Hamlet And Ophelia Analysis

The Portrayal of Gertrude and Ophelia in Hamlet
In many of William Shakespeare’s works, it is evident that Shakespeare is alluding the lack of intelligence and weakness of women. “Frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2.146), quoted by Shakespeare in Hamlet is an example of this. In Hamlet, Shakespeare depicts characters like Ophelia and Gertrude as demonstrating weakness and being tools of manipulation by the males in their lives. Their actions and fates are greatly influenced by the men's decisions and are led by the men in their lives, which gives them a weak image. Women in the Elizabethan era were reliant on men to make their decisions as they were oppressed and disregarded in society. As Alex Gilbertson states, “this was not a glorious time
for most women because they were looked down upon and faced oppression from the men of the society.” (1). To begin with, Gertrude being used by male characters and how she reacts to tragedy portrays her as weak-minded. Claudius deceives Gertrude and uses her as a mean to gain power. He marries the Queen to take the throne from Hamlet after the death of his father. Without knowing that it is Claudius responsible for the death of the king, Gertrude trusts Claudius for being the right heir to the thrown and marries him. Claudius also tricks everybody by showing that he is a loving, caring and responsible stepfather to Hamlet in order to gain the trust and love of Gertrude. For instance, Claudius shows his fictitious love for Hamlet in front of the Queen when he states, "This mad young man. But so much was our love"(4.1.19). Claudius shows that he is worried about Hamlet’s mental illness, but in reality, he loses his patience with Hamlet and is trying to kill him. He tries his best to display his caring attitude to the queen so that he could seize the crown easily. Gertrude being suppressed by her emotions prevents her from making smarter decisions, thus making her easier to manipulate. The fact that Claudius gained power that easily shows that Gertrude lacks intelligence and is easy to take advantage of. To continue, Gertrude displays her weak-mindedness when a tragedy occurs. For example, when Gertrude married Claudius after the death of her husband, Gertrude was afraid to take over the kingdom by herself, so she married her bother-in-law. "Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death/ The memory be green, and that it us befitted/ To bear our hearts in grief..." (1.2.1-4). This proves how the Queen wanted to marry Claudius quickly instead of mourning the death of her former husband. The urgency of their marriage shows her weak dependence on men and neediness. Overall, Gertrude displays that she is weak because she could easily be manipulated by men in her life and fears being alone. Women during the Elizabethan era were not allowed to have any possessions and were usually passed on to their husband or any other male in their lives.
“When it came to property, a woman gave up all of her rights to own land and such things to her husband. He became not only the owner of her physical possessions, but of her as well.” (“Rights of Women” 1). In the play, Ophelia has been under the control of male characters by being used for her possessions, status and lust. "Come, go with me: I will go seek the king./ This is the very ecstasy of love,/ Whose violent property fordoes itself/ And leads the will to desperate undertakings/ As oft as any passion under heaven/ That does afflict our natures.” (2.1.101-106) as mentioned by Polonius. Here it is evident that Polonius uses his daughter for his own desires. When Ophelia talks about Hamlet's unusual behaviour towards her, Polonius immediately depicts this to his advantage. He speculates his daughter's description as madness from love which is in his advantage because it can mean that Ophelia will marry into royalty which would bring him up in status. Polonius's intentions are seen through his desperate actions. Secondly, when Ophelia sings a song "Before you tumbled me,/ You promised me to wed.", he answers: "So would I ha' done, by yonder sun,/ And thou hadst not come to my bed." (4.5.62-66). Ophelia's song indicates the mistake she made of losing her virginity to Hamlet. With the loss of her father, virginity and
brother being away, Ophelia really does not have anything left for a woman during her time. She is a pitiful character in the end and ultimately commits suicide. To conclude, both characters demonstrate weakness and inaptitude since they rely on men to make decisions for them and let the men dominate them. Ophelia and Gertrude are easily manipulated since they have no place in society and this was true for all women during the Elizabethan era. Gertrude and Ophelia’s difficult lives can be blamed on the issue of gender inequality. To end with, Dealing with narrow minded and sexist men all their lives ultimately wore them down, thus becoming weaker mentally.