Gender+Analysis


 * Henry Woodstock **

**Roles of Men and Women ** In //Hamlet,// the men are dominant and play roles of noblemen. Women are portrayed as weak, submissive, easily manipulated, and dependent on men. For example, Gertrude submits to Claudius by marrying him without hesitation, rather than thinking for herself and taking the opportunity to become a self-sufficient woman. Ophelia is highly dependent on the men in her life, Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet, and cannot function without their guidance. With the loss of her father, and the seeming loss of Hamlet, Ophelia begins a downward spiral, losing mental lucidity and ultimately committing suicide. In //Macbeth,// the gender roles are reversed, as the women play a much more dominant role than displayed in //Hamlet.// Hecate and witches play a large role in prophesizing the events in the play and therefore are a driving force. Additionally, Lady Macbeth plays a prominent role, as she helps fuel Macbeth’s actions and they each play equal roles in the murder of Duncan. 

**Attitudes of the Men Toward the Women and Vice Versa ** The men in //Hamlet// think women are weak and need guidance, and they try to protect them. For example, Polonius tries to protect Ophelia from Hamlet by telling her not to become involved with him. The women think of men as shields; Gertrude relies on Claudius and Ophelia relies on Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet, and they cannot function without them. In //Macbeth,// the men and women play more equal roles. The men think women are helpful, as Macbeth takes Lady Macbeth’s advice to heart when contemplating Duncan’s murder. The women think men need to be guided, as Lady Macbeth skillfully convinces Macbeth he needs to murder Duncan in order to gain more power.

**Shakespeare’s Culture and its Influence ** In the typical gender roles of Elizabethan culture, the male dominated and ran the family while the female took on more domestic responsibilities. //Hamlet// “reflects and supports the English Renaissance stereotypes of men and women and their various roles and responsibilities”, as the men control the story while the women rely on them for guidance and direction. On the other hand, //Macbeth// “questions, challenges, and modifies the representations”, as women like Lady Macbeth take more prominent roles and equal men.

 **Feminine and Masculine Imagery **  Shakespeare employs feminine imagery in //Hamlet// with a description of Ophelia.  Polonius states, “I have a daughter (have while she is mine), Who in her duty and obedience, mark…” (52). This quote illustrates how women were supposed to be submissive and obedient, following the orders of the men without question.  Masculine imagery is also used in Hamlet’s quote, “What is a man, If his chief good and market of his time Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more. Sure he that had made us with such large discourse, Looking before and after gave us not That capability and godlike reason To fust in us unused” (124). Hamlet is characterizing men as needing to be bold and take action, as he claims men were meant to act on revenge rather than stand by cowardly. Here, Hamlet asks what good is a man if he cannot take care of his family and avenge any wrong doings done to them. His duty is to protect his loved ones; if he cannot do that, then he is not worthy of manhood. In //Macbeth,// masculine imagery is used by Lady Macbeth in her lines:

 When you durst do it, then you were a man; <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> And to be more than what you were, you would <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Be so much more the man (316)

<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> In these three lines, Lady Macbeth chides Macbeth for backing away from killing the King. She claims that he was truly a man when he first thought of the idea to usurp the throne, but now that he is too scared he is nothing. However, the only way for him to be a great man is if he actually goes through with the murder.

<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks men: <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I would, while it was smiling in my face, <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Have done this (316)

<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Later in the same passage spoken by Lady Macbeth, she suggests that if she were in Macbeth's situation, she would have undoubtedly gone through with the murder without any hesitation. Were she to be as cowardly as Macbeth, she would bash in the head of her own child. Thus, Lady Macbeth portrays herself as wicked and rejecting the typical role of a woman as a mother and nurturer.

<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Gender Roles in the Bigger Picture **


 * 1) //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Hamlet //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">as the better tragedy
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The men are supposed to protect women in their society, but Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet fail to fulfill this goal when Ophelia and Gertrude both die, adding to the tragedy of the piece. On the other hand, Macbeth does not establish this ideal up, so the element of the tragedy is not present.
 * 3) //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Macbeth //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">as the more relevant work
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Women today are more independent, as the women in Macbeth. In Hamlet, the women play submissive and detached roles, as they never quite know what is going on and depend on the men; however, this is not reflective of modern society. In Macbeth, the women equal the men, especially Lady Macbeth in that she and Macbeth play equals; today, women more often play an equal or greater role than men.

<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">**<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Picture Citations ** <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/g/gender_roles.asp <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> []