Faminism In Shakespearean Play "Hamlet'.

Assignment

Paper-1.

Q. Feminism in Shakespearean play ‘Hamlet’’.

In the beginning of Hamlet; audience came to know about King Hamlet’s death through the ghost of King Hamlet. The protagonist – Hamlet: Prince of Denmark is also introduced. Hamlet’s grief is shown. His soliloquies and because of  the marriage of Claudius and Queen Gertrude. The anger of Hamlet towards Gertrude because of her adultery is shown. He also takes the pledge to take revenge after knowing that his father was murdered before the Ghost of King Hamlet.

Hamlet behaves cynically and his anger shown through his madness. Hamlets and Ophelia’s relationship are shown here. Ophelia’s father tries to convince Gertrude and Claudius that Hamlet behaves like mad person because he is in love with Ophelia. Hamlet came to know that Ophelia is puppet of his father’s hand. The famous sentence ‘frailty thy name is woman’ is spoken here. Nunnery scene is take place.  Hamlet argues with Ophelia in serene tone. He told her to become nun. Polonius’ son Laertes went to France to serve the King over there.

 Hamlet presents himself as melancholic character. Audience came to know about the Gertrude and Claudius’ relationship and also about the meanness of Claudius for the throne of Denmark. We are also introduced the King Fourteenbrass.

. The play within play can be seen the part of Hamlet’s trick to confirm the guilt of the Claudius. Hamlet arranges the play to confirm the fault of the Claudius. He asks to play the method of his father’s murder as the part of the theme of the play.  Watching this play, Claudius come to know that Hamlet knows about his crime and to hide his facial expression changed and to repent his sin he went from the site. This confirms the Hamlet’s doubt. Here the famous conflict of Hamlet’s mind is shown: ‘to be or not to be’ when he has the chance to kill his father’s murderer-Claudius. But at that time Claudius was repenting to God for his sin and thoughtful Hamlet could not kill him.

Hamlet spoke with his mother Gertrude about his anger towards her. Feeling some suspicious behind the curtain he just stab the sword and by mistake, he killed the Polonious. This makes Claudius more alert. Claudius sent Hamlet to England with the summons to kill Hamlet as soon as possible.

Ophelia came to know about her father’s death and become mad. She commits suicide. Hamlet comes back as he was attacked by some pirates on the way to England. Knowing that Polonious was killed by Hamlet, Laertes came back to Denmark.  He wants to take revenge so he conspires with Claudius. He becomes the mean for Claudius. They plan to defeat Hamlet in sword fight. Thus with the King Claudius he conspire the duel between him and Hamlet.

Meanwhile Hamlet also comes to know why he was sent to England. And he gave his letter to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and sent them to England.

The duel has taken place. Laertes stabbed Hamlet with poisonous sword. But before it Hamlet kills the Claudius. Claudius always has the backup plan. If Hamlet would win, he made him drink the poisonous drink. Hare the twist is caused. Gertrude died as she drinks the poisonous drink. Final tragedy happened. Fourteenbrass takes over the charge.

We can find two female characters in Hamlet. They are not mentioned in detail though they both are important. They are: Gertrude and Ophelia. Both are highly connected to the hero’s life. And both play critical role in his life. 

Gertrude is one of the most important characters of Hamlet’s life. She is the Queen of Denmark and also the mother of Hamlet. In the beginning we can see the anger and embarrassment of the Hamlet for her early marriage with Claudius. We also find it strange as Claudius says:

“therefore our sometimes sister…now our Queen..

‘th imperial jointress of this warlike states…

have we as ‘twere with a defeated joy…..

………….in equal scale in delight and dole..

Taken to wife…”

That on one side he introduced her as his sometimes sister now becomes the wife …in place of the widow of the King Hamlet. This hurts the Hamlet. And he can’t tolerate that within two months she got married… how could she forgot his father’s recent death.

This shows the nature of Gertrude. By the time passes she marries to his so called brother. Just because she doesn’t want to lose her power, position and all other aristocrat desired comforts. She even doesn’t care for her late husband-neither has she had any feeling for him. At this point we have question if she had any feeling for King Hamlet, when he was alive.

    Another question was that if she was involved with the Claudius in his sin. Or did she know the deed well before it was committed. There is less possibilities of it. There is not much written about it. But when the Ghost appears he told Hamlet that

“That incestuous beast, with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifs O wicked wits and gifts-- that have the power so to seduce – won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming- virtuous Queen…”

This shows the very nature of the Queen. She is found of the luxurious things so it is easy for Claudius to seduce her as having soft corner for her. He is lustrous man. For him throne and woman is important. She became the way to achieve it. Secondly, the word ‘most seeming-virtuous man’ puts the question on her character.

 iIt means that Gertrude herself is adulteress and contaminated by Claudius. She would be the almost certainly been involved in Claudius’ plan of murder and therefore she would be played villainess. But if it was so Hamlet mentioned it first while blamed her for her marriage. So it could not be possible in context of her.

When she saw the Hamlet in grief, she said-“Thou know’st ‘tis common…if it be, why seems so particular with thee?” and hamlet replied “Seems madam? Nay, it is… I know not ‘seems’...” this shows that Gertrude believes in showiness and gave importance to practicality. It also informs us that Gertrude loves her son a lot but fails to understand his inner conflict and to feel his sensitivity regarding King hamlet and herself. But in the very next scene we can see her love for Hamlet while she asked him to stay in Denmark. At some extent we come to know that Gertrude was just the mean to fulfil the lustrous desire of man i.e. Claudius.

Gertrude presents herself well through the play. She is solicitous of Hamlet asking him to sit near her to given him a sense of belonging to the new court, and her speech to Laertes upon Ophelia’s death is model of decorum and sensitivity. She is the mother of tragic hero and could not reciprocate the Oedipus of his son having towards her. She also as we can see is keeping aside in King’s life. She failed to become a good wife. She is aware about her fault. She tried to convince the fact with extra care.

Hamlet rails against his mother and even violently seizes her in Act III, she betrays no knowledge of the murder. She admits her lust and sees it as sinful, but this is different from being and accomplice to murder. She thinks Hamlet made and promises she will mot betray him and she does not. We do not know her motives for marring Claudius perhaps she feared for her life and really did not have a choice but she is honest enough to admit that sex had something to do with it. Hamlet is not able to face such a thing honestly. It is interesting that he assumes she had a choice in marring Claudius perhaps he sees her as much more powerful them she really is in the situation.

Their relationship is most significant for a feministic reading since Gertrude’s body is the literal and symbolic ground of all conflicts in the play. Her body and soul are contested by her son, husbands and courtiers.

Hamlet was affected greatly with Oedipus complex i.e. his love for her mother as male child. He was quite embarrassed and annoyed for his mother’s early marriage with his father’s cousin, Claudius. His name itself symbolizes his complex very well. Generally it is said the son chooses the girl whom he can pampered like the father. Here also we can see two fatherly complexes in Hamlet one is quite powerful; towards Gertrude and another is towards Ophelia which is in his subconscious and hurted bitterly when he came to know about her cheat or she became the mean for her father. With the reference he called him ‘fishmonger’.

 According to Fraud’s theorem there are two father images in the male child’s mind; i) the powerful  and good one And ii) powerful and bad one( with reference of having intimate relation with mother). These two images are depicted with two characters King Hamlet and Claudious. This creates the chief conflict in Hamlet’s mind and the tension in the play. The conflict causes the delay of Hamlet’s revenge. As at some extent he believed that there is the fault of Gertrude. His mind questions why she let herself become means to fulfill the lustrous desire of the King. Gurtrude lost herself completely; son and father. Though she could not get enough importance.

 Another Character is Ophelia. She was the beloved of the Hamlet. She is capable enough to be the tragic heroine of the Hamlet. She herself plays the counter part of the Prince Hamlet. Although she had very minor role in the play, it is quite important. She knows the real nature of Hamlet. We come to know about the real self of the Hamlet through her mouth. It also shows the big shock and grief lies deeply inside the Hamlet.

With her brother her bonding is good enough to discuss about the relationship of Hamlet & herself. She overhears the warning given by her brother about the relationship. It shows her trust regarding the relationship. Here we can see the seriousness of female mind-sets regarding their relationship. But both the males concerned with the relationship, never prior to it. Her Electra complex is also hurted though her father.

Her father had exploited her feelings. When Claudius and Gertrude are worried about Hamlet’s madness, Polonious gave the reason  may it be the love towards Ophelia. On the other side he orders her not to have any intimacy with Hamlet inwardly and continue the show of love outwardly. She is always keeping at the distance by Hamlet and Claudius. It is her misfortune that she has not got complete devotion from both.

 She is more sympathetic and reliable character. She also is the better judge of Hamlet’s character. Ophelia interrupts him and is greeted as “nymph”; Hamlet asks her to pray for him but then begins to berate her savagely. The first time he really let his emotions to go in front of someone else.  He demands to know whether she is ‘honest’ as well as ‘fair’, and his demands escalate into his shouting’ “ Get thee to a nunnery”. And his words recall the advice about young man she had heard from her father and brother. Hamlet accusing her that all women making monsters of man. In a classic case of repression and projection , he takes out his anger on her instead of its real object Claudius. “Heavenly powers restore him!” Ophelia prays after he leaves, adding: ”O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown.”

She has to follow what her father and brother had told her. She is nothing but puppet for them.  When her father died by mistake she lost her all senses and turned mad. And she ends her life. At her grave Hamlet cried loudly about his feeling but in vain!!!

In the end we can say that both the female characters are inwardly fighting for her existence in their man’s life. The play shows the place of women in the society of the era i.e. during the time of Queen Elizabeth I.