Hamlet- Presentation of Women

[jonathanhare]

I am studying Shakespear's presentation of women in Hamlet.
I have broken it down to how he depicts Ophelia and Gertrude to be Oppressed by men- The dommination by Claudius Polonious Hamlet and Laetes. Also I want to concentrate on the tragedy and death of the female characters. But I have been instructed too show how Shakespeare uses religion to portray the female characters. But how does Ophelia's burrial show a presentation of women? Doesn't it just show that people who commit suicide should not be burried?

[Gwenhwyfar2828]

do you mean the fact ophelia was buried in unhallowed ground or her funeral scene?

[Redzeppelin]

Your chosen language indicates a possibility that your instructor has a feminist agenda ("oppressed" and "domination" are popular feminist discourse terms). If this is so, I can't help you much because I think it's silly to interpret 16th century literature with 20th century ideologies. Neither woman is "oppressed" by anybody. Gertrude is a willing partner in her incestuous (by the medieval church's standard) relationship with Claudius. Who "dominates" her? Ophelia wasn't "oppressed" so much as she was restricted by a suspicious father and abused by a betrayed and angry lover. Shakespeare was not writing a play to "oppress" women - he was writing a play about the problem with trying to rationally reach a position of 100% certainty. Ophelia suffers not so much because she is a woman but because she is the only truly innocent person in the diseased world of Elsinor. Getrude dies - ironically, in light of the "dominance" idea - by defying Claudius's "power" over her ("Gertrude - don't drink." She ignores him and "exercises her freewill against patriarcal oppression" and drinks poison. Dies. So much for female empowerment).

A productive paper would be to examine how the women function in terms of their effect on the men. Claudius chooses damnation for Getrude (and the crown of Denmark); Hamlet grapples in a grave with the brother of his dead lover and avenges the whoring of his mother. Women seem pretty important in Shakespeare's world.

Not sure about the religion angle and how it connects to women.

[Ray Eston Smith]

Ophelia allowed her father tell her what to think and let her brother keep the key to her memory.

Hamlet made a similar mistake. He wisely wanted to return to school but he stayed in Denmark in obedience to his mother. Then he let his father's commandment live all alone in his brain.

Both Ophelia and Hamlet had the same fatal flaw - excessive filial duty made them untrue to themselves.

Gertrude's fatal flaw was that she could not separate herself from Claudius who could not separate himself from his ill-gotten kingdom (of which Gertrude was the "imperial jointress") even though he knew the kingdom was dragging him to Hell.

Throughout the play, Claudius was always ordering Gertrude to follow him. In the end, after Gertrude had died from the poison Claudius had put in the cup of union (representing, as Claudius said, the union [and joining] of kings [and jointresses] with their kingdoms), Hamlet forced Claudius to drink the rest of the poison, tellling him "follow my mother."

Please be true to the play. Look for what you think Shakespeare intended to put there. Don't go along with ideologues who want to "botch the words up fit to their own thoughts."