Hamlet Gender Roles

American politician and feminist Shirley Chisholm once said “The emotional, sexual and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, “it's a girl”. In saying this, Chisholm draws attention to the idea that from birth females are stereotyped and victimised, purely as a result of society’s ingrained attitudes towards women. This unfortunate, patriarchal portrayal of females as the less dominant gender is a theme that is not only reflected through the Shakespearean play ‘Hamlet’, but in many areas of contemporary society. Although times have changed since the Elizabethan era, women are still oppressed and restricted by male-constructed orders and societal attitudes, along with unequal power structures between the sexes to a lesser extent.

In the play ‘Hamlet’, Shakespeare’s characterisation of Ophelia is one that reflects the restrictive and harrowing consequence of living within a rigid, male-dominant society. As you may already know, Ophelia is expected to conform to social norms and obey the orders set by male characters such as Laertes and
Polonius, based on the fact that she has limited rights and freedoms as a woman. This is seen in conversations were both Laertes and Polonius order Ophelia to end her relationship with Hamlet for the sake of keeping their family honour and her virginity. Although Ophelia holds the belief that Hamlet is true to her, she obeys her father's words by saying “I shall obey, my lord” and that she “did repel his letters and denied him access to herself” (Act 1, Scene 3 & Act 2, Scene 1). In addition, we also know that Polonius and King Claudius use and manipulate Ophelia for her natural grace, ordering her to “walk here” and “read on this book”, whilst their eyes prey and spy on Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1). The unfortunate reality is while Ophelia is unmarried she must obey the orders of her father Polonius. And upon marrying, she is obligated to follow her husband's orders. Audience members, her life is completely dictated by male voices. Essentially, Ophelia has no control over her body, her relationships, or any other important life choices. We as the readers understand that Ophelia loses her mind, as she becomes aware of her limited options as a female and struggles to cope with the demands of her father. Thus so, Ophelia is a lost soul who symbolises the collective turmoil of living within a patriarchal society.

In accordance with the Elizabethan era, in the present day females continue to be repressed and treated unjustly in less-developed countries such as China, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to name a few. In patriarchal society’s such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, women are often controlled by cases of forced marriages, starving widows, wife-beatings and the deprivation of education and burning of girl’s schools (Oxfam, 2009). Now ladies and gentlemen, in light of these examples of female oppression let me ask you a question. How would you feel if you were placed second? If you were treated as a lesser being on account of your gender? What if this happened to you? What would you do? Would you feel disadvantaged and stripped of your basic human rights? I’m not sure about you, but I know how I would feel. Members of the audience, I must remind you that just like Ophelia these women in less-developed nations are restricted and controlled by these oppressive boundaries.

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Quite similarly, although we understand that power structures and employment opportunities have changed, modern-day women are still treated unequally through gender pay gaps and the number of females in senior leadership positions.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average full-time working female makes a staggering $283.20 less than a full-time working male per week (Australian Government, 2014). Another recent study noted women make up just a quarter of those employed in the key leadership positions of Australian companies (ABC, 2015).This means that whilst females put an equal amount of time and effort in, they are paid considerably less than their male counterparts. Why is this you ask? The harsh reality is, not unlike the Elizabethan era females, women of today still continue to be discriminated against and seen as the apparent “less-powerful gender” by members of
society.

Although we understand that times have changed since the publication of the Shakespeare’s play ‘Hamlet’, females are still in some cases reflected as the inferior gender. In the play, this representation is namely seen through characters such as Ophelia who is suppressed by the orders of males and Queen Gertrude who is regarded as the less powerful on account of her gender. In the same way, females in the 21st century are restricted by harmful male-constructed attitudes and conditions, along with unequal pay gaps and leadership positions. Furthermore, it becomes abundantly clear that ‘Hamlet’ is a writing that reinforces the continuing relevance of female oppression and gender-based issues.