Feminist Lens Essay On Hamlet

(Hamlet. I. 3.105-107). In “Dominated Daughters”, Dehre comments on the idea that because Ophelia and other women, are silenced and taught to submit to authority, they suffer and are unable to fully become adults: “Stunned into a fear of her lover and a childlike dependency on her father, Ophelia suddenly has them both removed, and even her brother is out of the country. She collapses into madness because she knows not where to turn for guidance“ (Dehre). Ophelia respects her fathers beliefs knowing he must be “wiser” but, ultimately this leads her to be so dependent on him.

A quote from Megan Wray states, “Patriarchy has infiltrated our society so deeply that if women don’t follow a strict set of ‘proper’ behaviours, they’re immediately deemed wicked. That’s default-evil until proven good” (Wray, 2021). This quote relates to Shakespeare’s misogynistic depiction of women as evil if they are not subservient to their husbands, quiet, and naive. Consequently, when analyzing Hamlet written by Shakespeare from a feminist perspective it is evident that women are portrayed as wicked, impulsive, and superficial. These sexist stereotypes are greatly depicted in Act 1 Scene 5 of the play.

Women didn't have any rights, had to follow men, couldn't work, and couldn't possess property throughout the Elizabethan age. which is what Ophelia stands for. Except for the one instance when she is speaking to her brother Laertes, Ophelia never challenges the patriarchy. Laertes was attempting to counsel her over her actions in Act 1, Scene 3 during their exchange.

Despite the Elizabethan era being a time of progress in comparison to previous decades, women were still thought to be less than men in almost every aspect of life. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, there are two main women characters Gertrude and Ophelia. Both fall victim to the patriarchal society of the time. In “Discovering Feminism through Gertrude and Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet” the two women Gertrude and Ophelia were disrespected

Many people overlook the relationship between revenge and gender stereotypes. Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, explores a society in which women are objectified and the need for truth and revenge is highlighted throughout the play. In this play, women are looked at as inferior to men, and men need to make the final decision in all matters whereas women are supposed to oblige. Revenge gets handled very differently for both genders, and the relationship between revenge and gender can be seen through different characters’ quests to gain vengeance. By using women to further their goals, it can be seen that the men in Hamlet degrade women and are constantly using women for their own vengeful benefit.

In the play, Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, Polonius, Hamlet, and Laertes are the people Ophelia loved the most. During the play Hamlet, Ophelia was overlooked, ignored, and taken advantage of by the men she cared the most about. They all used her and disregarded her feelings about the situations that affected her. Not only was Ophelia taken advantage of but she was objectified throughout the whole play. Even though they didn't respect Ophelia, she still did what she was told.

Every modern society since the beginning of time has painted the female as frail and individuals at the mercy of men, unable to reap the same freedoms and aspirations as their male counterparts. The English Renaissance is no different as women were not allowed to play themselves on stage, and more often than not were seen as weak characters in their portrayal. In Shakespeare's “Hamlet”, all the female protagonists all have flaws that eventually leads to them meeting their deaths. The characters of Ophelia and Gertrude are two different women trapped in the same predicament, partly being due to the inefficacy of being taken seriously, and are therefore perceived as feeble women; looking at the persona of Ophelia, she tends to follow the direction

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.

Shakespearean Misogyny In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the two women in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, are repeatedly manipulated and exploited by the men in their lives. They submit to male authority and oppressive societal customs because they have no other options. Gertrude and Ophelia are placed in this situation because of a male-dominated society that blames women for sexual immorality and corruption. Hamlet’s views about women are consistent with the commonly-held views of his peers.

In Hamlet, Ophelia and Gertrude are the only two female characters. This already shows the imbalance of power and influence the female characters start with. On top of being so limited in numbers, the female characters in Hamlet are very limited in obvious character development. Characters like Claudius, Hamlet, and Laertes are all given obvious goals and desires, whereas the female characters never have the opportunity to take affirmative actions for their needs. Despite not having much influence in the storyline, there are situations where the female characters are able to stand up for themselves.

Misogyny, by definition, is the dislike towards women for a particular motive. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Shakespeare elucidates his misogynistic tendencies through the characters in the play—particularly Hamlet. The role of women in Hamlet is little short of misogynistic as Hamlet consistently displays throughout the play evidence of misogynistic behavior through his views of women being cruel, adulterous, and frail. Fundamentally, there are merely two female characters in Hamlet; Ophelia and Gertrude. Though Ophelia does not intend on wounding Hamlet emotionally, she does so for being submissive to her father which conforms to the misogynistic attitude of women being powerless and pathetic as Ophelia is under control by

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 does not value Ophelia 's feelings he belittles her. In Hamlets defense this is the way he was brought up to treat women, during that time this was a common way to treat a women. Even though in today 's society it is not at all ok to treat women with such disrespect. He also likes for everything to go as planned and this may result in why he can not have a stable relationship with a woman. This also causes him to have many stumbling blocks in his life that causes some emotional pain

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.

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.