A FEMINIST THEORY OF HAMLET - Taine Buchan Although we humans live in a society ruled largely by men, we have little idea of ​​what a society would be like matriarchal because it clearly does not exist in today's society. For centuries we have fought for gender equality, but films, plays and novels remind us that women are submissive and belong to the weaker sex. Shakespeare's written tragedies clearly showed his patriarchal perspective with his character Ophelia from Hamlet, whose motivation and dominance is fueled by her father Polonius. Gertrude is another woman in Hamlet who is depicted as a weak-minded and dependent character who has no power or control over what she does. If we look at these two figures from a feminist perspective, we can certainly understand how the 16th century Western world represented women. Although she is generally read as an unimportant character in Hamlet, Ophelia reveals the struggle of the female character striving to have her own voice. A character whose importance to her family thrives on her beauty and naivety. Her character is a mirror of Elizabethan society, depicted as weak and dependent on men. These were common thoughts of women. His idea of ​​leadership and dignity is to always obey his father and follow his rules. When her father orders her to stop seeing Hamlet, she agrees and says, “I will obey my Lord” (1.4.10). Her father Polonius and brother Laertes also expect her to be sexually pure in order to fairly retain their imperial and superior name. When Polonius and Laertes explain to Ophelia how to remain a virgin, they remind her how important it is to maintain her chastity. In reality, her brother and father want her to ab......middle of paper......iindividuality. She lacks the strength and courage to speak for herself and is weak and treated like an object for men to abuse and modify. Her character is a way of glorifying men in the sense that she is a slave to their needs. From a feminist perspective, I can clearly understand how tragedy can unveil the hidden truths of this fraught depiction of an Elizabethan woman through this lens. . Both Gertrude and Ophelia lacked independence and individuality. They had no real dominance or courage because of the way they were treated by the men who owned them. History clearly showed the weakness with which they were riddled. The tragedy helped me understand how women were represented. Not just for me, but also for the audience. Even reading from my own perspective, I can understand the portrayal of these two women in the sense that it must be the truth..