Thesis/Intro → In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet,

Main Points Supporting Points

Women being used as only plot devices/to Point 2

move the story forward/a bump in the
road/used to help men succeed

Point 1 -Gertrude being able to move on so quick

from King Hamlet’s death furthered the plot
because Hamlet became suspicious of this.
-If he hadnt gotten suspicious of her
behaviour then he would not have come up
with his plan to see what was going on.
-but there is further reasoning for her doing
what she did that is more surface level then
what any of the men in the play think.

Point 2 -women are used as pawns by the men.

Polonius used ophelia to spy on hamlet for
Claudius.

Women being deprived of power/to deflect Point 1

male blame/challenges faced by the females
in a patriarchal world

Point 1 -Gertrude is often portrayed as lustful and a

negative stereotype of women in the play all
because she remarried not long after her last
husband died. This could be seen as her
trying to keep her position of power and
safety by remarrying to someone of high
status. They are seen this way because of
the environment the men have made. Hamlet
compares her to a beast
(act 1 scene 2 “O God! a beast that wants
discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer, — married with
mine uncle…” -hamlet)

Point 2 -when hamlet declares his love for ophelia,

she blindly believes him even though laertes
told her not to. Ophelia said that he made her
believe him but it is in hamlets response
where he is implying that it is her fault for
believing him.
(act 3 scene 1
Ophelia: Indeed, my lord, you made me
believe so.
 Hamlet: You should not have believed me, for
virtue cannot
so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish
of it.
I loved you not.

Point 3 -what is a fault of a man is now the fault of a

woman and instead of blaming his uncle,
hamlet blames his mother instead.
“Moreover, in the eyes of Hamlet, Gertrude is
guilty and is blamed for being the source of
problems in Denmark (Günenç, 2015). She is
guilty for not properly grieving King Hamlet as
Hamlet himself mourned;”
(http://conference.kuis.edu.my/iceb2016/epro
ceedings/EB024.pdf)

MISC --gertrude is viewed as a moral degenerate,

but she is just a victim of the circumstances
she is placed in. she is often manipulated by
men, especially claudius and hamlet.
-Gertrude could also be considered as a
voiceless and silenced female because she
does not have many lines in the play (she
does not speak much), thus depends on the
male characters, Hamlet, Claudius and the
Ghost, to describe and shape her behaviour
(Günenç, 2015). The audience do not hear
enough of her voice, more so her thoughts.

Women being objects and subservient to men Point 3

Point 1 Ophelia always serving and obeying her

father and her father expects nothing less.
When Polonius asks her to spy on Hamlet
she does so without question.

Point 2 -ophelia being treated as nothing less then a

sexual object for hamlet

(act 3 scene 2 “HAMLET: I mean, my head

upon your lap?
OPHELIA: Ay, my lord.
HAMLET: Do you think I meant country
matters?
OPHELIA: I think nothing, my lord.
HAMLET: That’s a fair thought to lie between
maids' legs.”)

Point 3 “One example of when this occurs is in Act 2,

 Scene 2, when Hamlet says “Then you live
about her waist, or in the middle of her
favours?”, Guildenstern then responds with
“Yes, we’re the privates in her army”. Hamlet
and Guildenstern are speaking of a woman
as if she is a sexual object.”
https://www.123helpme.com/essay/Hamlets-
Objectification-Of-Women-A1E8FA48017F9F
23

Conclusion → In conclusion,

Work Cited: http://conference.kuis.edu.my/iceb2016/eproceedings/EB024.pdf