Portrayal of Women in Shakespeare's Hamlet

1229 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hamlet gender criticism

Portrayal of Women in Shakespeare's Hamlet

Shakespeare was possibly the first writer to portray women as strong, crafty, and intelligent. However, he has still received criticism from feminists about his representation of women. Some have even accused him of misogyny. There are only two female characters in the play Hamlet - Gertrude, Hamlet's mother and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius. Any debate based upon gender roles must therefore focus upon these two characters.

Shakespeare portrays Gertrude as a woman of power and intelligence - she was Queen for a considerable amount of time - we can safely assume at least 30 years - and she is asked advice on matters by King Claudius - "Do you think 'tis this?" (II.2.152). Gertrude is a woman who married her own brother-in-law; perhaps to remain in her position of power. It is often debated whether or not Gertrude was involved in the killing of King Hamlet - either way, Gertrude seems to have complied fully in her marriage to Claudius - she doesn't seem at all offended by Claudius' presence - perhaps reason to suspect that she was unaware of Claudius' role in Hamlet's death, if she was uninvolved.

The ghost tells Hamlet not to judge his mother, or to seek revenge upon her, telling him "leave her to heaven" (I.5.86). This pours doubt upon Gertrude's 'guilt'. Further, her seeming innocence, when confronted by Hamlet as she exclaims "As kill a king!" (III.4.31) would indicate her lack of guilt in or even knowledge of, the murder of old Hamlet. Hamlet himself is certainly convinced, as he tries to 'win her over', later on in the scene: "Throw away the worser part of it, and live the purer with the other half." (III.4.158-159).

Gertrude's apparent innocence would highligh...

... middle of paper ...

...rch 1897), 70-76. Rpt. in Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ed. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts. New York: Manchester University Press, 1997.

Pennington, Michael. "Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of "Hamlet": A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.

Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.

Sardone, Frances J.: Gertrude: Queen of Denmark, Available: http:www.netaccess.on.ca/~frances/gertrude.htm

Shakespeare, William: Hamlet. Published by Penguin 1996.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html

Show More
Related

  • Much Ado About Nothing - A Feminist Perspective of Hero

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398. Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.”

    Read More

  • Hamlet and Horatio

    3393 Words  | 7 Pages

    On Hamlet. 2nd ed. of the book. London: Frank Cass & Co., Ltd., 1964. p. 14-16.

    Read More

  • Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    If the Martian Chronicles had been written in the 1999’s instead of fifty years ago, many issues and problems would change. Ray Bradbury wrote his book in 1946. In it he wrote about problems such as censorship, man’s cruelty to man, and loneliness. Each issue shows up in one or two of his chronicles. All of his issues affect every one of his characters in many different ways.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth: A Dynamic Character

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • Gender Bias in Othello

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    Pitt, Angela. “Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.

    Read More

  • Laurel Ulrich's A Midwife's Tale

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martha?s day was a pretty long one and consisted of many jobs to do, anything from cleaning the house to delivering a baby. The fact that she never lost a mother during any of the childbirths is astonishing in itself since it was the number one cause of death in women. Among those jobs she also spun, raised her children, worked on her farm, and treated illnesses, coming up with her own remedies. For example when Parthenia was sick and she had her drink the last milk from the cow in hopes of her getting better which unfortunately she wasn?t able to make her get better and Parthenia died. Martha?s own children however all lived into their adulthood which was also a very rare thing to add to her list of unique facts.

    Read More

  • Everlasting Nature Vs. Nurture In Frankenstein And Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    “A stronger light pressed upon my nerves, so that I was obliged to shut my eyes. Darkness then came over me,

    Read More

  • Hamlet and Gertrude's Relationship

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Humor In Alexander Weinstein's Saying Goodbye To Yang

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s society, racial profiling is a widespread problem that negatively impacts most non-white people. Weinstein criticizes this in the story using an invasion of North Korea. When “the nation changed the color of its ribbons from yellow to blue” people changed their view on Asians and “Chinese, Japanese, South Korean didn’t matter anymore; they’d all become threats in the eyes of Americans” (Weinstein 11). Russ had racist propaganda that stated “THERE AIN’T NO YELLOW IN THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE” and the narrator described being treated differently when in public with Mika and Yang (Weinstein 11). They were even individually searched at airports solely because Mika and Yang where Asian, similar to how Muslims are treated differently and are constantly being profiled as

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Hamlet And Michael Almereyda's Hamlet

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    Compared to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Almereyda’s adaptation creates a new reading and highlights various elements more directly through a change in the characterization of Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. The movie advances her position as a woman, making her a commanding and prominent figure throughout. This new reading of Gertrude from the movie reflects the changes in societal views regarding women, due to varying time periods, progressing the position of Gertrude as a woman, and exploiting ideas of incest, misogyny, and

    Read More

  • Sir Arthur Holmes: The Victorious Victim Of Sherlock Holmes

    1376 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes a short story about how innocence gets victimized by a royal subject. When a royal figure clashes with someone who is not equal in social class, he will do anything to hide his mistake. This is when the King hires Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle based Holmes off of a man named Dr. Joseph Bell, who was a friend of his in medical school. When Doyle saw that medical practice was not a success, he began writing Holmes stories for money. The public became infatuated with not only the stories, but mainly Sherlock Holmes. When Doyle wanted to write in more respectable genres (Duncan 3), he made one enormous mistake.

    Read More

  • Role of Women in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare incorporates many themes and ideas into his play, Hamlet. Of the multiple important ideas, one potentially overlooked is the role of women. Only two of the characters in the play are female. Their lines are scarce, but hold huge importance in relation to the progression and plot of the play. Ophelia, the implied lover of Prince Hamlet, and Queen Gertrude, his mother, do not appear significant, but their actions and characters allow for other events to unfold.

    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

  • The Role of Language in Shakespeare's Play The Tempest

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Leininger, Lorie Jerrel. “The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare’s Tempest.” The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Eds Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. 285-294

    Read More

  • Asexuality Essay

    1739 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 2004, one researcher claimed that “in both sexual aversion disorder and HSDD, there usually is or was a sexual orientation toward partners of either or both genders, but there is either an aversion for genital contact with these partners (e.g., extreme anxiety when a sexual encounter presents itself) or a low sexual desire for these partners. Sexual aversion disorder and HSDD issues often arise within the context of couples—as, for example, when a ‘discrepancy of sexual desire’ is diagnosed. Asexuality, in contrast, can be defined as the absence of a traditional sexual orientation, in which an individual would exhibit little or no sexual attraction to males or females” (Bogeart, “Asexuality: Prevalence” 1). Ignoring the problematic adherence to the gender binary, this distinction does not provide for asexuals who may experience romantic attraction (commonly mistaken by both asexuals and non-asexuals as sexual attraction), but not

    Read More

More about Portrayal of Women in Shakespeare's Hamlet

Open Document