Women of Hamlet
Women in literature have sometimes been characterized by weakness. While this may not be technically true, William Shakespeare's play Hamlet is one of such literary pieces. The women of Hamlet all shares very similar characteristics, thanks to the way that Shakespeare wrote them into his play. The two main women of the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, display qualities of frailty and weakness as compared to the masculine figures of this piece. Ophelia is not only portrayed as weak, but as the plot of the play unfolds, we come to learn that she is completely dependant. The earlier parts of the play show that she is obedient of the males surrounding her. Ophelia's cruel actions towards Hamlet, which go against her feelings for him, demonstrate her obedience to her father. For example, in the beginning Ophelia tells her father that she has feelings for Hamlet by saying "My lord, he hath importuned me with love...In honorable fashion..." However, her brother Laertes and her father Polonius have little trouble breaking her, and convincing her to forget her feel
Claudius, in act IV says that "the queen, his mother, lives almost by his looks," signifying that Gertrude loves Hamlet so much, that seeing him day to day is what keeps her alive. This obedience of her father is so extreme that it borders complete dependence on him. We see that Gertrude goes running to Claudius, showing that she is not capable of facing things on her own. Her condition spirals so far downward that she eventually drives herself into Dante's 4th circle of hell. However, we can also assume that she loves her son dearly. Hamlet continues his grating of Gertrude for being so hasty in remarriage. Nonetheless, Gertrude and Ophelia prove that in Hamlet, "Frailty, thy name is woman. Later on in the play, Ophelia goes into a craze after Hamlet has 'accidentally' killed Polonius. Polonius also demands that she break off even seeing Hamlet at all, going so far as ignoring his letters. These two characters whom Hamlet holds so dear to his heart both display remarkably similar characteristics. Shakespeare, in this play, did not seem to give the women parts very much strength as he did in other plays of his, such as Macbeth or even King Lear.
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