Nature Of Femininity In Hamlet

Hamlet identifies with these feminine qualities, ultimately envying the whore. Hamlet characterizes himself as feminine throughout the entire play. The presence of such comparisons strikes itself as odd, as Hamlet, along with identifying with femininity himself, degrades the very nature of femininity throughout the entire play as well. However, his degradation varies, as with Ophelia’s innocent nature he more so mocks while with Gertrude’s whoreish nature he more so envies despite dragging it down. Ultimately, he chooses to identify more with the whore, perhaps succumbing to the influence of his mother, and contrasting to Ophelia, his partner, and his opposite. However, Hamlet’s interpretation of the whore is not entirely accurate, as he …show more content…
Let go! By heaven, I’ll ha’t,” the cup being that of the deadly poison (Shakespeare 5.2.376-377). He chooses his last dying breaths to not declare his manliness, but to instead declare the masculinity of Horatio as he, Hamlet, is justifying his use of the poison rather than the guard. Although already dying from the poison tipped blade, Hamlet is insuring his death with the poison drink, thus committing suicide, as inflicting his own mortality upon himself. He could have instead waited out his approaching death with dignity, a common attribute of masculine, strong, and heroic characters, but Hamlet would rather take the more cowardly approach. He is yet again unable to live up to his task and responsibility as a man, and the king’s son, and instead of facing and dealing with the consequences of his and others’ actions, he chooses rather to die. This lack of bravery is characteristic to that of a damsel, a very feminine character in literature that is unable to save herself, and thus, needs others to carry out plans to save them, or at least to carry on his supposed legacy in Hamlet’s case, as he asks Horatio to relay such information to Fortinbras. The only characters to die at their own hand, indirectly or not, in the play are Ophelia, Gertrude, and Hamlet. Not surprisingly, these are the three characters …show more content…
Ophelia is the epitome of femininity, and Hamlet despises this with his very being, finding it to be her flaw, but still discontent with the thought of her being impure. Her death heightens this symbol of innocence, and the suicidal nature of it makes her character even more feminine. Gertrude exhibits signs of the more dominant and deviant side of femininity, that of the whore. Her controlling nature stays wither her even to her death, but at the end even she is subject to the feminine fate and suicide. Hamlet, while dragging down both Ophelia’s and Gertrude’s character, finds himself identifying with these very aspects of femininity that he detests. Perhaps this is the reason he dislikes them, as he finds these apparent flaws within himself, bringing him to his feminine death of suicide like his mother. Hamlet shows many signs of discomfort pertaining to the subject of femininity, and this is a theme still very present in today’s literature and the world at large. Masculinity, although characterized as strong and indestructible, is far weaker than femininity, despite the historically weak connotation. However, masculinity is more fragile in a way that men are afraid to show any sign of femininity, believing it will tarnish their sense of masculinity. In Hamlet though, characters