ipl-logo

Feminism In Hamlet Essay

1441 Words6 Pages

Feminism has gained a new definition a new understanding of female roles since the Elizabethan Era. Hamlet, a play written by William Shakespeare, is about a young prince, Hamlet, being visited by his father’s apparition urging him to avenge his death by murdering Prince Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. All the while, Hamlet is enraged by his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius and is showering his supposed love, Ophelia, with gifts and words of affection. Queen Gertrude and Ophelia are blindly obedient to male authority due to the influence of the social standards that require women to be submissive to men. Queen Gertrude and Ophelia’s actions and outcomes as characters are affected by male influence, the social norms of this time, and the females’ consequences of following these norms. Looking through the critical perspective of feminism, Hamlet shows the influence of …show more content…

Marion D. Perret, in “Petruchio: The Model Wife,” states, “The relationship and duties of husband and wife are copiously discussed in Elizabethan sermons and books on domestic conduct. The playwright need not have one of these works beside him as he wrote: the standards set forth in them were widely enough known that he could assume, for instance, that playgoers would understand why Desdemona should come and go at her husband’s command even after he has unjustly struck her- the onstage audience shows shock at Othello’s action, but no surprise at Desdemona’s obedience (pg. 223-224).” According to this textual evidence, using characters from another Shakespeare play, Othello inequitably strikes Desdemona, in which Desdemona reacts by obeying her husband. The example of Othello and Desdemona can show that females’ blind cooperation toward their husband or other male authority is customary for the Elizabethan era. Hamlet shows blind obedience of women toward men due to the fact that this was the social and historical

Show More
Related
2325 Words | 10 Pages

Patriarchal mentality in Shakespeare’s female characters In my present time, I have considered women as presidents, ministers or leading figures, who have the same potential equally as men, so they play significant roles that have effect on the society in some part of the world, such as, European countries, USA and Australia. One the other hand, in other part of the world, I observe non-educated and oppressed women who are neglected and deprived of their rights to be influential partner with male gender in their societies, especially in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. And if there are few exceptions of strong female figures, they are portrayed as evil and manipulative in assisting the male ruler to usurp the power and rule the country with an

Read More
1249 Words | 5 Pages

Olivia Lynch Mrs. Butterfield AP Lit 5/1/16 When you are ready to dive into the vast world of Shakespeare, you can begin by using what is known as a critical lens. The lens that may help you understand the background details of one of Shakespeare’s plays would be the Historical lens. Although there are many different lens that you can use to interpret a story, the Historical Lens is a great lens to dive into to find what really influenced the great ideas of William Shakespeare as he wrote Hamlet including the role gender plays, the comparison of Elizabeth Tudor, and the religious incorporation throughout the play. First, we can take the Historical Lens and dive into the idea of how gender roles were highly represented in Hamlet

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is portrayed as an obedient and innocent young woman. Many critics believe that these attributes represent the full extent of Ophelia’s being and that she is simply an object that moves the plot along, giving the male characters more depth. Although Ophelia may appear weak and passive at first glance, when examined at a deeper level, her character expresses strength and defiance as she overcomes the stress imposed upon her by her male superiors. In her article “Hearing Ophelia: Gender and Tragic Discourse in Hamlet,” Sandra Fischer analyzes Ophelia’s silence in the play, describing her inability to express her opinions against the loud male characters. While Fischer recognizes Ophelia’s battle, she fails to see her power as she voices her opinions and stands up against the male patriarchy.

Read More
142 Words | 1 Pages

In the play Othello, there are many perspectives one could choose. But there is only one view that is appropriate for this topic and that is the feminist view. The feminist lens shows us that Desdemona was more an object of play than a person in love. If you don’t know what it was about, The Othello play is about a guy who is Jealous of a moracin war general. Then causes the general to kill his wife.

Read More
285 Words | 2 Pages

In Hamlet, what does Shakespeare suggest is the 'proper' role of women? It is often argued that the women characters in Hamlet are drawn in fainter lines than their male partner. Gertrude the mother of Hamlet been criticized by his son for her nasty remarriage to his own Uncle Claudius right after the death of King Hamlet, which drove Hamlet mad and started his hate towards his mother, Hamlet uses very powerful words towards her mother by cursing her for marrying Claudius after a short period of time, “O, God, a beast, that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer!” (I.II.151-158).

Read More
1182 Words | 5 Pages

Hamlet’s femininity is increasingly perceived as madness by the men around him due to the correlation between madness and femininity perceived throughout history. Madness is traditionally thought of as an “exclusively female complaint, as the

Read More
1040 Words | 5 Pages

It is often thought that the most accurate reference for the ideology of a time period lies in the literature produced at the time, rather than the factual history. However, Elaine Showalter argues that the most significant tell of an era’s views on mental illness and women is the time’s most famous adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, or, more specifically, the representation of the character Ophelia in the performance. The play itself revolves around Hamlet, who in his own internal struggle mistreats the young woman he had been courting, Ophelia. At one point, Hamlet accidentally murders Ophelia’s father, Polonius, and in the wake of this horrible event, Ophelia becomes mad and eventually commits suicide. Showalter discusses the different

Read More
426 Words | 2 Pages

Shakespeare’s dramas often raise awareness for very important issues. In his play Hamlet he represents the sexist debate on women having premarital sex. Through his character Ophelia, he shows how young women are taught that sex is dirty and will make them “dirty” or “unclean.” They are often raised to believe that they must stay “pure” until marriage. Men on the other hand are not required to “save themselves” and are instead taught that the more sex the better.

Read More
391 Words | 2 Pages

During my final months of high school, I read Hamlet by Shakespeare. Hamlet, a book full of displeasing misogynistic views, ironically inspired to excel in college. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in a time period when women’s opportunities for professional work, education and ownership of property were extremely limited. After analyzing Hamlet, I came to believe that Shakespeare was before his time urging women to become powerful, respecting themselves mentally and physically. Therefore, in Hamlet, he made women the pawns of men’s corruption to demonstrate to women how pathetic it is for us to allow insignificant flaws and a patriarchal society lower our aspirations in life.

Read More
927 Words | 4 Pages

This play consists of numerous displays of sexism, but its’ intended purpose is to depict the injustices women face universally. Although comedic, Shakespeare’s

Read More
1616 Words | 7 Pages

She has deceived her father, and may thee.’ which suggests he believes that Desdemona, as a young woman who ‘betrays’ her father by eloping with Othello, would also betray her husband and be boisterous and adulterous. Due to women having to ask their father’s permission before giving their hand in marriage, Shakespeare’s Othello and Romeo and Juliet have a common theme of women’s rebellion against their parents, fighting to have their own right to decide whom they want to

Read More
1360 Words | 6 Pages

A Modern View of Feminist Criticism William Shakespeare 's "Othello” can be analyzed from a feminist perspective. This criticism focuses on relationships between genders, like the patterns of thoughts, behavior, values, enfranchisement, and power in relations between and within sexes. A feminist examination of the play enables us to judge the distinctive social esteems and status of women and proposes that the male-female power connections that become an integral factor in scenes of Othello impact its comprehension. I believe that the critical lens that provides modern society with the most compelling view of literature is Feminist Criticism because it analyzes distrust and disloyalty among relationships, women being treated as possessions

Read More
89 Words | 1 Pages

Shakespeare’s play does an excellent job of representing the era by showcasing the unequal balance of power between genders and the cultural expectations of women. As mentioned before the play “Othello”

Read More
1133 Words | 5 Pages

In Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the storyline demonstrates male-dominance over the female characters, therefore marginalizing the role of feminism in the play. There are three female characters who play an important role in the Othello, each of whom showed true love and affection towards their men and yet were rejected and became a symbol of suspicion in the tragedy. The story line of Othello contains many problematic complications, all leading towards the ending tragedy, but one of the main conceptions supported throughout the play revolves around the female characters who become victims in the men dominant society. Othello's tragedy in the play happens as a result of men's misunderstandings of women and women's inability to protect themselves

Read More
932 Words | 4 Pages

For numerous years in the past, women always play a smaller role in society politically, economically, and socially than men do. This was a norm for everyone living during that time period; everything that people do was reflect by it, including the literature written. In William Shakespeare 's Hamlet, the roles of women are just as society would have displayed them during that time. The leading women, Gertrude and Ophelia, are seen as less valuable than men and insignificant because of their dependence on male authorities, obedience, and are easily manipulated by others throughout the play.

Read More

More about Feminism In Hamlet Essay

Open Document