Essay about Portrayal of Women in Shakespeares Hamlet

Portrayal of Women in Shakespeares Hamlet Shakespeare was possibly the first writer to portray women as strong, crafty, and intelligent. However, he has still received criticism from feminists about his representation of women. Some have even accused him of misogyny. There are only two female characters in the play Hamlet - Gertrude, Hamlets mother and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius. Any debate based upon gender roles must therefore focus upon these two characters. Shakespeare portrays Gertrude as a woman of power and intelligence - she was Queen for a considerable amount of time - we can safely assume at least 30 years - and she is asked advice on matters by King Claudius - Do you think tis this? (II.2.152). Gertrude is†¦show more content†¦He scorns the queens company for metal more attractive (Ophelia) (III.2.119), yet holds a great deal of respect for her - using no daggers when he would speak them to her (III.2.403), and calling her Mother (III.4.214) and good lady (III.4.181). Considering that a son without respect for her would call her woman, or even with respect for her standing Your Highness, these names are very respectful. It would seem that Hamlet loved Gertrude dearly, and held her in great respect. It would, therefore, be a mistake to brand Shakespeare a misogynist. However, when he dwells upon her marriage to his uncle, he has no respect, whatsoever. He gives her no credit for the marriage - holding the view that she wa s whored and cozened at hoodman-blind by Claudius. Hamlets fury at her oerhasty marriage (II.2.56) makes Hamlet soon forget the respect he had for her, though this seemed to return, once he had judged for himself the fact that she did indeed seem innocent of his fathers death. He also used word games with her. These word games are certainly not the way a son would be expected to speak to his mother, even though it does fit in with Hamlets character and wit. Ophelia is represented in Hamlet as quite the opposite to Gertrude. She is easily led, and takes instruction from her brother and from her father. This could perhaps be due to her being of tender age. Gertrude must surely be a generation older than Ophelia. OpheliasShow MoreRelatedHamlet: a Feminist Approach Essay examples1224 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet: A Feminist Approach Sexism: the belief or attitude that one sex is inherently superior to, more competent than, or more valuable than the other (most commonly used for male superiority). This idea that women are weak is not a new one in the modern world. It has been studied for countless years along with the concept of a patriarchal society. A patriarchy is defined as a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. 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