Essay On The Portrayal Of Women In Hamlet

The Portrayal of Women in Hamlet In Western society, women are part of a very prosperous age, where they are seen as equals to men; however, this is not the case in Shakespeare’s time. The issues and gender roles forced upon women during England’s Elizabethan era are highlighted by Shakespeare in many of his plays. In Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, the women in the play are powerless, which can be seen through their lack of control over their sexuality, their lack of voice and their lack of independence. The lack of control women have over their sexuality is predominant in Hamlet and it alludes to the treatment of women. The recently widowed Gertrude has remarried with her past husband’s brother, Claudius. This leads to Hamlet’s protest since he feels like this is a betrayal of his father and the marriage also strips himself of his right to the throne. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet speaks about his mother “Frailty, thy name is woman- / A little month, or ere those shoes were old”, (1.2.146-147). Hamlet not only describes his mother as weak, but generalizes all women with this statement. He also questions Gertrude’s loyalty to his father and implies she is a greedy whore just for loving another man. The lack
The lack of control over their sexuality causes them to be regarded as sexual objects and valued by their virginity and faithfulness. Their lack of voice forces gender roles such as being silent. The lack of independence women experience is used to support the idea that they should be absolutely obedient to men and submissive to their dominance. The story heavily reflects Sigmus Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex and the phallus symbol. The central ideas of how women are portrayed in Hamlet should be a pinnacle of how far civilization has