Role Of Women In Hamlet Essay Sample

Shakespeare created female roles to be used as tools to push the story forward, despite the limitations of women in this period. Detail how Ophelia displayed some foreshadowing in the story and some small hints of feminism in the story. Despite Gertrudes' position, she was placed in the middle of her son's disappointment and Claudius’ expectations. In the Elizabethan era, women were oppressed in roles meant for them. The play Hamlet is staged at a time when women were held to hold high standards.

It was a woman's responsibility to find a husband and bear many children during an era when infant and maternal mortality rates were extremely high. In Ophelias' case, she is meant to find a suitable husband who will bring her family power. Although it is possible that Shakespeare used Ophelia as a character-building tool throughout the story rather than a story about hopeless and frail women of the time, Ophelia, seemingly mad, presents Claudius, Gertrude, and Laertes with a gift of fennel and columbine, rue, and rosemary and daisies to each character respectfully. Many narrow-minded people may read Hamlet and presume that Gertrude's arc is about a simple woman losing her sanity after her father is murdered by a man she once loved. However, Shakespeare managed to implement concepts that would make her seem more complex to those who had a better education in Elizabethan customs of this period. Many Elizabethans took a liking to adding secret codes to their bouquets, with each flower having its unique meaning. The fennel and columbines were symbols of flattery and marital infidelity, which is personified by Claudius as he married his sister-in-law following his brother's death. The flower rue is understood to be repentance. As well as Violets’-tied with faithfulness-which, as Ophelia stated, "... withered away when my father died." When Ophelia is first introduced to the audience, her foreshadowing of the story is shown when her brother and father warn her to stay away from Hamlet. It was evident that staying away from Hamlet could have potentially been the best thing for Ophelia.

Many people have a great disdain for conflict, as they often try to avoid it entirely. However, they surmise that they are in the direct middle of two people with thousands of people watching. The anxiety and distress of a situation could break someone down. This is the case for Gertrude as she handles her new marriage to her brother-in-law and the disappointment she feels from her son following her husband's death. There is evidence that Gertrude was seduced by Claudius without knowing about the fratricide. Toward the end of Act Four, Ophelia gives Claudius fennel and columbine, which are symbolic of flattery and infidelity. Because Ophelias' character is meant to foreshadow the future, these gifts could be interpreted as Claudius in his true and raw nature. Claudius’ betrayal of his brother and his flattery was used to get Gertrude to become the next king. This supports the fact that Gertrude did not know about fratricide, especially since flattery is defined as "excessive and insincere praise, given especially to further one's interests." During the final scene, Gertrude drinks the poisonous wine to save her son as a final act of loyalty toward what should have been the king. Despite Gertrudes’ lack of scenes in Hamlet, she was still able to be a memorable character as she was able to protect Hamlet mere moments before calamity could have ensued. This is also the moment when her loyalty is proven to be with Hamlet, as she probably realized that Claudius was a sweet talker. The Elizabethan era had a deep lack of female representation. The first performance of Hamlet was performed in 1609 with an all-male cast, including even the female characters. Young boys with voices resembling women were used instead of actual women. The stage was considered dangerous for women. According to RSC.org, women were not allowed to perform on stage until around the early 1800s. Women were viewed as frail and meek and liked to keep it that way. In the era, women were meant to keep emotions quiet. Even when women were cut from production and replaced by men, Ophelia Madness’s speech was cut. On ipl.org, they say, "If women wanted to do anything other than care for the household, they would be looked down upon and titled as unfit mothers or wives." speaking about the women of this time. In the 1600s, the average age for bearing children was around 23, and often younger if they were noble. Although we are unsure about Ophelias’ exact age, we can assume, since she is of noble origin and because of the pressure from Laertes and Polonius, that she is reaching her prime marriageable years. Women of the Elizabethan era were held to extremely high standards of decorum.

Despite the limitations for women at this time, Shakespeare was able to implement effective characters that pushed the story forward and allowed some representation. Gertrudes' self-sacrifice to save Hamlet's life demonstrated that, despite Claudius' manipulation, she remained loyal to her family. Shakespeare used Ophelia's secret messages in her flowers given as gifts to give her an interesting factor in her character; despite her madness, she was able to see the truth in people. Even with the lack of representation, Shakespeare's sensitivity towards women of the era gave them a place to stand in literature, even if they could not perform these roles for many years to come. In the end, Shakespeare gave these women depth when they could have been bland fillers to make the play more realistic. Shakespeare gave them motives, conflict, and emotions that would make the play feel incomplete without Hamlet's revenge against Claudius.