Plays were rarely written by women, and due to the overall lower status of women during this period, the female voice was very rarely introduced into literature at all. full capacity. Women's place in plays was to support the male actors and help bring their characters to life rather than their own. Although this is often how adaptations of “Hamlet” portray women in this role, Zeffirelli gives an unusual amount of time and importance to his female roles. He mischievously chooses actresses who he believes will bring the female characters to life in a subtle way that coincides with the original play. He cast Glenn Close as Gertrude and Helena Bonham-Carter as Ophelia. Many critics will agree that both of these roles are very well played and do a great job of adding complexity and femininity to the male-dominated plot. Close adds an element of true motherhood that is often absent from Gertrude (Braunmuller). The audience is often convinced early in the play that Gertrude is simply an unfaithful wife who was quick to marry after her husband's death. However, with Close, we feel like there's more to the story. You can clearly see the love and emotion she has for her son just in the way she looks at him. We see the internal struggles she goes through on camera, as one would assume