Nature and Role of Women in Hamlet
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In western literature throughout the ages, the role and nature of women have inevitably come into question, as scholars have remarked on both the authors of western canons and the cultures that have nurtured their belief. By the 16th Century, many questions about both the actual and proper role of women in society had been raised. Addressed by various great theologians, philosophers, and authors, these questions became more and more complex in the face of Plato, Chaucer, and Machiavelli. As some authors began to present women in a stronger light, others harped on the weaknesses of women as a species, and the conflict in views became visible in the literature of the day. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, we can see this conflict taking place as Shakespeare presents a pair of female characters, Ophelia and Gertrude, that can be seen in very conflicting lights. When one views these women, it is very easy to view them as inferior, "feminine" characters. It is, however, a great deal less problematic for the audience if it looks a little deeper into the play to find another, equally valid, possible statement on womankind. This view shows women to be quite a bit more equal than one would imagine, and the audience can best catch this message by looking at both Ophelia and Gertrude and their roles, natures in the tragedy. The character of Ophelia, like other Shakespearean characters, seems to represent many of the shortcomings of women. At the behest of Polonius and Laertes,
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lot, aphelia is asking a man for advice. She asks her brother Laertes about his thoughts on Hamlet's affections, and he says that she would do best to not take them too seriously because Hamlet ("His greatness weighed, his will is not his own." [1.iii., 17]) is primarily responsible to the voice of Denmark. She goes on to ask her father about the same matter, and when he tells her that she should spurn Hamlet, she prudently takes the advice of her father and brother and does "as (Polonius) did command" (11.i., 108). This is the action that enrages Hamlet, and it was the result of this male interference, not Ophelia's coldheartedness. Ophelia doesn't fail to exhibit her virtue at the beginning of the play either. After Laertes tells her to take the Hamlet's love as a trifle, she responds by saying Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose of dalliance treads
And recks not his own rede.
(Act 1, Scene iii, lines 47-51)
thus showing that she is familiar with the sayings of men, and that she wants only that advice which her brother would honestly consider taking himself. Here she recognizes the possible effe
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2469
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)
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