Misogyny in Hamlet (Marialexa's Post)

Although Shakespeare’s plays may have been revolutionary in their use of language, the gender roles and stereotype were conventional and often times sexist. When he has female heroines, they tend to play a much more distressed, vulnerable and afflicted role than males. In Hamlet, these stereotypes are epitomized. Both Hamlet and Ophelia succumb to madness, but with Hamlet there is still the suspicion that he calls the madness on himself to fool the king. Ophelia, on the other hand, falls victim of all-consuming grief, trauma, and mental illness, making her look fragile and susceptible. While Hamlet died of a heroic, almost warrior-like death, Ophelia sunk to her death without a fight. In the play, it is as if woman’s only power is to manipulate and distract men. They are given no political, militaristic, or scholarly roles. Instead they are almost vilified for the seductive powers over the play’s dominant male characters. Gertrude is considered to be promiscuous and desperate in the sense that she lusted after power so much she would go as far as marry the brother and murderer of her previous husband. Ophelia is considered to have bewitched Hamlet and driven him to the brink of madness. We see light shone upon these women in relation to the men in their lives, but we do not see them independently in a role entirely of their own. We can’t judge their character without the influence of the other men in the play.