". Mississippi Review Vol. 29 no.3 (2001): 215-217 Shmoop Editorial Team. "Hamlet Sex Quotes Page 1." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 May 2014. Shmoop Editorial Team. "Laertes in Hamlet." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 2 May 2014. Vives, Juan Luis, and Charles Fantazzi. The education of a Christian woman a sixteenth-century manual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Topics Deeply Hidden in Hamlet by Williams Shakespeare

    2200 Words  | 5 Pages

    There are many topics deeply hidden in the works of William Shakespeare. One of his greatest pieces of works is the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Not only are the words of Shakespeare meaningful, but there are also many follow up pieces of literature that contain important interpretations of the events in this play. These works about Hamlet are extremely beneficial to the reader. I have found four of these works and will use them as sources throughout this essay. The first source is “The Case of Hamlet’s Conscience,” by Catherine Belsey, and it focuses on the topic of Hamlet’s revenge in the play. The second source is “’Never Doubt I Love’: Misreading Hamlet,” by Imtiaz Habib, and it explains a lot of information about Hamlet’s “love” for Ophelia. The third source is “Shakespeare’s Hamlet, III.i.56—88,” by Horst Breuer, and it talks in depth about the issue of suicide in Hamlet. The fourth and final source is “Shakespeare’s Hamlet 1.2.35-38,” by Kathryn Walls, and it describes the significance of the role the Ghost plays throughout Hamlet. There are many different confusing parts in Hamlet and the best way to fully understand the play is to understand all of these parts. By understanding every miniscule detail in the play, it creates a different outlook on the play for the reader. In this essay, I will explain these confusing topics, as well as explain why the sources are helpful and what insight they can bring. At the end is this essay, the reader will have a complete understanding and appreciation of the play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

    Read More

  • Sexuality and Aggression in Hamlet

    1984 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare expresses the Freudian concept of sexual and aggressive conflict by assigning the traits to female and male characters respectively. The alternating suppression, sexuality over aggression and aggression over sexuality, plays out in Hamlet ultimately proving their symbiotic relationship. The sup...

    Read More

  • Foils as Reflections of Hamlet

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Manning, John. "Symbola and Emblemata in Hamlet." New Essays on Hamlet. Ed. Mark Thornton Burnett and John Manning. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 11-18.

    Read More

  • Hamlet from a Feminist Perspective

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare’s Hamlet, shows strong prejudice against woman especially with such characters of Ophelia and Gertrude. Shakespeare created an interesting character with Gertrude; he created a character that sits in the middle of all the conflict and appears to not partake in much of it. However Gertrude does seem intent in defusing it at every possible chance she receives. Gertrude is a central figure in the play. She appears a great deal but doesn’t say much – implying mystery and creating an interesting uncertainty in the audience. Hamlet spends a lot of time dwelling on her marriage to Claudius and Shakespeare leaves many questions unanswered with Gertrude such as did she have an affair with Claudius behind old hamlets back? Why does she drink the poisoned wine that is intended for her son? Does she know it is poisoned? Gertrude is the mother of Hamlet and although they do not have a typical mother son relationship she does love him. Queen Gertrude is often interpreted by many as an adulterate, incestuous woman. Catherine Belsey states that typical interpretations of Hamlet maintain: ‘Gertrude a slut; and Shakespeare a patriarchal bard’ (Belsey,1997:34). Gertrude’s actions throughout the play could be read to show her to be a very passive character, far from a strong independent woman. This is shown with her obedience to Claudius, three times during the play, Gertrude is told to leave and each times she complies without hesitation. In Act 1, scene 2 Claudius says to Gertrude, ‘Madam, come’ (122). Then again, Act 3, scene 1, Claudius says to her, ‘Sweet Gertrude, leave us .’ (28), she complies with ; ‘I shall obey you’ (37). And finally, in Act 4, scene 1, Claudius say, ‘O Gertrude, come away!’ (28). This obedience that Gertrude ...

    Read More

  • Roles Of Women In Hamlet Essay

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even though women’s rights has evolved drastically, today and throughout history, women still largely adhere to men’s demands. Men, who withhold most of the power in relationships, tend to expanded their own power at the cost of these women, displaying that anybody in a position of power can become uncontrolled. A similar scenario of imbalanced power appears throughout Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays women as pawns in a mostly male world, due to their desire for acceptance from men, women are led to their downfall, showing that in seeking a man’s approval, they often fall victim to men’s greed and manipulation.

    Read More

  • Fortinbras as Foil for Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    Manning, John. "Symbola and Emblemata in Hamlet." New Essays on Hamlet. Ed. Mark Thornton Burnett and John Manning. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 11-18.

    Read More

  • Misogyny In Hamlet Essay

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Essay On Femininity In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    463 Words  | 1 Pages

    With particular reference to Hamlet, feminist critics might explore the characters of Ophelia and Gertrude and how they challenge—or fail to challenge — the domination of male characters. Feminist critics would also be interested in exploring how the play expresses ideas about femininity that were common in Shakespeare's lifetime and how complicit Shakespeare is in Hamlet's personal misogyny. … Elaine Showalter's essay "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism" explores the difficulties, even embarrassments, that feminist critics have had in approaching Ophelia. The problem is that Ophelia has tended to be overshadowed by Hamlet, even by feminist critics, who then feel the need to liberate Ophelia from obscurity. However, even liberated Ophelia is problematic for she suggests some potentially troubling connections between femininity, female sexuality, and madness.

    Read More

  • Contrasting Fortinbras and Laertes with Hamlet

    1951 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rosenberg, Marvin. "Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992.

    Read More

  • Misogyny In Hamlet Analysis

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Shakespeare 's Hamlet, the protagonist, Hamlet himself, is determined to achieve his ultimate goal by seeing that Claudius is put to justice for the crime of murdering the king of Denmark, Claudius 's very brother and Hamlet 's father, and figures that he must pretend to have been driven insane by his father 's death in order to gather the evidence needed on Claudius without anyone figuring out his true intent. However, this ultimately becomes the undoing of Hamlet and causes harm to everyone that comes in contact with him. The suffering of others in the story, inflicted by Hamlet, are examples of the motifs of misogyny (evoked by his mother), incest and incestuous desires (occurring between Ophelia and Laertes, Claudius and Gertrude, and even Hamlet and Gertrude), which compliments and help develop the main themes, such as, the impossibility of certainty,

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Hamlet

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Hamlet, gender plays a huge role in the assumed capability of people. Queen Gertrude had to remarry instead of rule the kingdom by herself. If she wouldn’t have gotten remarried, it would have been likely that her kingdom would have been usurped by a chauvinist male ruler; who felt that women couldn’t rule a kingdom.

    Read More

  • The Patriarchal Society in Hamlet

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just like in society the men in Hamlet follow the rules for a patriarchal society. The three most masculine characters in Hamlet are Claudius, Polonius and Laertes. “Man is supposed to be strong, courageous, rational and sexually aggressive; while woman is weak, timid, emotional, and sexually passive” (De-Yan 1). The first identifiable masculine characters are Laertes and Polonius as they are introduced in the play conversing with Ophelia. In this scene they tell Ophelia what she is allowed to do and command to her to not be with Hamlet, “For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward not permanent sweet, not lasting...” (1.3.5-9). After Laertes leaves, Polonius enters the scene and rebukes Ophelia for believing Hamlets words of affection. As in a patriarchal society the males of the household are the leaders. First in command is the father, and then the brother. Therefore just like in Act one scene three, Ophelia has to do what her father and brother tell her. Claudius is another masculine character in Hamlet. He shows this by murder...

    Read More

  • Free Hamlet Essays: Role of Women in Hamlet

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    For many years in the past women played a small role socially, economically, and politically. As a result of this many works in literature were reflective of this diminutive role of women. In Elizabethan theatres small boys dressed and played the roles of women. In contrast to this trend, in Shakespeare's Hamlet the women in the play are driving factors for the actions of many other characters. Both Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet's love, affected many of the decisions and actions done by Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Societies' Views Towards Women in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet, by William Shakespeare is a well known play, that not only tells a tragedy about revenge and philosophical thinking, but it indirectly emphasizes societies’ views toward women. Shakespeare does a fantastic job at depicting the expected behavior and roles of women through his female characters; Ophelia and Gertrude. Gertrude and Ophelia are portrayed as weak and dependent, a common belief of society toward many women of the time. Hamlet was written and published during the late middle ages (14th -15th century). A time when women were necessary, simply due to their child bearing abilities. They were to be seen as their husband's property, and if they were unfortunate enough to lose their husbands, they would most likely follow command from the next man-most likely their son. The views of this era are clearly shown through the actions and behavior of women in this play. Shakespeare’s play Hamlet captures the stigma, that still exists today: women are weak and dependent upon their male counterparts.

    Read More

  • Hamlet – A Psychological Drama

    1933 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rosenberg, Marvin. “Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.” Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992.

    Read More

More about Incest and Sexism in Hamlet

Open Document