Hamlet Treatment Of Women Analysis

Hamlet’s Views and Treatment of Women The play Hamlet written by the famous William Shakespeare brings to the surface numerous themes along with subject matters. In reading this play one major issue can be drawn from the well thought out verses written throughout the play: the issue concerning Hamlet’s views and treatment of women. Shakespeare’s Hamlet encompases several verses on which women are portrayed as common, perversely whorish and utterly disloyal human beings. In reading Hamlet, it can be concluded that the main character Hamlet has formed an overall stereotype on what he perceives all women to be. This is shown shortly after the passing of Hamlet’s father and the remarriage of his mother, in which Hamlet does not approve of. Hamlet soon compares himself to women where he is quoted accusing all women of being whorish, “That I, the son of a dear father murdered/ Prompted by my revenge by heaven and hell/ Must like a whore unpack my heart with words/ And fall a-cursing like a very drab… (Durband, 136). Here,
Here Hamlet lets his stereotype of women take over him and lie to Ophelia about his love for her. When trying to give back the keepsakes he first lies by telling her he never gave her such a thing. He then lies to her again in talking about his loving her once. Where he states, “You shouldn’t have believed me: a leopard cannot change its spots. That wasn’t love” (Duband 147). Here Hamlet lies to Ophelia about his affections towards her claiming they were not real and he should not have believed her. This is known as a lie to the reader as we near the end of the play when Ophelia passes and Hamlet breaks down and expresses his love for her proving that he did love her once and still continued to love her no matter