women in hamlet

             Hamlet infamously declared 'Frailty, thy name is woman' (1.2.146). To a modern audience this may seem deplorable, however Elizabethan philosophy relied heavily on the grossly misogynistic Great Chain of Being. Gertrude and Ophelia, as the only female characters in the play, provide us with the only insight into the role of women in Elsinore's society.
             Elizabethan philosophy was based firmly in the belief that everything had a fixed rank and function in a rigid class hierarchy. This was known as the 'Chain of Being'. It reinforced the foundations of the patriarchal society, on which the Elizabethan social order was built. Man assumed the principal role within this society. Shakespeare's Elsinore is shown to be patriarchal on many levels. Claudius, as King of Denmark, has power over the state and power over Gertrude. On a smaller scale Polonius, as the head of his family, has power over Ophelia.
             Ophelia is portrayed as a weak character with almost no opinion, 'I do not know my lord what I should think' (1.4.103). It is hard to tell whether, in Ophelia, Shakespeare is reflecting the nature of women in a patriarchal society, or simply using her as a devise to demonstrate how far from his former self Hamlet's obsession with revenge has taken him. Shakespeare often shows a father objecting to his daughter's lover, exercising his patriarchal power. Usually, the female character defies her father, opposing his attempt to end their relationship. Ophelia's character, however, in stark contrast, shows no resistance at all, 'I shall obey, my lord' (1.3.136). A modern audience might find it easier to relate to the stronger of Shakespeare's women, their attitudes and behaviour being far more modern than Ophelia's. Ophelia, however, is a much more realistic representation of how an Elizabethan lady was seen: 'weak, frail...feeble and foolish' (John Knox - ...

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