The Role Of Female Characters In Hamlet - 1347 Words

Hamlet is a play about death, revenge, and love. Written by William Shakespeare, this play is famous around the world for its dramatic plot. The central theme of Hamlet is love. The story starts off with a Queen falling in love with the brother of her husband. The Queen decides to quickly marry the brother of her previous husband, when her previous husband suddenly dies. Her son (Prince Hamlet), who loves his biological father and disagrees with his mother’s quick decision to marry, is quite saddened by the turn of events. Suddenly, the ghost of his father comes back to tell him that his brother assassinated him to claim access to the throne. Infuriated, Hamlet decides to take revenge on his uncle and hatches a plan to reveal the truth†¦show more content†¦She is pinned down in a position that forces her to stay silent and absorb all of the insults that have been thrown in her face. To add to the humility, she is being told this by her so-called â€Å"lover.† O phelia, a female character who is of lower rank to the prince has no choice to be silent and listen to what the prince tells her. It is an awkward situation for her to be in. Not only is it awkward, it is also highly sexist. Prince Hamlet would never have said such terms to a male character. In fact, he probably would have never have even considered saying that to a male character. In this way, the female characters in the story are disadvantaged, with no say in the way that they are treated, or want to be treated. In â€Å"Discovering Feminism Through Gertrude and Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet†, Zamila Abdul Rani, Siti Hawa Muhamad, and Siti Masitah Md Zin write, â€Å"‘Get thee to a nunnry’ (3.1.1617). The term nunnery does not mean to have a religious connotation, but is used to disrespect and lash out on innocent Ophelia. In this scene, the hate towards women is amplified† (250). This is a clear representation of how Hamlet refers to Ophelia i n such degrading terms and how he harshly tells her to go get herself impregnated. Unfortunately, Ophelia can not even say anything while being told to become pregnant after being a virgin for so long. This is another representation of how females were normally lower thanShow MoreRelatedThe Profound Impact Of Female Characters Of Shakespeare s Hamlet930 Words   |  4 PagesProfound Impact of Female Characters in Hamlet How much of an impact can the women in a man’s life have on his thoughts and actions? A mother is the first woman her son will come into contact with, and can skew her son’s image of women through her actions. A man’s significant other also has the ability to bring out the best in him, but can also become the target for his anger and stray emotions. In William Shakespeare s Hamlet, although there are only two main female characters, both women†¯possessRead MoreEssay about Ophelia: Harshly Criticized1027 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 16th century, has been subject to evaluation for centuries. Each character has been broken down and analyzed. The psychology of each character has been examined. Every relationship has been studied to find more answer surrounding the play. Harold Bloom and Sigmund Freud have examined it extensively. Scholars have dissected all parts of the play. One character that has recently been analyzed more and more is Ophelia. She has been defended byRead MoreHamlet by Williams Shakespeare: The Women Hidden in the Shadows1154 Words   |  5 Pagesactions. The females in Hamlet, Ophelia and Gertrude, both play roles with little importance, which demonstrates the lack of independence present; causing these characters to solely rely of the main characters of the play— the men. Although Shakespeare often wrote tragedies, it is no secret that he kept a place in his heart for romance. The female roles in the play are emphasized as weak woman if they lack a companion, and therefore are helpless. Hamlet and Claudius, the main male characters of the playRead MoreFeminism in Hamlet1451 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Feminist Criticism and Its Integration in Hamlet† In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, many controversies arose from the text, one of which was feminism. Feminism in the most general of terms is known as the principle advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. Feminism was a largely debated issue in the context of eighteenth century literature specific to many of Shakespeare’s texts. Feminist Criticism is similar in content but is more specific andRead MoreThe Great Prince Of Denmark, Hamlet, By William Shakespeare1487 Words   |  6 Pagesfreedom led to their diminutive role in literature. In contrast to this degrading trend, Shakespeare introduced femininity in a new light. He created female characters who contradict the stereotypes of his time, impacting both the plot and surrounding characters of his plays. One of his most famous tragedies, Hamlet, revolves around the great prince of Denmark, Hamlet, who encounters the apparition of his deceased father, the former king. T he ghost asks that Hamlet seeks revenge upon Claudius, hisRead MoreHamlet Character Analysis961 Words   |  4 PagesWhen one reads William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it is easy to overlook the female characters as powerless and subservient. However, things are not always what they seem at first glance, as a further analysis of Gertrude and Ophelia suggests. Although the plot centers around Hamlet’s quest for revenge, these two female characters have a profound influence on what transpires. These women certainly play more significant roles than they seem at first. In Act I, Gertrude appears to be an unfaithful wifeRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Hamlet 1021 Words   |  5 PagesOchoa1 Daniela Ochoa English Mrs. Levine 19 April 2016 Women’s Roles in Hamlet â€Å"There’s a remarkable amount of sexism on TV. When male characters are flawed, they’re interesting, deep and complex, but when women characters are flawed, they’re just a mess.† Ellen Pompeo. In â€Å"Hamlet† Ophelia and Gertrude are the only females mentioned throughout the Shakespeare’s tragic play. The two women are unappreciated and are considered fragile andRead MoreEssay about Women’s Roles in Hamlet1033 Words   |  5 PagesWomen’s Roles in Hamlet In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare, the author, creates female characters that occupy very different roles than in his other plays. In this play, Hamlet plays opposite two women who are used by the men around them in order to further their own interests. One woman is named Ophelia. In many of Shakespeare’s other plays, he creates women that are very strong and play a very real role in the life of the protagonist. In Hamlet, however, Ophelia occupies a very different role-she exemplifiesRead MoreWomen s Tragedy : Hamlet And King Lear1185 Words   |  5 PagesTinsley Anderson Dr. Pitchford ENGL 4037 24 November 2015 Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies: Hamlet and King Lear While William Shakespeare’s Tragedies are well known for their violence, tragic heroes, and fatal flaws, the method in which Shakespeare portrays his female characters in a negative light is seldom expressed. The women of Shakespeare’s Tragedies are represented unfavorably, no matter if they are virtuous or evil. â€Å"Shakespeare’s plays are not lacking in women with positive human qualitiesRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Hamlet 1061 Words   |  5 PagesKylie Kwiatt Jaime Jordan Reading Shakespeare October 29, 2014 Hamlet through Feminist Lens In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the character of Ophelia may be looked at and analyzed through a Feminist perspective. By using a Feminist lens, readers may observe the impact of patriarchal society and misogyny on the mind of a young lady doing her best to fit into the role of a Shakespearian-era woman. Women were expected to be virginal, yet sexual, subservient and inferior to men, and possessions

The Strategies Of Finding A Mate - 1018 Words

Lauren Soentgen Approach: 1, Source: Buss, 1994 In his article, The Strategies of Finding a Mate, David M. Buss discusses the act of finding a mate and the characteristics that people are drawn to in a mate. He begins the article with a brief look at the history of mating and the theories that have previously been proposed. In particular he addressed Charles Darwin’s theory of sexual evolution and belief in preferential mate choice. Buss proposes that there are three components to human mating. He states that â€Å"human mating is inherently strategic†¦ mating strategies are context-dependent†¦ [and that] men and women have faced different mating problems over the course of human evolution and, as a consequence, have evolved different strategies† (Buss, 1994, p. 241). He uses this theory to propose nine different hypotheses to prove that despite humans being varied and different from each other, all humans look for similar characteristics when trying to find a mate (Buss, 1994). To investigate his research hypotheses, Buss collected data from two sources. His first source was college students in the United States. For his second source, Buss (1994) worked with 50 other scientists in order to survey over 10,000 men and women from around the world. This was his greatest strength in the article. He had collected so much research that it made the data seem credible, and the fact that the participants came from diverse backgrounds means it is a better representation of theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Sexual Strategies Theory: Choosing a Mate598 Words   |  3 PagesIn the article the researchers were trying to challenge the sexual strategies theory. It seems as though sexual strategies theory is different genders having different preferences when choosing a mate, in the case of long and short term relationships. The hypothesis at first was that both boys and girls felt that attractiveness was important. Girls would be more inclined to date someone because of social status and that boys woul d be the complete opposite. They also expected that social status wouldRead MoreSexual Cannibalism And Sex Cannibalism932 Words   |  4 Pagesoften take part in ritualistic dances to court a female and are very cautious of their proximity before attempting to mount. Although sexual cannibalism does not occur constantly, one could hypothesize that female sexual cannibalism is a foraging strategy that results in an increase of fecundity from the nutritional gain of consuming males. Female mantids who participate in sexual cannibalism should be more fit, thus contributing to the quality and quantity of her offspring. An increase in sexualRead MoreYoung Chinese Women Attitudes Towards Pornography963 Words   |  4 Pagespornography and its consumption in considerable depth, but the small sample size (only eight research participants) of this qualitative research can result in lack of representation in the research findings of young Chinese women attitudes towards pornography. Bry man (2012) condemned that majority of the research findings from qualitative research cannot be generalised to a bigger population due to the small sample size (Bryman, 2012). Indeed, the issue of representation is less problematic in this researchRead MoreAnimal Imagery In Fairy Tales1478 Words   |  6 Pagesprofessor of German and comparative literature, promotes in his paper, What Makes a Repulsive Frog So Appealing: Memetics and Fairy Tales,† that the story of â€Å"The Frog Prince† is actually a story about the strategies of mating and how the frog symbolizes its appearance of an unsuitable mate to a suitable one. In addition to how specific animal stereotypes and imagery affect elements of western society, Dr. Lewis Seifert, a professor of French literature, tackles the subject of animal-human hybridsRead MoreSexual Dimorphism in Human Voice: Female Mate Choice and the Competition for Dominance1640 Words   |  6 Pagesselective in mates, such that the sex who invests less in a species, typically the male, would require traits seen as attractive in order to have selective advantage. Moreover, as females serve as the limiting resource for reproduction, PIT predicts that males are expected to have higher variance in reproductive success (RS) than females, so intrasexual selection would operate more strongly in males, whose aggressive competition for mate access would yield differences in fitness maximising strategies, whetherRead MoreDescribe and evaluate evolutionary explanations of gender. [8 + 16]870 Words   |  4 Pageslikely to survive; this explains how gender roles have evolved over time. This behaviour was passed on generation after generation through either natural selection or indeed sexual selection. Gender role behaviours related to adaptive reproductive strategies. Such as men trying to have sex with as many females as possible. Women however were much more invested so that their offspring. These traits, of investment level compared to masculinity and femininity, were passed down as a desired behaviour. TriversRead MoreEharmony Case 3931608 Words   |  7 PagesSara  Simpson   Yuliana  Lentova   Janice  Garcia   eHarmony   1. Why  do  people  want  to  meet  others  online  instead  of  finding  them  in  the  real  world?  How   is  this  related  to  strategy?   People  now  choose  mates  based  on  how  they  make  them  feel  verses  the  functional   partnership  that  marriage  was  the  centuries  before.  Currently,  people  meet  other  people  in   the  real  world  through  colleagues,  friends,  family  members,  or  at  school,  work,  or  church.   Meeting  others  in  the  real  world  takes  time  and  patience.  Ã‚  People  prefer  to  meet  people  Read MoreEvolution Of Sexual And Sexual Selection886 Words   |  4 PagesThis article focuses on the evolution of sexual differences in insects. Intense sexual selection due to competition for mates is the main driving force behind the evolution of such variations. Males produce smaller and more numerous gametes than females and often competition between males is greater than that between females. It is suggested by the authors that the material contribution by each of sexes to the next generation is what determines the reproductive rate of the population. In an instancesRead MoreIts Always Sunny Essay1280 Words   |  6 Pagesenvironment. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s fifth episode called â€Å"Gun Fever† was featured during the shows first season. Paddy’s Pub experienced a breaking and entering and get their safe stolen. The police are not very helpful in the matter of finding the culprit, so the friends decide to buy a gun to protect themselves if anything similar occurs in the future. The action they took to buy this protection may have come from our brains design to solve the kinds of problems our ancestors also facedRead MoreDiscuss the Relationship Between Sexual Selection and Human Reproductive Behaviour2152 Words   |  9 Pageschances of survival, therefore increasing reproduction. Pagel and Bodmer proposed that hairlessness was a way to advertise their skin (e.g. having healthy skin/ no parasites), therefore more sexually attractive. The trait therefore became desirable in a mate; the greater loss of body hair in women would have resulted from stronger sexual selection pres sure. This proposes why males care more about attractiveness whilst females favour resources. Reproductive behaviour shows that differences between male

A Comparison of The Raven and The TellTale Heart Essay Example For Students

A Comparison of The Raven and The TellTale Heart Essay Comparisons of The Raven and The Tell-Tale HeartEdgar Allen Poes story A Tell Tale Heart, has the protagonist obsessed with an oldmans eye. This obsession causes a conflict between the protagonist and his sanity. In TheRaven the man imagines that a raven is a godsend, intended to relieve him of his anguish. Theman imagines that like all other blessings of his life, the bird will leave. One of the main things ofboth stories have an eerie and dark side to them that are in common in Poes writings. Darkness is one of the characteristics in Edgar Allen Poes writings. In The Raven thepoem takes place in the month of a dark, and bleak, December and in the story of The Tell-TaleHeart the murder that the man commits takes place at midnight, showing the darkness of Poeswritings yet again. All of Poes writings have a certain darkness and gloom to them that personifiesthe dark side of romanticism writing. In conclusion the 2 poems hav ea significant deal Bibliography: