Gertrude Gender Roles In Hamlet Essay

William Shakespeare wrote incredibly complex female characters for his time. Where other playwrights wrote women as flat, one-dimensional characters, Shakespeare wrote female characters with interesting motivations and complex character traits. We can see this in Juliet from Romeo and Juliet or Katherine in The Taming Ofthe Shrew. Women play very important roles in many of Shakespeare’s plays, with the notable exception of Hamlet. The two female characters, Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover, seem to fall into gender stereotypes. Ophelia is a naive, pure, and innocent maiden, whereas Gertrude is a whore that is unable to resist temptation. These characters begin with complex motivations, but they eventually begin to feel …show more content…
It is her husband, Claudius, that makes all decisions about the kingdom and the residents of Elsinore. Gertrude may not be able to make executive decisions, but she can influence those that do. She takes over a great deal of emotional labour, something seen traditionally as a women’s job. Gertrude deals with people’s feelings, subject matter only suitable for a woman. She, through implicit power, is able to protect Hamlet. When Claudius tells Laertes of his plan to murder Hamlet, he states his reason for not using law to punish Hamlet. Claudius says, “The Queen his mother / Lives almost by his looks.(4.7.13-14)”. He then goes on to say, “She is so conjunctive to my life and soul / That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, / I could not but by her,(4.7.16-18)”. Out of affection for Gertrude, he does not immediately kill Hamlet, therefore buying Hamlet time. Additionally, after the second appearance of the ghost of the deceased King Hamlet, Gertrude lies to cover for Hamlet. Immediately after the death of Polonius, Gertrude describes Hamlet as, “ Mad as the sea and wind when both contend / Which is the mightier.(4.1.7-8)”. Gertrude knows that Hamlet is not insane, as she witnessed the slaying of Polonius. She is assisting in

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