To What Extent Does The Lady Doth Protest Too Much You Think

“The lady doth protest too much me thinks”

In the play put on by the traveling actors, requested by Hamlet, the Queen makes it clear to the king that if he died she would never be able to love anyone else. So, Queen Gertrude says: “The lady doth protest too much me thinks” because she did the exact thing to her husband, and even married his brother. Women are heavily judged in today’s society. Every little thing they do is picked at and thrown apart. Women aren’t able to make choices without the fear that someone will judge them, or will make a comment about it. In addition to this, women are often seen as too emotional. Many say that this causes women to make rash decisions that they will regret later. This can be applied to Gertrude with her decision to quickly remarry after her husband’s death. She was grieving after he died, so some would say her emotions caused her to make a hasty decision. Emotions are seen as something purely female. Men should not feel them or they will be called a girl. Someone might even throw in

There is a double standard when discussing the behaviors of men and women. If a woman does something risky, she’s crazy, but if a man does it, he’s brave. Crazy is a word reserved to describe women’s behavior. Women are emotional: “When women are too emotional, we say they are being irrational. Crazy. Wrong” (O’Malley 1). This is a way to gaslight women. It’s a way to tell them that their feelings are wrong and bad. Men are minimizing women’s feelings to control them. They are delegitimizing their authority over their own lives. We are suggesting that you can’t be emotional and rational at the same time. Women function the way they do for reason; it is simply how they are built. Most people make fine decisions when they are upset or angry. Emotions often play a key role in making choices. If you don’t care about what you are choosing between then the decision is being made