Submissive Women In Hamlet

Decent Essays
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, women are portrayed as weak and obedient while their decisions are predominantly dependent on the opposite sex. Although many critics write articles that disagree, one example is “As We Like it: How a Girl can be smart and still popular” where Clara Park argues that Shakespeare “liked women and respected them” (page, 1). However, Gertrude is a prime example of a person described as weak and submissive. For instance, in Act 1 scene 2, Hamlet struggles to understand “why she would hang on to him [in Claudius]/ 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!” (1.2. 141-150). Not only does Shakespeare display Gertrude as a frail

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