Hamlet, the role of women in

The Importance of Female Characters in Hamlet In the time of Hamlet, men were the dominant sex. Women of this period were usuallysubject to whatever faults men could place on them instead of themselves. With Shakespeare being a man of this time it is reflected in his plays, Hamlet is an excellent example. Through quotes and plot explanation I will develop this statement.The first incident of a female having some responsibility to a “ rotten “ …

…act, slaying Claudius. Hamlet in turn dies from a poison scratch while dueling Ophelia’s brother, Laertes. All these rotten incidents came about from a woman playing her charms in the wrong places, Gertrude with Claudius and Ophelia with Hamlet. Hamlet’s soliloquy at the beginning of the tragedy sets the standard for the entire play “Frailty, they name is woman!-” ( line 146 ), and this is so through-on and through-out the rest of the story.