Many people overlook the relationship between revenge and gender stereotypes. Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, explores a society in which women are objectified and the need for truth and revenge is highlighted throughout the play. In this play, women are looked at as inferior to men, and men need to make the final decision in all matters whereas women are supposed to oblige. Revenge gets handled very differently for both genders, and the relationship between revenge and gender can be seen through different characters’ quests to gain vengeance. By using women to further their goals, it can be seen that the men in Hamlet degrade women and are constantly using women for their own vengeful benefit.
On his quest to take revenge on his uncle, Claudius, Hamlet decides to use Ophelia as a pawn, as he feels she is not worthy of his full trust. Since Hamlet feels that Ophelia is weak and cannot talk back to him, he decides to use her to further his goals. Hamlet is trying to find a way to take revenge on Claudius
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Women are viewed as objects and William Shakespeare does an excellent job of encapsulating the way women are used as pawns in revenge. Women to this day are expected to give in to male figures, and because of this, men feel it is acceptable to treat women as objects. Shakespeare is trying to show through his words that regardless of the context, men and women will be treated differently and view each other with different perspectives. Due to the status quo that women are inferior to men, Hamlet feels it is okay to use his own mother and Ophelia to further his agenda, and Claudius finds it acceptable to use his wife to take away her son from her and send him away to England. Even though over the years there have been various efforts to promote gender equality, men and women will always be treated differently in some way or another due to a traditional way of thinking as presented in