Role of Women in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Some would say that all the men died of their own stupidity and pride. The power that the men have over the women in the play provides for the comparison between the two genders. The women are portrayed as weak and submissive, so when Hamlet is accused of becoming a “woman,” it greatly offends him. Because revenge and violence drive the play it revolves around the men. If women were the ones to have power over men, it would change the plot completely.

She tells Ophelia about her hope that Hamlet 's madness came from his love for Ophelia. If Gertrude keeps believing this, she won 't have to face the marriage as the problem or feel guilty. Gertrude 's romantic outlook again keeps her from seeing truth. Because of Hamlet 's powerful belief in his mother 's guilt, he takes his anger out on Ophelia, who Hamlet may think is just another insincere woman like his mother. Hamlet is determined to use the play to get at his mother 's conscience in addition to Claudius '.

Firstly, Gertrude followed a wicked man willingly. It was revealed that she did in fact knew of Claudius’s sinister ways when Hamlet confronted Gertrude in her bedroom chambers, and Hamlet chastised his mother for all her wrong doing and the murderer she proclaims to love. Gertrude could not handle his scorn and asked Hamlet to stop, because the guilt was too much to bare. She did not react to Hamlet calling Claudius a murderer or denied it, but Gertrude did run to Claudius after the confrontation with Hamlet. It can be heavily assumed that she knew of his wicked ways, but only seen him as her loving husband.

The first evident occurrence of ambiguity in the play is whether or not Gertrude knows that Claudius murdered Hamlet Sr. During her discussion with Hamlet, there is no clear evidence to prove that she did or did not know. Gertrude appears to be very heartbroken by the information being relayed to her by Hamlet as she explains that “[the] words like daggers enter in [her] ears” (3.4.98), and “turn’st [her] eyes into [her] very soul” (3.4.91). Gertrude 's reaction to the news leaves undeniable room for questions as she could be feeling this guilt because she does know what Claudius did, or because she has been blinded by Claudius’ charm and married him after all he had done to his own family. The answer is left completely to the reader 's interpretation. In continuance, when Gertrude confides in Claudius about what she had spoken to Hamlet about, it is unclear if she truly believes he is as “mad as the sea and wind when both contend” (4.1.7), or if she is simply obeying her sons wishes.

Her father also wanted to prove Hamlet's madness to the king. He used Ophelia as bait so he and the king could listen to Hamlet's words. Ophelia willingly obliged to her father's desires. By not thinking for herself and only doing as her father wished, she ruined her chances of love with Hamlet. Hamlet put pressure on Ophelia by expecting her to surpass his mother's shortcomings and be an epitome of womankind.

Ophelia is losing Hamlet’s trust due to her dependency on Polonius and Claudius when she shares Hamlet’s private love letters with Polonius and obeying his advice to stay away from Hamlet. Moreover, Ophelia even plays a part in the plan to test Hamlet to see if he is insane just because the king and her father ask her to, not caring how would Hamlet feel. Because of these reasons,Hamlet is telling Ophelia that nunnery is the only place where she will be faithful and cause the least amount of damage. This quote also conveys a theme of betrayal in the play, where Ophelia betrays her true love, Hamlet.Therefore, the attitude towards woman in the Elizabethan era is the reason why Ophelia betrays Hamlet . After her father’s death, Ophelia emotionally goes mad and sings, “He is dead and gone, lady, He is dead and gone.

Polonius is more active than reactive, and his manipulation of Ophelia in order to investigate Hamlet’s madness serves a strategic purpose as he vies for favor with the King and Queen. Before this point, it may have been dangerous for Polonius to suggest that Hamlet loves Ophelia because of her lower social status. Now, Polonius has the opportunity to reveal the affections in hope that the King will favor him or allow the relationship which would also benefit him. Again, Ophelia displays her deference towards her father who does not once ask her how she feels about the

In the play, Katherina is referred to as a shrew, because she is constantly defying the more superior men, so is seen as a figure of fun in the community. The roots of this stretch back to the Commedia dell’Arte, a “panto dame”, someone who is constantly joking around and no one takes seriously. However, Shakespeare looks beyond the... ... middle of paper ... ... truly dead. Secondly, and more importantly we can look at Katherina’s speech and see that in fact, she is being sarcastic. All the things that she says about women serving men is a lie, once again, the battle of the sexes that has been raging throughout the play comes into play.

His nausea is a physical manifestation of the jealousy for Gertrude’s relationship with Claudius. Hamlet has a genuine and innocent love for his mother while Claudius desires Gertrude for her physical qualities. This is unacceptable to Hamlet ... ... middle of paper ... ... obvious that the downfall is conveyed through the authors use of irony as well as situations which foreshadow the future of the play. Works Cited Anglican, Evalin "The Role of Women in Shakespeare." Shakespearean Reference Library.

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).