Hamlet, By William Shakespeare - 1561 Words

Throughout the Elizabethan era, women were often considered insignificant and were never granted important parts in the plays. However, during the 1600’s, women gained an appreciation for the existence of their characters and played major roles in which impacted the progress of the play as a whole and other characters involved. This is evident in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where two major female characters, Gertrude and Ophelia, contributed as crucial roles to the development of the tragedy. The plot of the play could not have been developed if it weren’t for Gertrude’s, the Queen of Denmark and mother of Hamlet, marriage to Claudius. Her hasty actions further worsened her relationship with Hamlet, and ultimately brought negative†¦show more content†¦Gertrude’s weakness enables her to place her emotions ahead of moral righteousness and what is the right act for her to do. Her emotions are expressed when she makes the immediate decision o f marrying Claudius, while betraying the love she had with her original husband, Old King Hamlet. Hamlet is disgusted by Gertrude’s decisions to marry Claudius and she begins to lose the respect he had for her. For instance in Hamlet’s soliloquy, he declares, â€Å"She married. O, most wicked speed, to post/ With such dexterity to incestous sheets!† (I.ii.161-162). This further demonstrates Hamlet’s profound disapproval of such forbidden and violated actions between his mother and uncle. By turning against traditional laws, Hamlet takes Gertrude into different regards and is left unsettle upon his true feelings for her. Despite Gertrude’s impetuous measures, Hamlet is greatly impacted emotionally further triggering his decision of stating, â€Å"frailty, thy name is woman!† (I.ii.150). Hamlet illustrates his anger by making the generalization that all women are frail and weak in character, centering his statement towards his mother. More so, Gertrude is morally weak because she clearly did not devote enough time mourning the death of Old King Hamlet, before marrying Claudius. Not only does she establish weakness,but she is also confined in meeting her needs of security and guidance from a male figure. On the other hand, Ophelia is defined