Hamlet Misogynist

Hamlet now thinks that all women are like her. “If a woman like his mother could betray the memory of his father then can other women be different?” (Roychowdhury, 2). This is similar to the thoughts in Hamlet’s head and is why he is so harsh on Ophelia.

Sexism has prevailed all throughout the world for all of time. Constantly deemed inferior to men, women have filled the position of the second class citizen. Accordingly, many of William Shakespeare’s plays are male dominated and fit this timeless mold. This mold assures that women are merely tools and are nearly never allowed to work for themselves. In Hamlet, Ophelia and Gertrude, fit this idea perfectly.

In William Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet of Denmark acts as an instrument of the suffering of others during his quest to avenge his father’s murder. While hamlet only intends to kill Claudius, he unintentionally causes other to suffer, showing that revenge often has unexpected consequences. Hamlet’s actions lead to emotional turmoil in several characters. Hamlet harasses his mother, Queen Gertrude until she admits that she feels guilty and that in her soul there are “such black and grainèd spots as will not leave their tinct” and begs him to “speak no more” because his words are “like daggers” in her ears. He is even crueler to Ophelia, manipulating her and using her to make his charade of madness more believable,

Hamlet, the play written by William Shakespeare, is the story of a young adult struggling with not only the recent death of his father, but also his mother’s quick marriage to his uncle and all of the other complications that come with the bizarre situation taking place in the throne of Denmark. Hamlet is a very dynamic character as he himself isn’t really sure how he feels about the conflicts of the plot, which eventually lead to the death of much of the royal family. Hamlet copes with his problems by showing others his suicidal contemplations and insane thoughts. The way Hamlet handles his issues is triggered by previous encounterings and affects the eventual outcome of the play.

Although, some may say that Hamlet’s impression of women is not caused by the projection of his inappropriate thoughts, motives, and feelings onto women. Instead, they believe that Hamlet’s perception of women is justifiable because he endures Gertrude and Ophelia’s manipulation, betrayal, and immorality. However, this rebuttal is flawed because Hamlet also displays these actions towards Gertrude and Ophelia. For example, Hamlet manipulates Gertrude and Ophelia into thinking that he has fallen into madness. Additionally, Hamlet betrays Gertrude by killing Claudius and going against the best interest of Denmark.

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare uses character and rhetoric to display how ones hatred and anger are impulsively taken out upon woman, from this the reader learns how misogyny is difficult to acknowledge, but rather easy to practice. To begin with, Shakespeare uses rhetoric to illustrate how Hamlet is a misogynist. Throughout the play Hamlet refers to his mother as an incestuous, cold hearted, whore, whose actions are only defined by her sexual desires. This was displayed during his soliloquy when he

This conversation is imperative in establishing the power imbalance between men and women in Hamlet, specifically emphasizing Ophelia’s place of inferiority to the male figures in her life. It is this lack of disobedience to the male dominance of Ophelia’s that leads to her

In order to understand the gender inequalities in Hamlet, it is important to first understand the feminist movement and the significance of the advocation for gender equality. Prior to current feminism, there are three other “waves” of feminism. Each wave refers to a specific time period and generally focuses on a specific type of issue. (Rampton) First-Wave Feminism officially spans from 1910 to 1950 and its primary focus was legal inequalities between men and women. (Freedman)

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.

In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, societal structure is thrown into turmoil in Hamlet when the old king dies, and his brother takes the crown and the queen to be his own. Normally, the crown would go to the king’s grown son, Hamlet, yet this title has been usurped by his uncle. Hamlet, plotting to expose his uncle, begins to fake madness, which shocks the castle. The many characters in the play are taken along for the ride as Hamlet whips up a tempest of chaos in Elsinore. One of the characters dragged into the disarray is Ophelia, the daughter of the King’s advisor and Hamlet’s love interest.

Though Ophelia is an innocent in this matter, being sent to Hamlet through the orchestrations of her father, she truly is there out of concern for Hamlet’s well-being. His accusation that she is hiding her purpose behind her beauty is just one of a great many discourtesies that Hamlet

Firstly, Shakespeare has used developmental structure to demonstrate how the character of women is not frail. When Hamlet first said, “Frailty, thy name is woman” (Act 1, Scene 2), he reveled his true state of mind. Hamlet’s severe depression after his father’s death and his obsession with his mother’s quick and incestuous marriage to his uncle took the best of him. As a symptom of his depression, Hamlet stated his personal view of his mother’s remarriage onto his view of all women. According to him, because his mother is frail, all women are frail.

While there are many theories surrounding Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship, there is no mistake of their “break up”. Claudius, oblivious to Hamlet’s knowledge of his role in killing King Hamlet, attests Hamlet’s madness to his recent separation with Ophelia. Gertrude, knowing the true reason for his behavior, says, “I doubt it is no other but the main / His father’s death and our marriage” (2.2.59-69). Yet this does not object to Polonius’s theory that Hamlet is heart broken over Ophelia. Proving Gertrude not only deceptive to her son, but also her new husband and countrymen.

For numerous years in the past, women always play a smaller role in society politically, economically, and socially than men do. This was a norm for everyone living during that time period; everything that people do was reflect by it, including the literature written. In William Shakespeare 's Hamlet, the roles of women are just as society would have displayed them during that time. The leading women, Gertrude and Ophelia, are seen as less valuable than men and insignificant because of their dependence on male authorities, obedience, and are easily manipulated by others throughout the play.

In Act 1 Hamlet says "frailty, thy name is women" (I.ii.146). He is demonstrating his despise of his mother Gertrude 's actions by marrying Claudius shortly after the king or her husbands death. Throughout the play we see that Hamlet has disgust with his mother for her lack of character and strength. Shakespeare uses good imagery throughout the play while describing Hamlet and Gertrude’s odd relationship, which makes the interactions between them two much more interesting. Another relationship is the one between Ophelia and Hamlet.