The Role of Women in Shakespeares Tragedies Essay

The Role of Women in Shakespeares Tragedies In Shakespeare’s tragedies and his plays in general, we can come across several types of female characters. Their influence with other characters and their purpose or role, often underestimated like women themselves, will be this essay’s main subject. Women in Shakespearean plays have always had important roles, sometimes even the leading role. Whether they create the main conflicts and base of the plays, or bring up interesting moral and cultural questions, they have always been put in challenging situations. Some women are stronger than others, and their effect on the play is different for each one. They often even surpass the male heroes. It’s almost unbelieveable, if we take into†¦show more content†¦And that was more than unnatural and almost provocative, considering society of that period. For example, â€Å"Hamlet† has an interestingly strong female in it. Queen Gertrude, widow of Old Hamlet, remarried to Claudius, has a type of conditional strength. When she and Claudius get married, that alone takes a lot of guts. Her marriage so soon after her husband‘s death would be subject to gossip in the people she was ruling. In this play the negative view toward the women is exhibited by Hamlet. He says harsh things to women and treats them as if they are inferior to him. At first it seems as if he is just very misogynistic, but he actually treats the women this way because of how theyve betrayed him through their actions; his mother Gertrude married only a month after Hamlets fathers death, and second female Ophelia heeds her fathers command not to see Hamlet despite professing her love for him. Hamlet sees both women as weak and too dependent on the men in their lives, and his bitterness leads him to believe that all women are untrustworthy. He becomes cynical about women in general, showing a particular obsession with what he perceives to be a connection between female sexuality and moral corruption. This motif of misogyny, or hatred of women, occurs sporadically throughout the play, but it is an important factor in Hamlet’s relationships with Ophelia and Gertrude. In spite of fact that both woman are being given unique personalities which influence theShow MoreRelatedWomens Role in Shakespearean Tragedy1742 Words   |  7 PagesIn Shakespeares tragedies and his plays in general, we can come across several types of female characters. Their influence with other characters and their purpose or role, often underestimated like women themselves, will be this essays main subject. Women in Shakespearean plays have always had important roles, sometimes even the leading role. 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