The Change of Hamlet’s View towards Women
According to a well-known Asian proverb, “There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes.” In the play, Shakespeare successfully portrays Hamlet being a tragic hero with radical contradictions. He is reckless but clever on his revenge, courteous yet ferocious to his friends, sympathetic but violent to Gertrude. Due to such complexity of Hamlet, it is not difficult to see the reason why the audience will have different interpretations towards him. Besides all the various viewpoints held by the audience, this paper will focus on the shift of Hamlet’s view towards women, which is essentially caused by the immoral behavior of Hamlet’s mother right after the death of his father. Moreover, this paper will discuss how the change of view on women is further developed in the play through Hamlet’s harsh treatment of Ophelia.
“Frailty, thy name is woman!” (1.2.146). Hamlet makes this famous speech after knowing Gertrude’s decision of remarrying Claudius who is her brother-in-law soon after her husband’s death. Hamlet is disappointed and disgusted by this incestuous …show more content…
She fails to realize that her second marriage can be seen as adultery by her sensitive son. After that point, Hamlet’s belief in women suddenly breaks down, because he feels betrayed by his own mother, the sole person who he believes should never cause him pain. As a result, he concludes all women are morally and physically weak and can not be trusted. As for Ophelia, she plays the role of the unfortunate who silently takes Hamlet’s anger to his mother’s guilt. His distorted mind leads Hamlet to have the thought that Ophelia is just another insincere woman like his mother. Apparently the behavior of the women in Hamlet results in some negative consequences. Perhaps the major one is to drive an innocent girl mad and eventually push her over the edge of
According to a well-known Asian proverb, “There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes.” In the play, Shakespeare successfully portrays Hamlet being a tragic hero with radical contradictions. He is reckless but clever on his revenge, courteous yet ferocious to his friends, sympathetic but violent to Gertrude. Due to such complexity of Hamlet, it is not difficult to see the reason why the audience will have different interpretations towards him. Besides all the various viewpoints held by the audience, this paper will focus on the shift of Hamlet’s view towards women, which is essentially caused by the immoral behavior of Hamlet’s mother right after the death of his father. Moreover, this paper will discuss how the change of view on women is further developed in the play through Hamlet’s harsh treatment of Ophelia.
“Frailty, thy name is woman!” (1.2.146). Hamlet makes this famous speech after knowing Gertrude’s decision of remarrying Claudius who is her brother-in-law soon after her husband’s death. Hamlet is disappointed and disgusted by this incestuous …show more content…
She fails to realize that her second marriage can be seen as adultery by her sensitive son. After that point, Hamlet’s belief in women suddenly breaks down, because he feels betrayed by his own mother, the sole person who he believes should never cause him pain. As a result, he concludes all women are morally and physically weak and can not be trusted. As for Ophelia, she plays the role of the unfortunate who silently takes Hamlet’s anger to his mother’s guilt. His distorted mind leads Hamlet to have the thought that Ophelia is just another insincere woman like his mother. Apparently the behavior of the women in Hamlet results in some negative consequences. Perhaps the major one is to drive an innocent girl mad and eventually push her over the edge of