Hi everyone, its good to be back!! Been away a while studying, but im back for a bit to get your valued opinion on my last peice of English Literature corsework, i struggle with Shakespeare and I would greatly appretiate your honest opinion, which i know you will do otherwise you would not be a ciaoer!!!! thanks.
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How would a modern day audience respond to the presentation of women in Hamlet?
William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in 1603. Hamlet is a play of its time in the presentation of female characters. There are only two women in Hamlet. Gertrude, Hamlets mother, and Ophelia, Hamlets lover, the daughter of Polonius.
Hamlet was written in the Elizabethan period, in this time many women were confined to the domestic sphere, they were often unhappy, oppressed, and commonly abused by tyrannical husbands. With Elizabeth 1st on the throne she made sure that other women had few rights. Many women were treated as servants by their fathers, and later by their husbands.
Throughout Hamlet there is evidence of the patriarchal society of this time. Ophelia is dependant on men, Polonius, Laertes her brother and Hamlet. She gradually loses the men she so strongly depends upon. Her father prevented her from seeing Hamlet, her brother moved away and her Father was killed. The loss of these men leads to her mental instability, the cause of her later suspected suicide. Her madness could be viewed as liberation from the constraints placed upon her by Elizabethan society.
Shakespeare presents women as weak characters. In Act 3 Scene 4, Hamlet is talking to his mother; He takes control of the conversation by showing her little respect,
“nay but to live
In the rank sweat of an enseamed
bed
Stewed in corruption, honeying,
and making love
Over the nasty sty.” (Line 91-95)
This is a disrespectful and crude way to talk to ones mother. Gertrude’s only input in the conversation is answering questions and attempting to understand her sons berating. Gertrude has no control over the contents of the conversation making her appear powerless. To a modern audience Hamlets treatment of his mother would cause shock because of the lack of respect and how he controls her. It would be seen as degrading towards women as we now speak on an equal intellectual level as men, it would be seen as a form of sexist abuse and unjustified anger. To an Elizabethan audience the play would have been a portrayal of everyday life, in the way that the women were treated.
By Shakespeare giving the female characters a weak voice the audience never gets to see their characters develop, suggesting they are less important. The female characters being suppressed in the play helps to present to a modern audience the way of life at the time Shakespeare was alive and how women were suppressed in every way, from being mentally inferior, to being less developed in a play.
Gertrude, makes little contribution to the play in way of inspirational speeches; however, her quick marriage to Claudius is one reason for Hamlet’s anger, this anger being the main theme of the play, Gertrude has a large part in the play, even if it is a slightly concealed presence.
Like many women of her time, her presence was not always noticed but her actions had effects on family and surroundings.
At no point in the play do Gertrude and the late King Hamlet communicate. The ghost does, however, talk about his widow when in conversation with Hamlet. In Act 1 Scene 5, the ghost refers to Gertrude as his, “Seeming-virtuous Queen” (Line 46). This statement raises the question to the audience - Was Gertrude a loyal wife to Hamlet whilst he was alive? The Elizabethans were religious people; therefore adultery would have been viewed as a ghastly sin. This thread in the story would have shocked an Elizabethan audience and to them the play would appear roped with evil and corruption. Whereas a modern audience would see it as controversial, they would not be as shocked by the thought of adultery. This shows a change in both moral and social views.
It is not clear whether she actually did commit adultery as the ghosts suggests and Hamlet suspects, or whether she was simply wooed and tricked into loving the cunning Claudius. She is, however, given an aside, which suggests that she has something to answer for:
"To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is,
Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss,
So fill of artless jealous is guilt,
It spills itself in fearing to be split." (Act 4, Scene 5, Line 17-20)
She feels guilty for what she has done, and understands that it is partly her fault that her son is in this state of madness. She could also be feeling guilty about the fact that her son killed Ophelia’s father.
A modern audience would feel that Gertrude’s marriage was too hasty and they would understand Hamlets anger, however, an Elizabethan audience would have mixed thoughts on this point. At the time women were kept to the family confines, if they were not married they were looked down upon and would have had no social stance, so it was seen to be better to remarry. However, if a woman did not remarry, society would see her as a burden, being single and having no one to secure her financially, a fast remarriage could also be seen as desperation to get back into a social stance and be provided for. Women could not win, they were criticised for both decisions!
The extent of Gertrude's sin is one of the questions throughout the play. Did she commit adultery? Was she involved in the murder of her husband? None of these questions are answered with any certainty in the play. However, in Act 3 Scene 4 when Hamlet suggests to her that the King was murdered:
"A bloody deed, almost as bad, good mother,
As kill a King, and marry with his brother" (line 29-30)
There seems to be falseness in her surprised reply
"as kill a king?".
The way in which Gertrude is interpreted when this play is performed shows the actress’s own interpretation of her character. Franco Zeffirelli depicts her as woman behind a powerful man, confident and always looking for the easy way out, whereas the Mel Gibson version shows her as a woman of the time, vulnerable and uncertain of her social stance.
Ophelia does not make any leading speeches, most of the time she just answers questions, in Elizabethan time this would have been how women behaved. A modern audience would view this as sexist since woman now have a larger role in society.
Ophelia lives up to her filial duty; she is obedient and often looks to her father for guidance. In Act 1 Scene 3 when Polonius asks her a question she avoids answering the question, in fear of saying the wrong thing she replies by saying “ I do not know my Lord what I should think” (Line 104) This shows Ophelia as a weak person because she lets the men in her life tell her what to think, she has no independence and relies solely on guidance from her father and brother.
It appears that Gertrude will try anything to keep her life simple and problem free. She even changes her language and the way she speaks to soften the shock on Laertes when she explains about Ophelia’s death, she describes her death as “mermaid-like” (Act 4 Scene 7 Line 178), as if using pleasant language would not make it seem such a horrific death. By making Ophelia’s death sound peaceful and comfortable she hopes it will not upset him so much and she will not have to comfort him. She may act like this because she has been oppressed by her husband, and probably her father before, she has not had chance to exercise certain emotions so is unsure how to deal with situations, like grief, she didn’t have time to grieve for her husband. This was true of many women time. Elizabethan women were expected to remarry and move on with their lives.
Ophelia has no liberation. This is shown through the relationship with her dominating father. Ophelia's rejection of Hamlet, which defy her feelings for him, demonstrate her obedience to her father. By telling Polonius that Hamlet “hath importuned me with love, In honourable fashion” (Act 1 Scene 3 Line 118-119) she implies that he is decent and honourable and that she does have feelings for him. Ophelia's later actions sacrifice these feelings, under the order of her father, proving her complete submission. In particular, Ophelia agrees not to see Hamlet anymore after the request from her father:
"I shall obey, my lord" (Act 1 Scene 4 Line 145).
Ophelia's actions show that Polonius has complete control over his daughter because she sacrifices her feelings and emotions to obey him.
The theme of sexuality runs throughout the play. In the ghosts first appearance in scene 1 he speaks of his widow as “seeming virtuous”. Hamlet refers to her sheets as “incestuous”. Both of these descriptions of Gertrude’s remarriage and sexuality portray her sleeping habits as a crime. These accusations would equally shock a modern and Elizabethan audience, which is an example of how some situations are never morally accepted into society. Even in Elizabethan times there was a law saying that you could not marry your husbands brother, the only reason Claudius and Gertrude got away with it was because they were royalty and no one dared question the throne.
The culmination of Gertrude alleged affair and her criminal sexuality would create Gertrude to appear quite the villain.
Ophelia is seen in her state of madness in Act 4 Scene 5. Her conversation contains sexual references, which, from what we have already seen of Ophelia appears out of character. References like “Young men will do’t if they come to’t,” (line 58), “By cock” (line 59) and “tumbled me” (line 60) shows the true reality of her illness due to her change in character and language. These statements are very much in keeping with Laertes and Polonius’s advice, even in madness they seem to speak through her. Men are to blame for her madness; their advice leads to Hamlets rejection of her because of her rejection of him. An Elizabethan audience would be shocked by her altered language because it would not have been right for females to talk about sex in public. Today this would shock an audience far less because women speak freely about anything. It is clear to the audience that Ophelia is ill, therefore the audience would not dislike her because of her disrespectful language, instead they would sympathise with her.
I think Shakespeare presents the two women differently; Gertrude’s character could be interpreted as villainous or vulnerable. Ophelia is pitied because of the way she is controlled by the three men in her life, and because the loss of these people leads to her suspected self-destruction.
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Thank you so much for your time, i await your opinion, thanks again. loz989.
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