Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Hamlet - Essay Example The general male attitude towards women is well elucidated by Hamlet in Act II, Scene 2: â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman† (Shakespeare, 29). Women were not considered able to think rationally and cleverly or worthy of being educated, take up employment, vote or hold public office. As a result, women lost their identity by meekly permitting themselves to be molded by the men in their lives (Brown). Gertrude and Ophelia, the two female characters in Elsinore, the Danish Royal Castle that is the epicenter of ‘Hamlet,’ are no exception. Although both are very beautiful, they are greatly disadvantaged due to the absence of female tradition and the absence of any significant female influence (like a mother or sister). They are dominated by the men in their lives. The hierarchy needed the presence of docile females so that they men could wield roles of power; Gertrude and Ophelia are such perfect docile foils to the dominant males in their lives (Brown). Both are depicted as weak and not self-reliant. They are both unable to think on their own and arrive at logical conclusions, but rely on the men in their lives to take decisions on their behalf (Angelfire.com). Gertrude tamely lets her life be molded by the three dominant males in her life – her first husband King Hamlet, her second husband Claudius and her son Hamlet. When King Hamlet dies, Gertrude is suddenly bereft of a major person who controlled her actions and identity. Acting by instinct, she makes haste to find a replacement as quickly as possible. In Act 1, Scene 2, she marries her brother-in-law Claudius just two months after King Hamlet’s death, well knowing that in those days a widow’s act of remarrying her husband’s brother was looked upon as incest (Melani). In an indication that shows Gertrude has never exercised the freedom or power of independent