Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on, and yet, within a month—
Let me not think on ’t. Frailty, thy name is woman!—
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father’s body,
Like Niobe, …show more content…
Because a mother plays such a key role in a child's life, it has either a negative or positive impact on them. Hamlet felt betrayed by his mother; consequently, he began to use “woman” as a synonym for someone who is weak and frail. When Hamlet says “Than I to Hercules” he is comparing his father and uncle, by comparing himself and Hercules. Hercules is widely known as a hero and a god. He uses this comparision of him and Hercules to emphasize two different points. By comparing himself to Hercules, he admits that he is weak and that he doesn't respect himself. The other point he is trying to endeavor BICASBIA is by juxtaposing the comparison of his father and Claudius parallel to the comparison of himself and Hercules. Shakespeare does this to show how little of respect Hamlet has for Claudius and how much he respects his father. This relates to the overall theme of gender roles because Hamlet has been degrading his mother for so quickly transitioning to some man who is weaker than her original husband. Hamlet now feels that even though only one women has wronged him, that all women are identically disrespectful and will continue to remain this way forever. For the duration of the play Hamlet has lost respect for all women due to his mother's change in love for her