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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page paper which examines the significance of the roles portrayed by the lone female characters in the play as a mirrored reflection of the Elizabethan social patriarchy. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGgeroph.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
his fathers murder. The men are clearly the focus and seem to control every aspect of the plot and conflict, whereas the lone women who are featured in the
tragedy - Hamlets mother, Queen Gertrude, and his girlfriend, Ophelia - are blatantly constructed to subordinate and to submit to all of the whims and desires of their male counterparts.
As William Shakespeare would, most likely, respond to feminist criticism levied at his most popular play, "Their submissiveness was precisely the point." Gertrude may have been a Queen
and Ophelia a mere commoner, but their roles, as dictated by the stringent rules of Elizabethan society, had been carefully defined in accordance to their gender. Women were of
unequal class status, and whatever position they occupied on the social ladder would be determined by men, whether it be by husbands or fathers. As a result, Elizabethan women
had virtually no control over their own lives. They were expected to be symbols of feminine purity, whose sole function was to serve men - as silent and obedient
consorts, nurturing mothers, devoted daughters, or sexual temptresses. If they did not fulfill these obligations, the precarious social balance would be thrown into chaos. The roles of Gertrude
and Ophelia within the plays construct were painstakingly designed by the Bard to reflect the inferior social role of all women during Shakespeares time. If a woman dared to
step out of character and do something to please herself, as the play demonstrates, there would be dire repercussions. Much of the plays emotional tension is derived from Hamlets feelings
of betrayal by Gertrude, who married her brother-in-law Claudius only three months following the murder of her husband, King Hamlet. This act is frequently described throughout the play as
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