"Hamlet" is often thought of as a drama primarily about one man's
             relationship with a dead father and a living and murderous stepfather.
             According to the Bedford Introduction to Literature, one of the critical
             components of any story, drama or novel, is that of "Plot," forming one of
             the dominant subject headings of this basic guide. The plot of "Hamlet"
             could be summarized with only two cursory mentions to its main female
             characters. It might go something along the lines of Gertrude marries
             Claudius. Laertes vows revenge upon Hamlet because of the madness of his
             sister.' However, two of the most memorable characters in Hamlet remain
             that of Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet's mother, and Hamlet's sweetheart,'
             girlfriend,' or fiancée,' depending on what character you talk to at what
             juncture of the play. They are memorable despite their peripheral nature
             to the bare-bones narrative of "Hamlet" and their relatively flat character
             structure. Ophelia's mad scene, where she distributes flowers to numerous
             members of the court with instructions about what they mean is one of the
             most iconic images of the play, equally as important in its own right, as
             Hamlet sitting in the graveyard, holding Yorik's skull.
             This is not to say Gertrude and Ophelia prove to be very frustrating
             characters for a feminist or even a female reader or viewer. Clearly, they
             are emotionally important to the inner life Hamlet, as is evidenced in his
             soliloquy. Gertrude marries Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, for reasons that
             seem unclear, other than to spite Hamlet, and, according to her son, out of
             pure lust. This enrages Hamlet. Later, members of the court use Ophelia
             as a kind of decoy, first to disclose Hamlet's madness, then by Claudius
             after she is dead to spur her brother on into a duel that will result in
             the death of Laertes, Hamlet, and the entire royal family of Denmark.
             These female c...