In the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, interactions with two women throughout the interplay. Hamlet is rejected and dismissed by both women. His first negative experience is with Gertrude, his heartless whore of a mother. He then attempts to form a relationship with Ophelia, whose weak naive nature demolished any prospect of love. The women in his life influence him into a state of misogyny. He did not innately hate all women, but slowly as he reserved rejection after rejection he snapped. Hamlet’s relationships differed between Gertrude and Ophelia, but both had the same goal of Hamlet having someone to love and care about him. With the goal of compassion being accomplished, he spiralled in a growing hatred of the female population. Hamlet’s misogyny is not the result sexual repression , but rather his environment and the interactions with women. Ernest Jones argues that Hamlet’s misogyny stems from the sexual repression of Gertrude and Ophelia. The main point of Ernest Jones’ article “ Tragedy and the Mind of the Infant” is that Hamlet is in love with his mother. He roots Hamlet 's misogyny in Gertrude and Ophelia rejecting him sexually.“When sexual repression is highly pronounced, …show more content…
The point Jones’ maybe about misogyny being “the inevitable result” is directly reflected by the relationship Hamlet had with Ophelia and Gertrude. The lack of a strong women role in Hamlet, or even a women that loved Hamlet produced a misogynistic mindedness. He only had two women in his life to was “inevitable” who collective destroyed his view of women. If Hamlet would of had a more model mother or a love interest with a woman who loved him back, he wouldn’t have been misogynistic. The result of his mother being a heartless whore and Ophelia being a complete pushover and coward lead to Hamlet hating all women. He only had two women in his life span and they do
As the innocent victim of Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s insanity is a product of her inability to cope with Hamlet and her father’s death. Her songs show hidden grief and sorrow; her flowers represent the fact that beneath the innocent exterior, there is a weakness or flaw in everyone. Hamlet was able to look past his grief for his father’s death, but he caused someone he loves to be in pain. Whether it is the frailty of women, sorrow, or death, anything, including love, can appear to be pleasant, but can be the ultimate cause of a person’s
Living in a patriarchal society, women are constantly looked down upon and even more so following Hamlet’s mother’s decision of marrying his uncle shortly after his father’s death. Hamlet considers his mother weak because she completely lost her sense of reason and failed to remain faithful to her late husband. It is a common belief that women should always remain faithful after the death of their husband and if they don’t they are to be looked down upon. Shakespeare goes as far as to say that she will be punished for her faithlessness. He uses harsh and degrading language to further his belief that women are inferior to men, such as, “frailty, thy name is woman!”
King Hamlet loved Gertrude with all his heart that he “might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face too roughly” this represents true unforgettable love. Hamlet is exasperated about his mother’s hasty marriage that he claims a “beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer”. Gertrude’s hasty marriage with Claudius seems to Hamlet as done with “wicked speed to post with such dexterity to incestous sheets” showing Hamlet is disgusted with this relationship and aggressively disapproves to this action. Further into the play Act 3 Scene 2, Hamlet is having a conservation with Ophelia when he mentions “look you how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within two hours” showing anger towards the happiness of his mother. Throughout the play Hamlet uncovers horrible deeds his uncle has committed, which were “Remorseless, Treacherous, lecherous”.
Feminism has gained a new definition a new understanding of female roles since the Elizabethan Era. Hamlet, a play written by William Shakespeare, is about a young prince, Hamlet, being visited by his father’s apparition urging him to avenge his death by murdering Prince Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. All the while, Hamlet is enraged by his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius and is showering his supposed love, Ophelia, with gifts and words of affection. Queen Gertrude and Ophelia are blindly obedient to male authority due to the influence of the social standards that require women to be submissive to men. Queen Gertrude and Ophelia’s actions and outcomes as characters are affected by male influence, the social norms of this time, and the females’ consequences of following these norms.
Hamlet and his father have a complex relationship that is comparable and distinctive to Ophelia’s relationship with her father. Both fathers, Polonius and the king, lecture their children similar to each other. One would say their relationships are identical however, gender roles play a part in how the children react to their parents. Women in the late 1500s were submissive to their parents and were not allowed to defend themselves. This corresponds with how Ophelia obeys her father even though she opposes him.
This provokes him to say that god gives women one face, but they use make up to paint on another one. This quote suggest that Hamlet sees woman as naive and gullible creatures, as he sees Ophelia as nothing but an object that is owned by her father, as she is helping him with all of his dirty work. Hamlet believes that woman cannot be trusted as they have are deceiving. He also sees Ophelia as a grown women who is unable to make her own decisions. Hamlet is utterly disgusted by how feeble Ophelia is as she was following her father's scheme.
Throughout Hamlet, the thoughts, intentions, and actions of all of the characters can be explained through predisposed gender roles in the play. Hamlet is a tragedy in which the main character, Hamlet, attempts to seek vengeance for his father’s murder, while the relationships with him and around him begin to strain. In the play, gender plays a huge role in assuming the capability and worth of people. Women are most commonly depicted as being weak, powerless, and confused, while men are commonly shown as being strong, analytical, and intuitive. Hamlet features Ophelia and Gertrude as the only two female roles, and even then they show little independence from the males.
Only two women, Gertrude and Ophelia, appear throughout the entirety of Shakespeare ’s elaborate Hamlet. Shakespeare’s representation of these two women throughout the play is a direct example of the way in which women were treated and thought of during the Elizabethan time period. Discrimination in gender roles was a very real concept during the 15th and 16th century. In fact, during Shakespeare’s time, women were not allowed to act, as it was seen as disgraceful to have a woman on stage.
After the death of her father and departure of Hamlet, Ophelia arrives at the castle and pays an unsolicited visit to the royal majesties. She sings, “Young men will do’t, if they come to’t./ By Cock, they are to blame” (4.5.60-61). This passage is often interpreted as Ophelia airing the grievances that Hamlet has committed toward her--namely, he used her solely for sexual pleasure and discarded her when he lost interest. In summary, Ophelia exposes the double standard prevalent in her society: to a man, a woman’s value lies only in her virginity. She blames “Cock”, which represents the patriarchy at large, for society’s willingness to excuse male lust and irresponsibility.
The various patriarchal judgments referring to Hamlet’s feminine actions as an unnatural occurrence are supported by: “‘Tis sweet and commendable,” “‘Tis unmanly grief,” “heart unfortified,” “mind impatient,” “unschooled,” and “peevish.” Such statements evoke Hamlet as a childish and feminine person, with the addition of: “Impious stubbornness,” “incorrect to heaven,” “fault to heaven,” “fault against the dead,” and “fault to nature.” Hamlet is portrayed as an inhuman being, an abomination towards nature and to God. The brutal tirade concludes by claiming that Hamlet’s grief is “most absurd,” and life’s “common theme / Is death of fathers.” Claudius’ wish for Hamlet to stay with him and Gertrude and become his new “father” insinuates Hamlet as a
Hamlet’s views on women is adulterous which pertains to the misogynistic tendencies in the play; thus, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, sparks up his misogynistic approaches. Hamlet is repulsed with Gertrude since she was quick to re-wed immediately following Old Hamlet’s death and cries: “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (1.2.156-157). Hamlet is shocked that his mother remarries to Claudius, Old Hamlet’s brother, before letting the tears on her cheek to dry.
Hamlet: a Feminist Perspective Hamlet by William Shakespeare is considered to be the apogee of canonical texts. Hamlet who is seen to be the hero, seeks revenge of his uncle for killing his beloved father and marrying his mother. In the finale, all characters find an unfortunate end and leave the kingdom of Denmark to prince Fortinbras who coincidentally passes through to invade Poland. The play Hamlet has received great stricture from feminist critics due to the actions and behaviors of many of the characters in the play. Feminism is “the advocacy of woman 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men” (Dictionary.com).
Hamlet’s dislike of women is shown through his behavior and language toward his mother, Ophelia, and women in general. In the play it is very obvious that he is heartless towards the opposite sex by the actions that he takes and the words that he speaks. During the time that this play was written women were viewed as insignificant human beings. Hamlet found himself having feelings for a woman and he does not know how to portray these feelings because he holds his mother responsible for his inability to love Ophelia.
Sexist Hamlet Understandable? The true tragedy of Hamlet is the way he viewed and criticized women. The Prince of Denmark seemed to have a nasty attitude towards women; if only they had lessons on sexism in the 16th century. Towards the end of the 16th century woman were given the basic privilege to learn how to read and write.
Shakespeare's Hamlet is possibly one of the most interesting and complex pieces of literature he has ever written in his lifetime. It is complex with many plot twists and interesting scenes which he can only leave to the reader’s imagination. One thing that he leaves out in the open that isn’t really talked about is the main character, Hamlet, and his own sexual indifference. His atypical outlook along with his depressive attitude and his very strange and perplexing relationship with his girlfriend, Ophelia, is one great example of how confusing his love life seems to be. It seems, that as the play progresses, Hamlet’s melancholy begins to show more and more and some say, well it must be because he has been forced onward with the task of avenging