Hearing Opheli Gender And Tragic Discourse

After Hamlet murdered Polonius, Ophelia’s father, she sunk deeply into madness. “Hamlet (2000) gives Ophelia room to protest against the patriarchal order in her madness by her piercing scream and refusal to be silenced by the men around her, providing a rebellious Ophelia who is self-conscious of her suppressed position” (Li 6). This quote from the book called, “The “Rebellious” Ophelia: An Analysis of Film Adaptations of Hamlet,” explains that Ophelia had so much anger built up that she finally breaks loose and refuses to stay silent any longer, which is rebellious because women were told not to speak their mind, especially in public, during this time. This shows us that the woman in this book was very different to how women would have acted in society at that

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare a feminist theory is shown throughout the play. Nowhere in the play is a women treated the same as a man is treated. A woman’s feelings and opinions do not matter. The play insists that women are just an emotional and unstable wreck if they do not have a man to rely on. Ophelia does not have her opinions or feelings on anything shared.

Hamlet is affected by hegemonic masculinity in a patriarchal society, where he wants to “reinforce his superiority”, by “[devaluting] women” (Amaefula 2). This can be seen when Hamlet “tumbled” Ophelia and promised to “wed” after. However, not only did Hamlet break his promise after taking Ophelia’s virginity, Hamlet gaslights Ophelia, telling her he would have married her if “thou hadst not come” to his bed (4.5 l.62). Hamlet lies to Ophelia and even blames her for trusting him. The toxic masculinity from Hamlet’s surroundings causes Hamlet to assert his dominance by using Ophelia and throwing her away like an useless object, going as far as manipulating her and saying it's her fault for listening to him.

Analytical Essay, Hamlet Lance Hoffman There were various lenses of reference available throughout the play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The feminist lens is one lens I will focus on. It was easy to detect that the text had some anti-feminist sentiment. Yet, there were other points in the play that were surprisingly feminist for the period. Ophelia played the anti-feminist stereotype of the time when Hamlet was written, while Gertrude performed the feminist part.

Instead, Ophelia obediently carries out her father’s wishes to stop seeing Hamlet even though she loves him. “She is not allowed to have, much less declare an emotional world of her own” (Montgomery Byles 1713). To fulfill her father’s requests, she sacrifices her own happiness. Ophelia “...exists in a world created by their need…” (Montgomery Byles 1713).

Another factor is the constant psychological abusive behaviour by Hamlet towards Ophelia. An example of Hamlet’s mistreatment occurred when he insulted her by stating she is a hoar and telling her to, “…Get thee to a nunnery…"(Act 3 scene 1).Ophelia’s victimization represents the patriarchal oppression she experiences which causes her to lose her mind as Hamlets comments are, “…words like daggers …” (Shakespeare).to her mental state. Lastly, the final instance which significantly impacts her mental well-being is the sudden death of her beloved father.

Gender roles play a major part in this play as they are negatively portrayed through massive tragedies and events, some of these being the family dynamic between Ophelia,her father, and her brother, the grieving of the death of both King Hamlet and Polonius, and the weak opinions and morals of Gertude. Shakespeare used characterization of Ophelia and Gertrude to show his view of women’s place in society. The insulting representation of the feminine mindset encouraged traditional beliefs that exist even today. Starting off with the family relationship between Ophelia and her kin, they portrayed a very traditional dynamic. This being that Ophelia was so naive and foolish that she fell in love with Hamlet, and her big brother Laertes and her

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.

Ophelia goes mad throughout the story. She is overwhelmed by the loss of her father and the rejection of Hamlet. Her character is seen spiraling down a dark path that also ends in death. Ophelia is depicted as not having control over her actions; speaking and acting erratically. While Hamlet is speaking erratically and behaving oddly, he still maintains control over his actions and movement throughout the story.

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.

Although various characters attempt to understand Hamlet’s various motives it is apparent that Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his inability to act rationally. With this in mind Hamlet’s actions towards Ophelia

Ophelia is forced to deal with the conflicting emotions of loving Hamlet, who is the cause of her father’s death, and

Ophelia is the first to defy her gender role when she loses her father. She goes mad and sings songs, one of the lyrics that she sings is “He will never come again” (Hamlet 4.5.191). In this verse she suggests that it is about her father but also Hamlet who has abandoned and pushed her away. She is forced to defy her gender role since all the male-dominant figures are out of her life and cannot make her own decisions. This drives her mad and she dies due to an assumed suicide.

Laertes’s warning for Ophelia showcases the impact a women’s actions had on her image, which helps to elaborate on the misogyny during the Elizabethan era. Furthermore, the actions of the male characters toward Ophelia also go to show the mistreatment of women during the Elizabethan era. As the play continues, the characters start to notice a change in Hamlet’s behavior. His assumed melancholy and madness spark concern and debate within the castle.

Ophelia’s young mind is shaped by her father, Polonius, to view Hamlet's approach as “love” whereas it is actually more of a chaotic blunder. Society’s imposing forces are a way to try and control her, so when not controlled she is left to the hands oh herself. Ophelia’s own wellbeing faulters at