Examine how Shakespeare explores the role of women in Hamlet. What might the response of a modern audience be to this aspect of the play?

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‘Hamlet sees Gertrude give way to Claudius and Ophelia give way to Polonius…’ Leverenz

Examine how Shakespeare explores the role of women in Hamlet. What might the response of a modern audience be to this aspect of the play?

It is interesting to see in Hamlet how women and their characters are not clearly defined. There is uncertainty about the women and their past lives. Instead they are defined mostly by their relationships with men; Margaret Atwood suggests that Ophelia is ‘constructed by others rather than herself’. According to the Great Chain of Being which was very significant in Elizabethan times men have a higher status than women who would be subservient to them. Women were not thought of as individuals in their own right, and we can see this clearly in how the women are conveyed.

We see ideas relating to the Great Chain of Being in how she is treated by her father Polonius, and is reflected in the way Ophelia is obedient to him. Polonius is particularly domineering over Ophelia. In the scene after Laertes has left he uses many imperatives such as ‘you must not’ ‘Do not’ and ‘Think’ and there is little emotion in his speech. Ian Johnston claims that ‘Love, for Polonius, like everything else, can be understood in the lowest denominator of human activity as a power struggle’ with his vocabulary referring to money and contracts, saying ‘set your entreatments at a higher rate’. Fundamentally Polonius is whoring Ophelia, saying ‘I'll loose my daughter to him’ implying ownership of Ophelia. He sees her as either an asset or a liability; not a person in her own right, worrying that ‘you’ll tender me a fool’. There is also the issue of the filial bond which is a strong contract-like bond from the child to the parent that meant they had to be respectful of their parent and accept their authority. The bond was very important in Elizabethan times. From it we can understand why Ophelia is so obedient to Polonius; like Leverenz says, she gives way to him saying ‘I shall obey, my lord’.

When Laertes speaks to Ophelia he is patronising when he advises her. However she is quick to respond and implies he is being hypocritical, saying he should not ‘Show me the step and thorny way to heaven’ while ‘Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads’. She is saying that Laertes should apply his advice to his own life as well. She is assertive and perceptive, using the imperative ‘Do’, and implying her brother might be ‘puffed’ and ‘reckless’ which is strong language. Ophelia shows subtle intelligence here whereas in Elizabethan times women were considered to have the lower faculty of emotion whereas men had the higher faculty of intellect, reflecting the ideas of the Great Chain of Being. The Reformation in the Church led to challenging of the traditional views of women, causing women to be more assertive. This is reflected in Ophelia’s character.

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With the men in her life both telling her what to do Ophelia is under much pressure and has little free will. Similarly Gertrude faces pressure from Claudius and Hamlet. There is conflict between the men, and Gertrude is ambivalent; she should submit to Claudius as he is her husband, but according to Elizabethan conventions Gertrude was obliged to ask Hamlet for his permission for this marriage.

As the family peacemaker and mediator Gertrude is in difficulty. In Elizabethan times family was regarded as very important and was seen as a microcosm of the world, and marriage ...

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