The Theme of Gender in Hamlet
Gender – At a Glance
The Core Conflict: The play explores the restrictive roles of women within the patriarchal society of Elsinore and the destructive impact of misogyny.
Key Dynamic: The experiences of the two central female characters, Gertrude and Ophelia, highlight their lack of agency and dependence on men.
Hamlet's Obsession: Hamlet is obsessed with female sexuality, particularly his mother’s "incestuous" marriage, leading to a generalised misogyny.
Patriarchal Control: Female characters are constantly controlled, manipulated, and silenced by the men in their lives (Claudius, Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet).
The Outcome: The rigid gender roles and the misogynistic attitudes of the male characters lead directly to tragedy, most notably the madness and death of Ophelia.
Hamlet’s Misogyny: "Frailty, thy name is woman!"
The theme of gender is largely explored through the lens of Hamlet's intense misogyny (hatred or contempt for women). His disillusionment stems directly from his mother's hasty marriage to Claudius, which he views as a betrayal of his father and proof of female weakness and excessive sexual appetite.
In his first soliloquy, before he even knows about the murder, Hamlet condemns all women based on his mother's actions:
Original:
...and yet, within a month—
Let me not think on’t—Frailty, thy name is woman!— (Hamlet – Act 1, Scene 2)Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
…but yet, within a month –
Don’t let me think of it! – Woman: you weakling!
This generalised view of female "frailty" infects all his interactions with women. He believes that female beauty and virtue are merely facades masking inherent dishonesty and sexual corruption.
This is brutally evident in his treatment of Ophelia during the "Nunnery Scene" (Act 3, Scene 1). He attacks her virtue, accuses her of deceit (criticising the use of makeup), and orders her to a nunnery (a slang term for a brothel) to prevent her from being a "breeder of sinners."
Original:
God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another. You jig, you amble, and you lisp... and make your wantonness your ignorance. (Hamlet to Ophelia – Act 3, Scene 1)Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
God gave you one face, but you paint another. You strut and wander, with pretentious tones… pretending your ignorance of lechery.
Gertrude and the Anxiety over Female Sexuality
Queen Gertrude's character is central to the theme of gender, primarily because Hamlet is obsessed with her sexuality. The Ghost fuels this obsession, commanding Hamlet to leave Gertrude to heaven but also expressing disgust at how she succumbed to Claudius's advances (Act 1, Scene 5).
Gertrude is a complex figure. She is often interpreted as passive and sensual, seeking affection and status rather than political power. She demonstrates genuine love for her son, yet her actions suggest a lack of critical awareness about the corruption surrounding her.
Hamlet’s confrontation with her in the Closet Scene (Act 3, Scene 4) focuses almost entirely on her sexual relationship with Claudius rather than the murder of his father. He uses brutal, graphic language to force her to acknowledge what he perceives as her transgression.
Original:
Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty,— (Hamlet to Gertrude – Act 3, Scene 4)Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
Yes, but you live
Within a horrid, semen covered bed,
Dripping with corrupting, sordid sex
Like a pigsty…
The play highlights a pervasive anxiety among the male characters regarding the inability to control female desire.
Ophelia: Patriarchy, Control, and Madness
Ophelia represents the tragic consequences of rigid patriarchal control. Her identity is entirely defined by her relationships with the men in her life – her father (Polonius), her brother (Laertes), and her lover (Hamlet). She is consistently silenced, manipulated, and commanded to obey.
Both Laertes and Polonius police Ophelia's sexuality, warning her that Hamlet's affections are fleeting and that she must protect her virtue to maintain her value.
Original:
Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain,
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmaster'd importunity. (Laertes to Ophelia – Act 1, Scene 3)Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
So think about your damaged reputation
If, gullibly, you’re sucked in by his words,
And lose your heart or, worse, virginity
By his insistent, uncontrolled flirtations.
Ophelia submits to this control, stating, "I shall obey, my lord" (Act 1, Scene 3). She even allows herself to be used as bait by Polonius and Claudius to spy on Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1).
“The essential nature of the female in the play is that of a convenient, and appropriate, and present, and externalised, and objectified ‘other’ upon whom the tormented male can displace his own internal stresses and fractures.”
When the patriarchal structures supporting her identity collapse—rejected by Hamlet and her father murdered—Ophelia's sanity shatters. Her madness (Act 4, Scene 5) is a tragic expression of her lack of agency. In her madness, she finally finds a voice, singing songs laden with themes of death and sexual betrayal – themes she was forbidden to discuss when sane.
Key Quotes on Gender
Quote 1:
Original:
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! (Hamlet, regarding Gertrude and Claudius – Act 1, Scene 5)Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
You noxious, vicious woman!
You villain! Villain! Smiling, guilty villain!
Quote 2:
Original:
I have heard of your paintings too, well enough; God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another. (Hamlet to Ophelia – Act 3, Scene 1)Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
I’ve heard of all the makeup you apply; God gave you one face, but you paint another.
Quote 3:
Original:
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede. (Ophelia to Laertes – Act 1, Scene 3)Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
Don’t be like one of those immoral priests
Who preach the virtuous path to get to heaven,
Whilst all the while philandering and letching
Along a path of sleaziness where you
Don’t practise what you preach.
Quote 4:
Original:
O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. (Gertrude – Act 3, Scene 4)Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
Oh Hamlet, you have broke my heart in two.
Key Takeaways – Gender
The play reflects the patriarchal anxieties of the Elizabethan era, particularly the fear of female sexuality and the desire to control it.
Hamlet's profound misogyny stems from his disillusionment with his mother's marriage, which he generalizes to all women.
Ophelia's tragic fate illustrates the destructive impact of a society where women are denied agency and are entirely dependent on men for their identity and survival.
While the female characters are victims of their circumstances, they also exert influence through their sexuality (Gertrude) and their eventual madness (Ophelia), profoundly impacting the male characters' actions.
Study Questions and Analysis
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This exclamation occurs in Hamlet's first soliloquy (Act 1, Scene 2). It is a reaction to his mother Gertrude's hasty marriage to Claudius, occurring less than two months after his father's death.
Hamlet uses the word "frailty" to suggest moral weakness and inconstancy. He views his mother's actions as proof that she (and by extension, all women) lacks the emotional strength and loyalty to remain faithful to his father's memory. He perceives this frailty as being driven by excessive sexual desire. This statement sets the tone for the pervasive misogyny that characterizes his interactions throughout the play.
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In the highly charged "Nunnery Scene" (Act 3, Scene 1), Hamlet brutally rejects Ophelia, ordering her to a "nunnery." This command has a deliberate double meaning.
On the surface, a nunnery (convent) is a place of chastity. He tells her to go there to preserve her virtue and avoid becoming a "breeder of sinners," reflecting his belief that the world is too corrupt for marriage. However, "nunnery" was also Elizabethan slang for a brothel. In this sense, he is accusing Ophelia of being inherently dishonest and sexually promiscuous. The command is designed to inflict maximum emotional pain and express his total disillusionment with women.
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Ophelia is a tragic example of patriarchal control and the denial of female agency. Her identity and actions are dictated entirely by the men around her.
Her father, Polonius, and brother, Laertes, police her sexuality and dictate her relationship with Hamlet, prioritising family honour over her feelings (Act 1, Scene 3). She obeys Polonius's command to reject Hamlet. Polonius further uses her as bait to spy on Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1), showing no regard for her emotional well-being. Finally, Hamlet uses her to vent his generalised misogyny, treating her with erratic cruelty. Deprived of the freedom to think or act for herself, she eventually succumbs to madness.
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Gertrude's culpability is deliberately ambiguous, highlighting the complex position of women in the play. Critics debate whether she is a passive, weak-willed woman seeking affection and stability, or an active participant in the corruption of the court.
She is certainly guilty of a hasty and "incestuous" marriage. However, the text provides no evidence that she was complicit in King Hamlet's murder; the Ghost explicitly warns Hamlet against harming her (Act 1, Scene 5). Her reaction in the Closet Scene (Act 3, Scene 4) suggests genuine shock at Claudius's villainy. Her tragedy lies in her lack of critical awareness and her dependence on male power structures for survival.
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Ophelia's madness (Act 4, Scene 5) is intrinsically linked to her gender and her oppressed status. While Hamlet's madness is intellectual and strategic, Ophelia's is emotional and fragmented, reflecting her shattered identity after the loss of the men who defined her.
Crucially, madness gives Ophelia a voice she was denied in sanity. Her songs are filled with references to death and sexual betrayal – topics she was forbidden to discuss openly. This suggests that insanity is the only way for her to express the trauma inflicted by the patriarchal constraints and the misogyny she experienced. Her madness is a form of rebellion against silence.
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The play reflects the deep anxieties surrounding female sexuality prevalent in the Elizabethan era. Female desire is often portrayed as dangerous, corrupting, and needing to be controlled.
The male characters are obsessed with female chastity. Laertes and Polonius emphasize the importance of Ophelia's virtue (Act 1, Scene 3). Hamlet views his mother's sexuality with disgust, seeing her marriage to Claudius as evidence of an uncontrollable and "rank" appetite (Act 3, Scene 4). The prevailing view, articulated primarily by Hamlet, is that female sexuality is synonymous with frailty and moral corruption.
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The Closet Scene (Act 3, Scene 4) is an intense confrontation between Hamlet and Gertrude that highlights the theme of gender, particularly Hamlet's misogyny and obsession with his mother's sexuality.
Instead of focusing on revenge or the murder of his father, Hamlet obsessively attacks Gertrude's sexual relationship with Claudius. He uses graphic, degrading language to describe their marriage bed as a "nasty sty." This intense focus reveals that Hamlet is arguably more disturbed by his mother's perceived sexual transgression than by Claudius's crime of murder. The scene demonstrates how Hamlet views female sexuality as the root of corruption in Denmark.