In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare chose to comply with the era’s perceptions of women to display their weakness and inferiority to men.
Tennessee Williams uses society’s misconceptions of male and female stereotypes to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South. As can be predicted, the separate roles of men and women of Shakespeare’s work often reflected those of the time period; women were frequently oppressed by the patriarchal society and forced to live in the shadows of men, while men were expected to be strong and powerful beings. The same rings true in Hamlet with Ophelia and Gertrude, starting with the fact that they are the only two women of the entire play. This detail shows just how less significant …show more content…
In Shakespeare’s age, the ideal woman is valued for her purity, youth, and beauty, and accepts the standards given to her so she can live safely within society. Ophelia becomes this young, naïve girl, who does everything the men of her life tell her to do in order to fit the expectations. This obedience, however, eventually leads to her downfall, as she becomes completely dependent on men. Ophelia proves her dependence and loyalty to her father, Polonius, when she goes to him for advice in the first act about her relationship with Hamlet. Polonius replies to her genuine bid for help by calling her a “green girl” (an innocent girl who doesn’t understand the ways of the world) and ordering her to stay away from Hamlet and his deceitful romanticisms (Shakespeare 1714). Ophelia unquestioningly accepts her father’s instructions, and says, “I shall obey, my lord,” which shows just how willing she is to do anything to satisfy her father, even if that means not seeing the man she might love ever again (Shakespeare 1715). After this, she continues to do whatever her father tells her, including being used as bait to spy on Hamlet, and is essentially rendered powerless; she has no control over her
Tennessee Williams uses society’s misconceptions of male and female stereotypes to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South. As can be predicted, the separate roles of men and women of Shakespeare’s work often reflected those of the time period; women were frequently oppressed by the patriarchal society and forced to live in the shadows of men, while men were expected to be strong and powerful beings. The same rings true in Hamlet with Ophelia and Gertrude, starting with the fact that they are the only two women of the entire play. This detail shows just how less significant …show more content…
In Shakespeare’s age, the ideal woman is valued for her purity, youth, and beauty, and accepts the standards given to her so she can live safely within society. Ophelia becomes this young, naïve girl, who does everything the men of her life tell her to do in order to fit the expectations. This obedience, however, eventually leads to her downfall, as she becomes completely dependent on men. Ophelia proves her dependence and loyalty to her father, Polonius, when she goes to him for advice in the first act about her relationship with Hamlet. Polonius replies to her genuine bid for help by calling her a “green girl” (an innocent girl who doesn’t understand the ways of the world) and ordering her to stay away from Hamlet and his deceitful romanticisms (Shakespeare 1714). Ophelia unquestioningly accepts her father’s instructions, and says, “I shall obey, my lord,” which shows just how willing she is to do anything to satisfy her father, even if that means not seeing the man she might love ever again (Shakespeare 1715). After this, she continues to do whatever her father tells her, including being used as bait to spy on Hamlet, and is essentially rendered powerless; she has no control over her