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Hamlet's Attitudes Towards Women

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Hamlet’s dislike of women is shown through his behavior and language toward his mother, Ophelia, and women in general. In the play it is very obvious that he is heartless towards the opposite sex by the actions that he takes and the words that he speaks. During the time that this play was written women were viewed as insignificant human beings. Hamlet found himself having feelings for a woman and he does not know how to portray these feelings because he holds his mother responsible for his inability to love Ophelia. In act one Gertrude marries her dead husband 's brother Claudius, Hamlet is not very happy that his mother did this. Hamlet feels very betrayed by his own mother because she remarried so quickly. He feels as if this is an unforgivable …show more content…

Hamlet shows his true feelings towards women. Must like a whore unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab,/a scullion. (2.2. 574-576) He believes that all women are unfaithful to their significant other. Hamlet feels as if all women are weak and fragile comparing them to frailty. Frailty, thy name is woman! (1.2.148) Hamlet thinks that all women trap men with their plotted tricks. Situations between Hamlet, Ophelia and Gertrude are far from an appropriate way to treat women. Hamlet has a pressing sexual desire for his mother Gertrude and that is what drives his hatred for women. Hamlet probably feels like he can not trust anyone because his own mother let him down. Hamlet surely thought that his mother Gertrude dearly loved his father Old King Hamlet, now he may feel like his mother never loved his father. This may result in why he feels like he may not love Ophelia. We are also aware that Hamlet has trouble with his own happiness and this probably reflects on the way we feels towards people mostly women. Hamlet thinks that the reason real love does not exist is because of the female gender. Hamlet blames both his mother Gertrude and Ophelia for portraying men as monsters. Hamlet does not value Ophelia 's feelings he belittles her. In Hamlets defense this is the way he was brought up to treat women, during that time this was a common way to treat a women. Even though in today 's society it is not at all ok to treat women with such disrespect. He also likes for everything to go as planned and this may result in why he can not have a stable relationship with a woman. This also causes him to have many stumbling blocks in his life that causes some emotional pain

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King Hamlet loved Gertrude with all his heart that he “might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face too roughly” this represents true unforgettable love. Hamlet is exasperated about his mother’s hasty marriage that he claims a “beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer”. Gertrude’s hasty marriage with Claudius seems to Hamlet as done with “wicked speed to post with such dexterity to incestous sheets” showing Hamlet is disgusted with this relationship and aggressively disapproves to this action. Further into the play Act 3 Scene 2, Hamlet is having a conservation with Ophelia when he mentions “look you how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within two hours” showing anger towards the happiness of his mother. Throughout the play Hamlet uncovers horrible deeds his uncle has committed, which were “Remorseless, Treacherous, lecherous”.

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He feels his mother betrays his father. It was not logical that his uncle became king instead of himself. But now he knows that his uncle has killed his father and he must hate him. Hamlet loves Ophelia, but this relationship is also complicated. They are in love with each other, but cannot be completely open and honest with each other because of the complications between their families.

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This quotation illuminates Gertrude’s act of incest which can be classified as an aspect of adultery. Hamlet’s views of marriage are potentially destroyed because of Gertrude’s remarriage and women in general as he states to Ophelia: “Of if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them” (3.1.138-140). Although Gertrude is to blame for Hamlet’s negative outlook on marriage, his misogynistic attitude comes to light as he classifies all women (including Ophelia) as cheaters and liars. Moreover, Hamlet confronts Gertrude for her incestuous and adulterous crimes and speaks: “Nay, but to live / In the rank sweat of an enseamèd bed, / Stewed in corruption, honeying and making love” (3.4.91-94).

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Hamlet lost all his love for his mother and he thinks Ophelia acts just like his

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Therefore, he didn’t really ever listen to what people had to say or the advice he was giving from some of the characters. If Hamlet would have accepted the fact that he was in love with Ophelia rather than act like they would never be together. I feel Hamlet would have been a little better off just because he would have Ophelia there for him. Instead, he didn’t stay true to himself about the situation, so he was fighting himself which resulted in sending her away. It is like the way that teenagers today approach things.

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Hamlet has not only become distraught from his conniving and lying stepfather but also his mother, Queen Gertrude as well. The unfaithfulness that Gertrude shows to Hamlet’s father and Hamlet has a toll on him and plays a part in his insanity. The facade that Hamlet displays slowly leads to his insanity, causing him to show mistreated love towards Ophelia. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia displays a very honest

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Although it is quite clear that Gertrude is weak and reliant on Claudius to make her happy, she does not realize how much it has affected Hamlet. He does not only lose respect for his mother and his uncle, but begins to doubt his mother's prior love for his father. Overall, Gertrude demonstrates similar weakness traits to Ophelia by letting the men who surround her have a huge impact on the way the she

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His paradox insinuates that he is insane and truly did not love her. Contrary to belief though, this quote was a way to set his “mousetrap” and force her to be in the background of his grand scheme. The audience must draw conclusions concerning their relationship because their love is not the main focus of the play and Hamlet acting insane is an inconvenience because it is hard to decipher what was sincere or madness. Shakespeare does not seem to have a high opinion of women, while writing Hamlet, considering how Hamlet holds deep bitterness toward his mother and Ophelia for not having a backbone and allowing themselves to be pawns in the game Claudius and he are playing.

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This was the normal for them in those days, so they had no choice, but to obey and do as told. Women in the time of Ophelia and Gertrude had little autonomy, having their lives towards only their father or husband. They live in a patriarchal society, which is where men made the decisions for them and hold great power. There are two main female characters in the play, Hamlet. They are Gertrude, the queen of Denmark and the mother of Hamlet, and Ophelia, Hamlet’s love.

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Henceforth, Hamlet, still pushing for revenge, confronted his mother and scolded her for being rude and dishonest. He was furious with her. Not only did she forget her original true love, she had also forgotten what true love really was. Claudius was loyal and trustworthy to his wife, although she also didn’t care that he had passed. Hamlet went on to explain to her that his father was the best one yet and that she had neglected him.

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This provokes him to say that god gives women one face, but they use make up to paint on another one. This quote suggest that Hamlet sees woman as naive and gullible creatures, as he sees Ophelia as nothing but an object that is owned by her father, as she is helping him with all of his dirty work. Hamlet believes that woman cannot be trusted as they have are deceiving. He also sees Ophelia as a grown women who is unable to make her own decisions. Hamlet is utterly disgusted by how feeble Ophelia is as she was following her father's scheme.

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1478 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout Hamlet, the thoughts, intentions, and actions of all of the characters can be explained through predisposed gender roles in the play. Hamlet is a tragedy in which the main character, Hamlet, attempts to seek vengeance for his father’s murder, while the relationships with him and around him begin to strain. In the play, gender plays a huge role in assuming the capability and worth of people. Women are most commonly depicted as being weak, powerless, and confused, while men are commonly shown as being strong, analytical, and intuitive. Hamlet features Ophelia and Gertrude as the only two female roles, and even then they show little independence from the males.

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1259 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the conversation and various parts of the play, Hamlet expresses his disgust for his mother 's actions. He insults her by comparing his father to Hyperion and Claudius to a satyr. He tells Gertrude not to sin by sleeping with him and tells her she is nothing but lustful for marrying a man like Claudius when he says, “That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,/ Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose/ From the fair forehead of an innocent love/ And sets a blister there, makes marriage vows/

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From what he said in act 2 scene 1, tells a different story. In fact, “ You shouldn’t believed me, because no matter how hard we try to be virtuous our natural sinfulness will always come out in the end. I didn't love you.” (3.1.119-121) Afterword, obviously Hamlet got tired of Ophelia now since he couldn't have what he wanted from her. Once she started to avoid Hamlet, he knew that Ophelia would become just like his mother, so he starts to despise woman.

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1501 Words | 7 Pages

In my opinion Hamlet is a peculiar subject from a psychoanalytical standpoint, especially in the event of attempting to pinpoint his oedipal tendencies, mainly from the fact that throughout the play it becomes evident that Hamlet has a number of three paternal figures, King Hamlet, Claudius and Yorick, the first two of which compete with him in two different oedipal triangles. • King Hamlet Starting from the hypothesis that Hamlet feels strong sexual attraction towards his mother, Gertrude, it becomes easy to deduce that his father constitutes one of the obstacles that prevents him from consummating his urges, the other being the awareness of the immoral aspect of having intercourse with his mother, especially considering his family’s regal position. Hamlet acknowledges his father’s superiority and the fact that he is the one that is in possession of Hamlet’s cathexis, and gradually develops feelings of hate towards him and wishes he would be removed. The immoral feelings towards his mother and his hateful feelings towards his father are repressed, and take a latent aspect. His outward behavior is manifested through admiration of his father.

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