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.