Ophelia And Hamlet - 1903 Words

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the stage was used as a way to break the barriers of gender norms. In his creation of Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the voice of Ophelia as a means to battle the gender norms that had been placed on Elizabethan society. A good women was seen as someone that was quiet and submissive. If a man could not control a woman’s tongue, there would be no chance that the man would be able to control her body. Though Ophelia’s character was more than capable of exhibiting reason, the control that her father, Polonius, held over her let Ophelia to the the madness that would claim her life by the end of the play. On the other side of the gender spectrum, Hamlet, a prince that should be have been more than capable of†¦show more content†¦Merchant’s representations claim that â€Å"both nature and women are subordinate and essentially passive† furthering the proof that women are held at a lower standard than men (Merchant 9). The sexuality of women is also compared to animals, furthering the idea that women appeared closer to animals than men on the Great Chain of Being. Hamlet emphasises his mother’s sexuality as being animalistic when confronting the King and Queen about their incestual marriage, stating that â€Å"she would hang on him/As if increase of appetite had grown/by what it fed on† (1.2.143). Hamlet supplements Gertrude’s animalistic sexuality by claiming that â€Å"a beast† who lacks reasoning capabilities â€Å"would have mourned [the death of her husband] longer† rather than marrying her brother-in-law, which was an incestuous act (1.2.150). In Elizabethan England, it was considered indecent and illegal to carry out an act of incest and, by copulating the marriage, Gertrude is acting in a way that does not show any reasoning. Hamlet ends his soliloquy by stating that he â€Å"must hold [his] tongue† rather than demanding his mother acknowledge her lacking position on the Great Chain of Being. Merchant states that women are â€Å"imbued with a far greater sexual passion† rather than by logic which solidifies their position on the Great Chain of Being according to Elizabethan standards. One of the strongest written female characters inShow MoreRelatedThe Madness Of Hamlet And Ophelia1131 Words   |  5 PagesThe Madness of Hamlet and Ophelia Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In it, a young, Danish prince struggles with the death of his father and the betrayal of his mother. This struggle is so profound; it shakes its main character Hamlet to the core and brings him to the brink of sanity. Shakespeare uses madness to convey important information throughout the play especially through Hamlet and his love interest, Ophelia. Hamlet does not always appear to be mad, in fact throughoutRead MoreAnalysis Of Hamlet And Ophelia In Hamlet1812 Words   |  8 Pages1.) 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