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HAMLETF E M I N I S T T H E O R Y
By: Angie Ellison, Jenny Torres, Minerva Dominguez, and
Paulo Fonseca
FEMINIST THEORY: IS THE EXTENSION OF FEMINISM INTO
THEORETICAL , OR PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSE; IT A IMS TO
UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF GENDER.
WOMEN: CAN’T LIVE WITH THEM, CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT THEM…
Gertrude’s and Ophelia’s mistreatment and
demise reveals Hamlet’s views of women that
can be interpreted as fear and hatred that bring
to light feminine qualities of his own.
Hamlet cannot trust women because he fears
them. Although he hates women, he embodies
his own feminine characteristics that prevents
him from acting on his masculine ones.
Hamlet has a fear/hate for women.
Hamlet’s “mommy complex” roots from his betrayal by
Gertrude for her marriage to Claudius. His betrayal by Gertrude
leads to his prejudice of all women: his phobia hinders his ability
to trust them.
Hamlet exclaims “O god, a
beast that wants discourse
of reason would have
mourned longer”. (Act 1,
Scene 2, Line 149)
He sees Gertrude as weak
and applies this to all
women: “Frailty, thy name is
woman!”
“Ay, truly. For the power of
Beauty will sooner transform
Honesty from what it is to a
bawd than the force of
Honesty can translate
Beauty into his likeness.”(Act
3, Scene 1, Line 110-112)
O N E O F T H E R E A S O N S H A M L E T F E A R S W O M E N I S B E C A U S E H E B E L I E V E S T H E I R B E A U T Y H A S T H E P O W E R T O C O R R U P T .
Nunnery Scene
“ O T H R O W AWAY T H E W O R S E R PA RT O F I T A N D L I V E T H E P U R E R W I T H T H E
O T H E R H A L F. G O O D N I G H T, B U T G O N O T T O M Y U N C L E ’ S B E D ; A SS U M E A V I R T U E I F Y O U H AV E I T N O T. ” ( A C T 3 , S C E N E 4 ,
L I N E 1 5 5 - 1 5 8 )
Hamlet cannot trust women because they
don’t meet his expectations.
Hamlet expresses feminine qualities such
as indecisiveness and emotional
vulnerability, these prevent him from
making decisions on his actions.
“Now might I do it. But now
‘a is a-praying. And now ill do
it and so ‘a goes to heaven”
(Act 3, Scene 3, lines73-75).
Hamlet’s indecisiveness to
kill Claudius while he is
praying reveals one of his
feminine traits.
“To be or not to be- that
is the question; Whether
‘tis nobler in the mind to
suffer The slings and
arrows of outrageous
fortune Or to take arms
against a seas of troubles
And by opposing end
them;” (Act 3, Scene 1,
Lines 55-59)
Hamlet is emotionally
vulnerable like a
woman. Women are
often stereotyped as
overdramatic and
sensitive. Hamlet
embodies both of these
characteristics.
“ O , T H A T T H I S T O O, T O O S U L L I E D F L E S H W O U L D M E LT, T H A W, A N D R E S O LV E I T S E L F
I N T O A D E W O R T H A T T H E E V E R L A S T I N G H A D N O T F I X E D H I S C A N N O N ‘ G A I N S T S E L F
S L A U G H T E R ”
“’Tis sweet and commendable in your nature,
Hamlet, to give these mourning duties to your
father” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 87-88)
Hamlet acts as a
women when he lets
his emotions get the
better of him,
resulting in the death
of Polonius.
Through Hamlet’s mistreatment and prejudice of
the female characters in the play, Hamlet’s own
female qualities surface.
Hamlet was created by women and embodies his own
female characteristics, yet he hates them. This paradox
implies that Hamlet is self-loathing, which he projects
towards women, when he really hates himself.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mabillard, Amanda. Ophelia. Shakespeare online.20
Aug .2000.(4 Feb 2013)
http://www.shakespearonline.com/plays/hamlet/
opheliacharacter.html
Shakespeare, William, and William Shakespeare.
Hamlet and Related Readings. Evanston, IL:
McDougal Littell, 1997. Print.