Hamlet
Hamlet’s Relationships with Himself and Women: A Feminist Point of View
Hamlet is one of the most complex characters and stories in western literature. Shakespeare has loaded this play to the brim with philosophy and ideas far beyond his years. Hamlet himself can be dissected and interpreted in thousands of different ways; but most notably he is dramatic. Dramatic in every sense of the word, he enjoys acting and plays and he is extremely animated in all of his interactions. The same drama that impassions him, tortures him; so much so that he often contemplates suicide. Possibly the most significant drama in the play and in Hamlet surrounds the sanctity of the, and specifically, Hamlet’s mind. Hamlet doesn’t allow anyone to intrude his mind for many reason none more important then the other. The reasons that seem the most profound all surround the validity of his own sexuality and the judgments of the gender relationships he is apart of. Hamlet seemingly blames his mother for parts of his fathers death. He knows she didn’t actually kill him but he blames her for her lack of grief and also her marriage to the swine that is Claudius. He even goes as far as to say to her “aye madam, it is common” right after Gertrude told him about how all life ends he basically calls her a hooker. (I, ii, 13) It is peculiar that he has such a reaction to a mother trying to comfort her grieving son. Throughout the play Hamlet comes up against many trials but none greater then the challenge of accepting who he is versus what he is trying to be. All of Hamlet’s greatness and all of his flaws come from the same source his extreme aversion to the gender relationships posed in his world. In order for us to truly understand hamlet we have to penetrate what he so actively tries to protect; which in Hamlet’s case is his mind and his understanding of love, and his own sexuality.
Hamlet seems to have many issues with his mother but none greater then her new sexual availability. In the
Hamlet is one of the most complex characters and stories in western literature. Shakespeare has loaded this play to the brim with philosophy and ideas far beyond his years. Hamlet himself can be dissected and interpreted in thousands of different ways; but most notably he is dramatic. Dramatic in every sense of the word, he enjoys acting and plays and he is extremely animated in all of his interactions. The same drama that impassions him, tortures him; so much so that he often contemplates suicide. Possibly the most significant drama in the play and in Hamlet surrounds the sanctity of the, and specifically, Hamlet’s mind. Hamlet doesn’t allow anyone to intrude his mind for many reason none more important then the other. The reasons that seem the most profound all surround the validity of his own sexuality and the judgments of the gender relationships he is apart of. Hamlet seemingly blames his mother for parts of his fathers death. He knows she didn’t actually kill him but he blames her for her lack of grief and also her marriage to the swine that is Claudius. He even goes as far as to say to her “aye madam, it is common” right after Gertrude told him about how all life ends he basically calls her a hooker. (I, ii, 13) It is peculiar that he has such a reaction to a mother trying to comfort her grieving son. Throughout the play Hamlet comes up against many trials but none greater then the challenge of accepting who he is versus what he is trying to be. All of Hamlet’s greatness and all of his flaws come from the same source his extreme aversion to the gender relationships posed in his world. In order for us to truly understand hamlet we have to penetrate what he so actively tries to protect; which in Hamlet’s case is his mind and his understanding of love, and his own sexuality.
Hamlet seems to have many issues with his mother but none greater then her new sexual availability. In the