Hamlet Depicted in the Gender Lense

By: Anayah Chowdhury

Ophelia by John Everett Millais - The painting depicts Ophelia singing while floating in a river just before she drowns.

Men are the root of all evil. Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare, a famous English playwright, in the year (1599-1602). Set in Denmark, Hamlet is a tragedy revolving around grief, revenge, and madness. In the beginning, Prince Hamlet is visited by his dead father’s ghost who tells him to avenge his death and kill King Claudius, his brother who had murdered him and married his wife, Gertrude. Throughout the novel, Hamlet grapples with masculinity, mortality, and grief. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare represents the theme of gender roles, reflecting Elizabethan norms of societal expectations using Ophelia and Gertrude's relationship with men and through Hamlet’s struggle with toxic masculinity.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare presents the theme of gender roles using Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, to represent the effects of societal expectations on an obedient, young girl. Ophelia is constantly dismissed and denied to make her own decisions freely. In Act III, Ophelia runs to her father, seeking his guidance on Hamlet’s affections after an unsettling encounter with her lover. Polonius, King Claudius’s loyal counselor, dismisses any concerns of Ophelia, instead calling her a “green girl” (a gullible, inexperienced girl) and ordering her to avoid Hamlet entirely. She responds by saying, “I’ll do as you say, Father.” (Shakespeare 49). By presenting Ophelia as a character defined by her obedience and dependence on men, Shakespeare points out that women in a patriarchal society are given little control. Ophelia agrees to her father's demand because she was not given any other choice and doesn't know any better. Through Shakespeare’s use of Polonius, a wealthy, high-class father, he shows how patriarchal norms dehumanize both genders. Ophelia is trapped by the expectations of obedience, while her father - and the men in her life- are pressured to assert dominance and control over her. As Ophelia's struggles with obedience increase throughout the play, her escape from the expectations of a patriarchal society finally comes through her tragic death. Gertrude describes Ophelia’s suicide to Laertes and Claudius by saying, "Climbing into the tree to hang the wreath of weeds on the hanging branches, she and her flowers fell into the gurgling brook” (Shakespeare 271). After Hamlet, driven by “madness”, cruelly degrades Ophelia and claims that he had never loved her, she is left deeply hurt. When her father was murdered, Ophelia fell into a spiral, losing the only remaining piece of her broken identity. This complete loss of identity left her mad, causing her to defy all social norms, and escape the patriarchy by ending her life. Shakespeare uses Ophelia’s tragic suicide to show that her meaning to exist was only as Polonius’ obedient daughter, Laertes’ gullible sister, and Hamlet’s lover; not as her own person. He uses Ophelia’s madness and death as a symbol of what happens in a world where women are denied any power, except the most dangerous one: their self-destruction. Shakespeare is commenting on a society where men restrict women so much that breaking out from them is only possible through the patriarchal permission of death. Shakespeare represents gender roles in Hamlet using Ophelia’s obedience, descent into madness, and death to expand on the Elizabethan norms of societal expectations and their tragic consequences. 

Unlike Ophelia, Gertrude, the mother of Hamlet, defies the Elizabethan norms of patriarchal expectations by making decisions that challenge the expectations put on women in her society. Gertrude defies the standards of her gender. She is never praised for her beauty in the texts like Ophelia is. She is older and never denies her sexuality. She is in no way obedient, and in fact, she makes her own decisions despite the objections of her son and husband. Upon the announcement of Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius in Act 1, Hamlet implies disgust over their marriage and criticizes the way she grieves her dead husband, Hamlet’s father. She marries Claudius despite his dramatic sentiments. Hamlet is disgusted by this remarriage and degrades her, even accusing her of living, “... in the sweaty stench of your diry sheets, wet with corruption, making love- ” (Shakespeare 203). Using Gertrude’s refusal to deny her actions, Shakespeare presents a contrasting view of women, that despite societal norms and pressures, women can assert their own dominance and confidence. Gertrude is hurt by what her son has said, but she makes no attempt to deny his accusations. She is who she has decided to be and does not try to present herself as anything different. Shakespeare portrays Gertrude in this way to challenge the typical expectations of women in an Elizabethan society and prove that both men and women can dominate. At the end of Act 5 Scene 2, Claudius offers Hamlet a drink to ensure that the prince dies. Gertrude, however, insists on drinking the poisoned wine saying, “Excuse me. I’ll drink it if I like.” (Shakespeare 327), even after her husband tells her, “Gertrude, don't drink that.” (Shakespeare 327). She falls dead, revealing Claudius’ plan and assuring his death. Her defiance is responsible for causing the death of the king and for the fall of the hierarchy. Shakespeare uses Gertrude’s defiant act of drinking the poisoned wine to reveal her rejection of the patriarchal system that she is a part of. She escapes the patriarchy by defying it, just like Ophelia. Though it isn't sure if Gertrude knew about the poisoned wine, Gertrude’s decision can also be interpreted as a selfless act of a mother just trying to protect her son, even at the cost of her own life. Shakespeare uses this decision to show that Gertrude is capable of asserting her will at the most important times, prioritizing her son’s safety over her own life. Her death parallels Ophelia’s death, as we see that throughout the play, both women make choices that challenge societal expectations, leading to their demise. Through using Gertrude’s refusal to comply with the men around her and her tragic death, Shakespeare criticizes the patriarchal norms of Elizabethan society. 

Throughout the play, Hamlet battles with internal conflicts, one being toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity refers to behaviors, beliefs, and tendencies rooted in traditional, Elizabethan male norms but taken to an extreme. The men in Hamlet are a great example of toxic masculinity at its core. Hamlet constantly compares himself to traditionally masculine figures throughout the play like Fortinbras and Hercules, calling attention to his internal conflict regarding masculinity. When he meets Fortinbras, a man who takes charge and is dedicated to avenging his father, Hamlet feels despair and humiliation. He goes on to say, “I don't know why I am still alive to say “I have to do this deed” rather than having done it already” (Shakespeare 233). He is so distraught by his incapability to act, unlike Fortinbras, that he presents the idea of suicide. Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s despair to present the idea of the destructive pressure of patriarchal norms, critiquing the rigid social expectations put on men. Hamlet’s distress during this act represents a trait culturally defined as feminine, emotion. In a society dominated by masculinity, Shakespeare is showing that Hamlet challenges the patriarchal norms of his time by not suppressing his emotions. By allowing Hamlet to embody these traits, Shakespeare humanizes him and condemns the rules of traditional Elizabethan masculinity proving its contribution to Hamlet’s inner turmoil. Shakespeare’s Hamlet also presents toxic masculinity through the domination and control of women. In Act 5 Scene 1, Hamlet and Laertes fight over Ophelia’s dead body during her funeral, each claiming a greater right to mourn her and assert their dominance over her in a way that reflects their toxic masculinity. Hamlet, specifically, leaps into the grave and fights with Laertes, saying that, “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers, if added all their love together, couldn't match mine. What are you going to do for her?” (Shakespeare 297). Both men are determined to demonstrate their strength, honor, and emotional control, even though Ophelia’s death was supposed to symbolize a break from the patriarchal control in their society. Even after her suicide, they treat Ophelia as an object, both literally and figuratively. Shakespeare uses the fight between Hamlet and Laertes over Ophelia’s dead, limp body to show the men’s obsession with proving their masculinity by manipulating those they feel are below them.  Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s struggle to highlight the pressures of masculinity and the patriarchal nature of men to constantly assert their dominance over the women around them, no matter the situation. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare pressures the societal, Elizabethan norms of toxic masculinity on Hamlet, leading to his inner turmoil and conflict with others. 

William Shakespeare criticizes Elizabethan gender roles through Ophelia and Gertrude’s actions, and also through Hamlet’s struggle with toxic masculinity. Ophelia’s death and obedience are used to symbolize the cruel effect of gender roles on women in the Elizabethan era. Shakespeare’s use of Gertrude’s defiance of patriarchal expectations through her tragic death and refusal to conform encourages women to break out against the patriarchy.  Hamlet’s incapability to act and his control over women represent the tragic role Elizabethan gender norms have on men. Through the shattered lives of Ophelia, Gertrude and Hamlet, Shakespeare doesn't just critique Elizabethan gender roles, he exposes them as the silent executioners of the human spirit.