Women
Women's Dependence on Men in Hamlet Women are an extremely interesting topic in the play Hamlet. They are almost completely dependent on men, which is shown through the characters Ophelia and Queen Gertrude. There are three important men in Ophelia's life: Hamlet, her brother Laertes, and her father Polonius. The three aforementioned men represent her entire life; her very existence revolves around the three of them. The same can be said about Queen Gertrude and the men in her life. When her husband dies, she is grief stricken, but still able to function. However, when Hamlet is in constant conflict with the new king, she finds it nearly impossible to live. She cannot stand having the two men that she loves being in conflict. Therefore, it is fairly safe to say that in the play Hamlet, women are almost entirely dependent on men, which is shown through the death of Ophelia after Hamlet kills Polonius and the terrible anxiety that Gertrude goes through because of the conflict between Hamlet and the king. In both Ophelia and Gertrude's cases, men are the only important figures in their lives; there are no women, at least not any that the play specifies. Because of this, both Ophelia and Gertrude develop a huge sense of depe
Not just the fact that her son attempted to kill her husband, but also that light is finally shed on the fact that her current husband murdered her former husband. Ophelia respects what her brother has to say, and she most certainly loves him dearly, but at the same time she loves Hamlet too, and finds im impossible to choose between the two of them. As a result of their duel, not only are Hamlet and Laertes killed, but Hamlet also kills the king for poisoning the wine in an attempt to kill him. If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry; be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny"(III; I; 129-130, 132-134). Perhaps luckily for Gertrude she dies when she takes a sip of the wine, now knowing that it is poisoned, for if she were alive after Hamlet and the king were killed, she too, like Ophelia, would have probably killed herself. When Laertes returns to find his father and sister dead, he immediately seeks revenge on Hamlet. So, then, it would also be safe to say that men are at least somewhat dependent on women in this particular play, although not nearly to the same degree as the reverse. Fear it Ophelia! fear it, my dear sister, and keep you in the rear of your affection, out of the shot and danger of desire"(I; iii; 31-34). There are many factors that cause this, but the main reasons are that all of their close relationships are with men, men are always in power, and men are constantly competing for women's attention and love. Gertrude has an exceedingly difficult time deciding who it is more important to honor, her son or her husband. She is in a constant craze until she finally cannot take it any longer and drowns herself. Gertrude has a similar problem with loving two men who do not like each other. Or lose your heart, or chaste treasure open to his unmaster'd importunity . While Gertrude is horribly upset, she does not lose control to the extent that Ophelia does.
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Acceptance Essays
