Goodnight Sweet Ladies: Hamlets and His Women
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Goodnight Sweet Ladies: Hamlets and his women
‘Eve or the Virgin Mary: women were seen as either terribly flawed or as paragons of virtue. Since few real women approach perfection, they are seen as evil, especially vulnerable to the Devil and his wiles’ (ise.uvic.ca)
Throughout Hamlet, Prince of Denmark it is obvious that Shakespeare has thrown the leading man (Hamlet) at the mercy of his female counterparts Gertrude and Ophelia. Not only is Hamlet manipulated and berated but is mindful of his weakness and vulnerability. Hamlets grasp of this concept along with his anger lead to his physical and emotional abuse of Ophelia and Gertrude. To better understand the reasons why Shakespeare has Hamlet interact so violently with his female counterparts, it is necessary to examine the time period the play was written. According to one resource ‘It is believed that the play was first performed between 1600 and 1601. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and the drama would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play. (www.william-shakespeare.info. pg. 1)
It is naive to assume that the time period directly influenced the play, the women involved were in fact royalty or of high status making them mostly unavailable to social injustice. Furthermore no hindsight is given to demonstrate Hamlets previous interaction with females in general, much less his mother or ex-lover. With little or nothing to go on, the audience/ reader is left in the dark as to his natural proceedings with Gertrude and Ophelia. As the play suggests Hamlets madness is brought on by his own disposition, his volition to seek revenge and the knowledge of his mothers treachery. These factors combined sour his previous relationships and influence his approaching malevolence.
Hamlet, it seems had always harbored ill feelings toward his mother, since no history is given to their relationship during Hamlet Sr. reign it is hard to establish whether their relationship was always as rocky as it is as the play opens. Shakespeare does little to mask the distinct feelings of betrayal that burn within