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  • Essay / Hamlet from a feminist point of view - 1151

    Shakespeare's Hamlet, shows strong prejudices against women, especially with the characters of Ophelia and Gertrude. Shakespeare created an interesting character with Gertrude; he created a character who is in the middle of all the conflict and doesn't seem to participate in it much. However, Gertrude seems determined to defuse him at every possible opportunity. Gertrude is a central character in the play. She appears a lot but doesn't say much – which implies mystery and creates an interesting uncertainty in the audience. Hamlet spends a lot of time dwelling on his marriage to Claudius and Shakespeare leaves many questions unanswered with Gertrude, such as did she have an affair with Claudius behind ancient hamlets? Why does she drink the poisoned wine intended for her son? Does she know he's poisoned? Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and although they do not have a typical mother-son relationship, she loves him. Queen Gertrude is often interpreted by many as an adulterous and incestuous woman. Catherine Belsey states that typical interpretations of Hamlet hold: “Gertrude is a slut; and Shakespeare a patriarchal bard” (Belsey, 1997: 34). Gertrude's actions throughout the play could be interpreted as showing that she was a very passive character, far from being a strong, independent woman. This is shown by her obedience to Claudius, three times during the play Gertrude is told to leave and each time she does so without hesitation. In Act 1, Scene 2, Claudius says to Gertrude, “Madam, come” (122). Here again, act 3, scene 1, Claudius says to her: “Sweet Gertrude, leave us”. (28), she conforms to it; “I will obey you” (37). And finally, in Act 4, Scene 1, Claudius says: “O Gertrude, come! (28). This obedience to Gertrude...... middle of paper...... anchester: Manchester University Press. 116-133. Belsey, Catherine. Feminism and beyond. Shakespeare Studies 25 (1997): 32 - 41Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist criticism: female characters in Shakespeare's plays, Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing. Heilbrun, Carolyn G. (2002). Hamlet's mother and other women. 2nd ed. West Sussex: Columbia University Press. Loberg, Harmony. “Queen Gertrude: monarch, mother, murderess. » Atenea 24.1 (June 2004): 59-71 Ouditt, Sharon. “Explaining the fragility of women: feminist readings of Gertrude. » Hamlet. Ed. Peter J. Smith and Nigel Wood. Theory in practice. Buckingham: Open UP, 1996. 83-107. Pearson, Patricia. When she was bad: violent women and the myth of innocence. New York: Viking, 1997 Uéno, Yoshiko. “Three Gertrudes: text and subtext. » Hamlet and Japan. Ed. Yoshiko Ueno. Hamlet Collection 2. New York: AMS, 1995. 155-68