Representation Of Women In Hamlet Essay

William Shakespeare was an writer who often reflected the times and reality of society during the medieval period. In his play Hamlet, a series of unfortunate events occur that change the initial personalities and perspective views of the characters. These new traits eventually make up the identity of these characters which allow them to exemplify new ideas and images in the play; specifically in the characters of Ophelia and Gertrude. The identity of women through both Ophelia and Gertrude is represented by their mistakes and responses to these mistakes. The portrayal of women in the play Hamlet is depicted as weak and powerless at the feet of men. Hamlet 's view of love is that of what he believed to be his parents perfect marriage which always seemed to be a happy and positive …show more content…
The main cause of their weakness is their care and love for other men, allowing them to put their emotions over respect for others and themselves. When Gertrude lets down her son by destroying the idealistic image of love for him it changes their relationship, as well as the relationship he has with Ophelia. “Ophelia cannot be construed as mere responses to the text of Hamlet which creates a tendentious ambience for her characterization; the play provides meagre insight into her psych and represents her not only as a meek but as an unsavoury character.” (Safaei, Mohammad and Ruzy Suliza Hashim. Pg. 310). This new idea supports what audiences of Hamlet are unable to see, that there is no accurate understanding of what is truly going on in Ophelia’s mind, and she is just depicted as a puppet to the men in her life. Her thoughts are hardly evident and are considered impartial. The reasons for Ophelia and Gertrude to be represented as such powerless characters was to reflect the actuality of powerlessness of women in society at the