The gender roles of our society have dramatically changed over the past decades. Women now have the right to vote and education. They also get equal pay and job opportunities. Only recently did society believe that only men are capable of providing for and protecting their families. Women were left to do household chores, take care their children and be a homewife. History has proven in many biblical tales that women have corrupted the human race. The Elizabethan Era had a more brutal gender role than our modern day society. Women were viewed as inferior by men.
Due to their predominance in leadership roles, moral authority, privileges of social status, and the control over property, patriarchy power is overwhelming. Women didn’t have the same privileges as they do today. They also couldn’t control their lives. Their father would care for them from the day they were born to the time they married. The husband takes over the role once they’re married. It was believed, based on the interpretation of scripture, that women had a weaker emotional and physical state than men. Women with noble status had no special characteristics compared to other women. They were taught to perform household duties and received no formal training. Men in this era had absolute freedom, power and authority. The wives and daughters of men were bound to obey their authority figure, since they were the head household. Once they marry, they also inherit property from her family. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet follows the same horrendous trend of portraying women. Ophelia, the love interest of Hamlet, is shown as a woman who is innocent and is dependent on men. Shakespeare’s character has the flaws that are obedience and dependency. She is a woman who is dependent on men. It was her reliance on and dependence on men that led her to commit suicide. Ophelia’s dad, Polonius, as well as her brother Laertes, are convinced that Hamlet could use Ophelia. Therefore, they advise her to cease seeing him. She obeys immediately because she is so obedient. Polonius advises to follow Hamlet when he starts to act strangely. Once again, she agrees to do what is asked. “Be as pure and chaste as snow or ice. You won’t escape the calumny. Farewell. Get to the / number. If you must marry someone, then marry a foo. The wise men already know the kind of monsters they make. You must go to a convent, and you should do so quickly. Farewell.” (“Shakespeare’s III, I, 137-142), made Ophelia choose her duty to her father and her love for him over Hamlet and their future together. Ophelia felt like her world ended when Polonius died. Shakespeare, Shakespeare, 4, 154-155. Polonius was most likely the man who had the greatest influence on Ophelia because she was not married. When he died, Ophelia felt that the men in her world betrayed her and she committed suicide. It is clear that her death was a result of both her independence as a person and her obedience.
Queen Gertrude was the mother of Prince Hamlet and the reason why Claudius murdered king Hamlet. Queen Gertrude’s love for her son Prince Hamlet was unconditional. Gertrude’s only concern is her body and her sexual pleasures. Prince Hamlet loses respect for Gertrude because of her shallow actions and thoughts. “Ay, this incestuous and adulterate animal,/ With witchcraft from his wit, or with traitorous presents –//O wicked wits & gifts, which have the power/ To seduce! Shakespeare, I.iv.41-46. The ghost of Hamlet tells Hamlet how he died, which infuriates Hamlet. He then sets out to avenge Hamlet’s father’s death. Shakespeare’s I, 41, “adulterate animal” used by King Hamlet in his speech, made the audience think that Gertrude was two-timing Claudius before Hamlet died. Prince Hamlet was supposed to generalize his first soliloquy to all women but it was directed directly at the queen. “Heaven-and-earth,/ Must remember? Why would she hang on him/ Like an increase in appetite/ By the food it ate and yet, within one month,/ Let me stop thinking about that –Frailty is thy name, woman!” (Shakespeare’s I, II, 142-146). Prince Hamlet tells this to her after discovering that she was infidel towards Claudius, King Hamlet’s biological father. Gertrude weds Claudius about two months following the death of King Hamlet. Claudius, who inherited the Danish throne and power after Hamlet’s death, also won Gertrude’s heart. It was a part of the marriage vow I made, but I refused to accept a wretch with poor natural gifts. The King tells Prince Hamlet, “I love you with dignity and dedication, just like in a real marriage. But, you cannot corrupt someone who is lustful and only cares about sexual pleasures and men.” She seeks insight and advice on Prince Hamlet’s behavior, just like Ophelia. She craves the attention of men, and it appears that this is how she capitalizes on her female abilities.
Both women have hurt Prince Hamlet and turned him into a misogynist. However, they are unable to stop his hatred for Claudius. William Shakespeare reflects the dominant male roles in the play. Claudius appears as a smart, well-spoken man. Claudius’ antagonistic role is what causes Prince Hamlet to be confused and angry. He uses Gertrude’s affection and his position in the hierarchy to achieve his goal of becoming king and acquiring everything that his brother owned. Hamlet uses his friends as a symbiotic relationship to monitor Hamlet when he becomes a psychotic. Polonius was also killed by this dominant manipulative character. Laertes was not surprised by Polonius’s death. Shakespeare, Shakespeare, vii.34. ” I love your Father, and We love You” Claudius devises a plan to prevent his blood from getting on his hands. Laertes kills Hamlet for him by using the deaths of Ophelia and Polonius. Time has a way of reducing the intensity and spark. Shakespeare, Shakespeare, IV.vii.114-116). This is a hint that Hamlet will kill Hamlet using his anger. Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s IV, vi, 25-29. Claudius has just spoken some words of sympathy to Laertes, which ignites his desire to murder Hamlet. Claudius used words in a way that made people respect and admire him. They would follow his lead and think that he was an excellent leader.
William Shakespeare has contradicted the roles that male and woman characters play. Ophelia is a woman who is not appreciated by her male friends. Gertrude also suffers from this. Claudius’s status is used to make people follow him and makes him the dominant character. Women are subordinated to the male characters, their thoughts and opinions are suppressed and they are manipulated by patriarchal society.
