Natasha Gladwin
English Literature Coursework – Hamlet
How does Hamlet present its female characters?
Hamlet is said to be one of the most discussed works of literature in the world. Shakespeare has generally
presented strong women in his plays; for example Lady Macbeth, Portia and Rosaline. This may have been influenced by his personal life, as his wife Ann Hathaway, was eight years his senior. However the women in Hamlet have weaknesses, both Gertrude and Ophelia show compassion and neither are ruthless in their attitudes and actions, however ruthlessness is not always a strength in women. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complicated characters, but ironically he sees no complexity in the people around him especially the female characters of this play. Hamlet’s complexity makes him a very interesting character and this reflects upon the rest of the play, giving it grounds to be one of the most discussed works of literature ever, this also reflects in the way Shakespeare presents the other characters to us.
Hamlet sees his mother, Gertrude, from the beginning of the play as no more than an adulteress, but I believe that these views are a result of jealousy of Claudius. In his first soliloquy he remarks more upon his mother’s new marriage than the recent death of his father and I think that it is not his father’s death which has affected him but the remarriage of his mother to his uncle; “Would have mourn’d longer, - married with mine uncle, My fathers brother.” In fact Hamlet spends most of his time during this soliloquy talking of his mother’s remarriage rather than his dead father. In contrast with Hamlet’s view, Gertrude does not think that her remarriage has offended anyone and she thinks that maybe it has affected Hamlet because the marriage was rushed and too soon after his fathers death “His fathers death and our o’erhasty marriage” Perhaps it has not and it is just Hamlet’s attitude to his uncle but mainly to his suspected Oedipus complex as thought by critic Ernest Jones, when Hamlet and his mother are talking alone he says "O, throw away the worser part of it, and live the purer with the other half. Good night – but go not to my uncle’s bed.” this could be an example of Hamlet suggesting that his mother should be in love with him instead of his uncle I think at this point it is a subconscious feeling and that neither Hamlet nor Gertrude realize at this point what Hamlet really means. Another example is when Hamlet talks to his mother later on in the play, he makes a suggestion that her relationship with the King makes him jealous, "Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed, pinch wanton on you cheek, call you his mouse, and let him, for a pair of reechy kisses, or paddling your neck with his damned fingers…". The way Hamlet describes his thoughts of his mother and his uncle in bed together is by using vocabulary of unpleasant words such as mouse, dammed and pinch. Indeed Gertrude could have remarried to her brother-in-law for the good of the nation; I do not think that she would have remarried just to spite anyone as she is not a ruthless character nor is she without compassion. Hamlet has a strained relationship with his mother caused by his subconscious longing for her, he reveals his true feelings for Gertrude whether he means to or not in different ways throughout the play. Hamlet uses his mother to dictate his views on the whole female race; “Frailty, thy name is woman!”, because Hamlet held his mother in such high esteem, since she has done wrong Hamlet thinks all women act like this. However it could be said that Gertrude’s morals are frail as she never displays the ability to think about situations she is in or that she creates and perhaps Hamlet picks up on this and condemns her for it. Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia however demonstrates that he is capable of loving others not just his mother; however I then questioned this when Hamlet is talking with his mother alone “O, throw away the worser part of it [her heart], and live the purer with the other half. Good night – but go not to my uncle’s bed.” This could be taken as a suggestion that his mother should be in love with him instead of his uncle, I do not think that either of the characters are sure of what Hamlet means at this stage. From a Freudian perspective we know that Hamlet’s mind has both a conscious level and a subconscious level, which gives the explanation as to why only until after the death of Ophelia does Hamlet start to suspect his own love of his mother.
