Misogyny In Hamlet Analysis
Shakespeare incorporates several different, reoccurring themes throughout his well-known play Hamlet. Misogyny, the hatred of women, is one of these themes. The only two female characters, both of significant importance are mistreated and disrespected by several male characters. Queen Gertrude is mostly under attack from Hamlet and Ophelia is mostly controlled by Polonius. However, Ophelia does receive ill-treatment from her brothers Laertes and Hamlet, as well as her own father, Polonius. All of these men contribute to her weak female character individually and on different levels. They also appear to influence Ophelia's later developed insanity and suicide.
The opening act of the play introduces all important characters, tells much of the plot and projects an important, lasting image of Ophelia. In act 1, scene 3, Laertes is biding farewell to his sister Ophelia and he offers her …show more content…
She obeys these orders throughout the rest of the play except when Polonius organizes a scheduled and supervised encounter between the two in order to observe the nature of Hamlet's madness. This planned meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia is one that draws severe negative emotions from Ophelia. She ends up getting pushed around by Hamlet and told that he loves her, only to be told otherwise at the same time. After this mad conversation, Ophelia is understandably distraught and troubled. As for Polonius, he is the one to blame for this emotional distress, as he was the one to set up the meeting at the expense of his own daughter's well-being. This says a lot about the degree of control he possesses over his daughter. King Claudius also takes part in this planned encounter and does not decline the idea because of fear it might hurt Ophelia. He goes ahead with Polonius' plan, thinking only of his own gain. This shows that the state of Denmark in general does not show much care towards their
The opening act of the play introduces all important characters, tells much of the plot and projects an important, lasting image of Ophelia. In act 1, scene 3, Laertes is biding farewell to his sister Ophelia and he offers her …show more content…
She obeys these orders throughout the rest of the play except when Polonius organizes a scheduled and supervised encounter between the two in order to observe the nature of Hamlet's madness. This planned meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia is one that draws severe negative emotions from Ophelia. She ends up getting pushed around by Hamlet and told that he loves her, only to be told otherwise at the same time. After this mad conversation, Ophelia is understandably distraught and troubled. As for Polonius, he is the one to blame for this emotional distress, as he was the one to set up the meeting at the expense of his own daughter's well-being. This says a lot about the degree of control he possesses over his daughter. King Claudius also takes part in this planned encounter and does not decline the idea because of fear it might hurt Ophelia. He goes ahead with Polonius' plan, thinking only of his own gain. This shows that the state of Denmark in general does not show much care towards their