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Shakespeare's Representation of Women

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Shakespeare's Representation of Women FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND BUSINESS STUDIES Department of Humanities Shakespeare’s Representation of Women A Feminist Reading of Shakespeare’s Hamlet Mathilda Samuelsson 2020 Student thesis, Bachelor degree, 15 HE English Upper Secondary Teacher Education Programme English 61-90 HE Supervisor: Iulian Cananau Examiner: Maria Mårdberg Abstract Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1609) is a nuanced play that illustrates revenge, madness, and complex relationships. The essay aims to analyse the importance of the two female characters in the play: Ophelia and Gertrude. By studying Ophelia and Gertrude, the essay shows how Shakespeare portrays women in Hamlet. Furthermore, the study does a feminist reading of the play to investigate how Ophelia’s and Gertrude’s actions and behaviour are affected by the contemporary patriarchal society, and how it affects the male characters’ choices. In order to examine the ways in which Shakespeare portrays Ophelia and Gertrude in the play, their characters are deconstructed. By deconstructing characters, it allows them to have contradictory characteristics, such as rational yet irrational, or sane yet mad. It is essential to consider several perspectives when doing a close reading of all characters in the play, since every reason for their behaviour and actions have an underlying meaning, which contributes to the complex and nuanced plot. Therefore, the study, besides deconstruction, does a close reading of the play’s characters as a method to investigate how Ophelia and Gertrude are portrayed in the play, and how their behaviour and choices affect the other characters. The results show that, at first, Ophelia and Gertrude are pictured as the passive and silent gender under the obedience of male authority. However, beneath the surface, Gertrude is a strong woman who tries, in clever ways, to rule for the state’s interest and, unsuccessfully, tries to prevent Hamlet’s emotional decisions and thirst for revenge to destroy the state. Ophelia has a relatively small part in the play, but her presence clearly shows how women were interpreted in a contemporary patriarchal society. For example, in the first half of the play, she takes the role as Hamlet’s unmarried lover. After Hamlet rejects her for being unchaste, the murder of her father and the absence of her brother, she is portrayed as mad which, eventually, leads to her suicide, or, possibly, unintentional death. Nevertheless, by deconstructing Ophelia’s character, it shows that her madness is rational. By Hamlet, she is accused of being unclean and unworthy of marriage. In addition, her father is murdered. Naturally, she is grieving. Her suicide might be an action of independence, since she can, finally, make her own decisions. However, when she is interpreted from a male point of view in a patriarchy, she is irrational, emotional, and mad. To conclude, Shakespeare portrays Gertrude and Ophelia as irrelevant, emotional female characters. However, through a close reading and deconstruction, they are women who try to take control of their lives, actions, and behaviour in different ways in a contemporary patriarchal society. This research allows readers to interpret female characters in several ways, and by a feminist reading of the play, understand that an emotional and irrational woman might intentionally behave in that way for logical reasons. The research also allows readers to see how women are forced to act and make choices in a contemporary patriarchy to be able to influence societal structures. Keywords: Shakespeare, Hamlet, Gertrude, Ophelia, Women, Feminism, Feminist Criticism, Patriarchy, Femininity, Masculinity Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 2. Theoretical framework .......................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Previous studies ....................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Theory ...................................................................................................................... 6 3. Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 12 3.1 Shakespeare’s display of women ........................................................................... 12 3.2 The shaming of Ophelia and Gertrude ................................................................... 14 3.3 Rationality vs irrationality ..................................................................................... 18 4. Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 23 5. Works cited ............................................................................................................................ 26 1. Introduction The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, displays twisted relationships and, more importantly, revenge. The drama has been analysed from numerous angles and with several theories: for instance, the truth behind Hamlet’s madness, or his connection to the Oedipus complex. Another relevant aspect is the characters’ role in contemporary patriarchal society and the meaning of details in Shakespeare’s choice of words in the play. Simple words as ‘nunnery’ and ‘lap’ have a deeper meaning and a major role to the plot. Every choice Hamlet makes, and every picture of male figures contributes to the societal structures that shape the play. Hamlet’s madness and revenge are the foundation of the play since his decisions are the ones that lead to mass death. However, his decisions can be argued to be irrational and emotional. If he had thought of the people and the country that his revenge would affect, unnecessary deaths could have been prevented, as well as Norway’s invasion of Denmark. There are only two female characters in the play: Gertrude and Ophelia. Both characters seem unimportant and merely play supporting roles. At first, they are illustrated as weak, passive, and dependent. However, their choices and actions contribute greatly to the plot. Gertrude is a strong woman who tries to control Hamlet and Claudius to help them make the right choices, and rule as Queen for the state’s interest. She does not let her feelings interfere with her behaviour. Ophelia is seduced by Hamlet who gives her his, supposedly, true affections and the promise of love. Her brother Laertes, however, argues that Hamlet is untrustworthy and will never prioritise her. Like Laertes, her father Polonius states that Hamlet is selfish and unconcerned with her well-being. The paper proposes a feminist reading of Hamlet and analyses the play’s central characters, Gertrude, Ophelia, Hamlet, Claudius, Polonius, and Laertes, and their behaviour under the influence of a patriarchal society. 1 Furthermore, the study will focus on the ways in which Shakespeare represents Ophelia and Gertrude in the play. 2 2. Theoretical framework 2.1 Previous studies Shakespeare is one of the greatest men in theatre and is described as an author who has great “knowledge of the human heart” (Daiches 246). His plays and sonnets often concentrate on male authority and dominance. In the Elizabethan era, women had little power and property. They were not allowed an education and domestic disputes were regularly solved by violence (Rackin 7). Since men were the core in society, and women ‘the other’, it might have been irrelevant to write works where the focus is on women. Nevertheless, Rackin also argues that Shakespeare’s plays always have been relatable and inviting for women, which has contributed to women’s empowerment (Rackin 72). The statement that women are empowered by Shakespeare’s depiction of women is questionable. Several female characters are described as passive and subordinate. They are not, clearly, revolting against male dominance and male authority. However, the assertion that women can identify with female characters is comprehensible. Gender bias is visible in Shakespeare’s plays where women are usually assigned the roles of wives and daughters. Women can relate to subordination and lack of authority in their own lives. The women in his plays can inspire subsequent generations of women to raise their voice against oppression and injustice. Nevertheless, what contributes to feminism and equality is how the plays are read and from what perspective the plays are analysed. Feminist critics consider Shakespeare’s works in relation to female oppression and male anxiety (Rackin 16). Male anxiety can be based on men’s fear of powerful women. However, it can be problematic to investigate his works from this point of view since they are created from a male point of view and with male terms (Rackin 16). Literature is often misogynistic. Donovan argues that men are the basis in every literature, and women are always ‘the other’ (Donovan 4,5). Moreover, he states that literature is always written from a 3 male perspective (Donovan 15). This is, of course, an exaggeration. Still, in Hamlet, everything that occurs is mainly from Hamlet’s point of view. The plot is driven by his goal of revenge and the consequences of his actions. Nevertheless, it is impossible to make an objective reading of literature. Every reading is affected by contemporary culture and values, which are applied to the reading. Thus, the reader often finds what is looked for (Rackin 18). 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