Gertrude’s portrayal suggests Ophelia Essay

At the beginning of Hamlet, Hamlet is reprimanded by Claudius because of grieving for his begin, power Hamlet. Claudius calls Hamlet unmanly Of impious stubbornness, tis unmanly grief. Claudius use of the word Unmanly suggests Hamlet is frail like a woman, this shows in Hamlet not salutary women are weak in this play but men also display forms of feebleness. Claudius use of the word unmanly surely suggests Hamlet is maidenlike, and if Hamlet is feminine surely as a man, that also makes him weak. The phrase Frailty, thy name is woman, appears in Hamlets first soliloquy.Here Hamlet condemns Gertrude, his mother, for having a swift remarriage to his uncle, Claudius. In Hamlet Shakespeare presents women as the weaker sex, used for the purpose of mens satisfaction sexually. For a woman to consider, or commit a sexual deed, it is seen as corruption. Today, a modern earshot may see Hamlets, Polonius and Laertes actions toward Gertrude and Ophelia as a form of sexual abuse. Women were the victims of a Patriarchal society, corrupted by sex and scorned by misogynistic men.Patriarchy describes a social structure w here(predicate) the behaviour and ideas of men and boys are overriding over those of women and girls. This situation of male authority is reflected in correlated unfairness throughout the society and in the play Hamlet. The Shakespearean era was a patriarchal society where women were seen as powerless to the extent that in the time that Shakespeare wrote his plays women were not authorized to act on stage, which meant that boys were required to dress up as the female characters in plays. Frailty can be a condition of being frail, whether it is being mentally frail, physically or virtuously.Frailty, thy name is woman, is a statement, which at the very least could infuriate a feminist dilettante who may view Shakespeares opinion of women misogynistic because he frequently displays women as being dep blockadeant on men. Hamlet criticises his mother for inc estuous relations with his uncle, Claudius. He says, Almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king and marry with his brother. Hamlet believes his mother to be morally frail as she has an seeming refusal to control feelings to how a woman should be and has committed a sexual rebellion Rebellious hell. Hamlets disgust towards his mothers incestuous relationship comes to a climax Stewd over corruption, honeying and making delight in over the nasty sty Here, Hamlet refers his mother making love over a pig sty, once again referring to women as victims of sexual corruption and as dirty as pigs. Hamlet stated Frailty, thy name is woman, he refers to by his mother, Gertrude, being a woman, she displays moral frailty in being vulnerable to the act of seduction by Claudius. This provides the audience with a model of womens infidelity in Hamlet.For Gertrude to give into this, Hamlet felt his mother was morally frail. An audience would believe Gertrude was frail to a degree from giving into h er brother in law and accepting his hand in marriage. To a Shakespearean audience, Gertrude disobeys patriarchal boundaries by marrying her brother in law, so soon after her husbands death would be fr receiveed upon. Henry the VIII married his brothers widow, Catherine of Aragon, because this was frowned upon in the Tudor times, he used it as an excuse when he later wanted to split her.Hamlet says But two months dead, the essential association of incestuous desire takes place between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude, Hamlet appears fixated on the disgust of his mothers sexual welfare with Claudius, from this Hamlet appears to become cynical about women in general and perceives a connection between the female sexuality and moral frailty. The fancy of misogyny continues to occur throughout the play and is a significant constraint in Hamlets relationships with his mother and Ophelia. Hamlet also refers to his mothers incestuous sexuality with Claudius in Act One Scene Two Hamlet says O most wicked speedTo post with such ingenuity to incestuous sheets suggesting Gertrude moved into bed with Claudius too quickly. A theme of incest is repeated several times throughout the play and is frequently insinuated by Hamlet and the ghost, who says So to seduce won to his shameful lust to the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen. Referring to how Claudius won Gertrude over with his lustful charm. Gertrude is the mouthpiece for the description of Ophelias death to Laertes and Claudius, at the end of Act four Scene seven.An audience may see by Gertrude being the representative for this description, as solidarity and uniting of women. She was As one incapable of her own distress and indued unto that element. Her description is full of pathos, reflecting Ophelias innocence and beauty. Gertrudes portrayal suggests Ophelia was one with nature and native to the water. This suggests her death could have been caused by physical frailty incapable of her own distress, Gertrude e xplains how Ophelia was Pulld the poor wretch from her melodious lay to muddy death. Her Melodious lay suggests to the reader, she was calm and at simple mindedness around the water. When Gertrude says Her clothes spread wide, and awhile they bore her up, which shows the reader a powerful image of Ophelia struggling and drowning and eventually dying, it suggests due mourning over her father and the love of Hamlet, she became physically weak enough to let life defeat her therefore Ophelia is presented as a weak victim. If Ophelias death was suicide, it could suggest Ophelia was morally frail to want to take her own life, going against what was right.Today, a modern audience would look upon victims of suicide, supposedly Ophelia, with empathy for the desperation that must have preceded their demise. An Elizabethan audience however saw suicide to be such a hideous form of murder. Ophelia in Act four Scene five says We must be patient. But I cannot choose but weep to think they would l ay him Ith cold ground. Ophelia appears mad and weak over Hamlets misogyny, the death of her father and rejection of her. Ophelia goes into a double realm of remorse, believing herself to be to blame for both Hamlets madness and her fathers death.Ophelia here is showing an appearance of being physically and mentally frail. Ophelia sings songs concerning chaos, death, and unrequited love. As she is singing Claudius and Queen both try to reason with her, but she replies only incomprehensibly. Claudius says Alas, seraphic lady, what imports this song? Ophelias rogue line breaks of poetry, disrupts the prose of the other characters in the scene, the audience is distracted by Ophelias deep thoughts, emotions and feelings.