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HAMLET
F E M I N I S T T H E O RY
By: Angie Ellison, Jenny Torres, Minerva Dominguez, and Paulo Fonseca
F EMINIST THEORY: IS T HE E X T E N SION
OF FEMINISM INTO THEORETICAL, OR
PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSE; IT AIMS
TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF
GENDER.
WOMEN: CAN’T LIVE WITH THEM,
CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT THEM…
 Gertrude’s and Ophelia’s mistreatment and demise reveals
Hamlet’s views of women that can be interpreted as fear and
hatred that bring to light feminine qualities of his own.
 Hamlet cannot trust women because he fears them.
Although he hates women, he embodies his own feminine
characteristics that prevents him from acting on his masculine
ones.
Hamlet has a fear/hate for women.
Hamlet’s “mommy complex” roots from his betrayal by Gertrude
for her marriage to Claudius. His betrayal by Gertrude leads to his prejudice of
all women: his phobia hinders his ability to trust them.
 Hamlet exclaims “O god, a
beast that wants discourse of
reason would have mourned
longer”. (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 149)
 He sees Gertrude as weak and
applies this to all women: “Frailty,
thy name is woman!”
ONE OF THE REASONS HAMLET FEARS WOMEN IS
BECAUSE HE BELIEVES THEIR BEAUTY HAS THE
P O W E R T O C O R R U P T.
Nunnery Scene
 “Ay, truly. For the power of
Beauty will sooner transform
Honesty from what it is to a bawd
than the force of Honesty can
translate Beauty into his
likeness.”(Act 3, Scene 1, Line 110-
112)
Hamlet cannot trust women because they don’t meet his expectations.
“ O T H R O W A W A Y T H E W O R S E R PA R T O F I T A N D
L I V E T H E P U R E R W I T H T H E O T H E R H A L F.
G O O D N I G H T, B U T G O N O T TO M Y U N C L E ’ S B E D ;
A S S U M E A V I R T U E I F Y O U H AV E I T N O T. ” ( A C T 3 ,
SCENE 4, LINE 155-158)
Hamlet expresses feminine qualities such as
indecisiveness and emotional vulnerability, these
prevent him from making decisions on his actions.
 “Now might I do it. But now ‘a
is a-praying. And now ill do it and
so ‘a goes to heaven” (Act 3, Scene
3, lines73-75).
 Hamlet’s indecisiveness to kill
Claudius while he is praying
reveals one of his feminine traits.
 “To be or not to be- that is the
question; Whether ‘tis nobler in
the mind to suffer The slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune Or
to take arms against a seas of
troubles And by opposing end
them;” (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 5559)
Hamlet is emotionally
vulnerable like a woman.
Women are often stereotyped
as overdramatic and sensitive.
Hamlet embodies both of
these characteristics.
“’Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, to give these
mourning duties to your father” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 87-88)
“O, THAT THIS TOO, TOO SULLIED FLESH WOULD
M E L T, T H A W, A N D R E S O L V E I T S E L F I N T O A D E W
OR THAT THE EVERLASTING HAD NOT FIXED HIS
CANNON ‘GAINST SELF SLAUGHTER”
 Hamlet acts as a women
when he lets his emotions get
the better of him, resulting in
the death of Polonius.
 Through Hamlet’s mistreatment and prejudice of the female
characters in the play, Hamlet’s own female qualities surface.
Hamlet was created by women and embodies his own female
characteristics, yet he hates them. This paradox implies that
Hamlet is self-loathing, which he projects towards women, when
he really hates himself.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mabillard, Amanda. Ophelia. Shakespeare online.20 Aug .2000.(4 Feb
2013)
http://www.shakespearonline.com/plays/hamlet/op
heliacharacter.html
Shakespeare, William, and William Shakespeare. Hamlet and Related
Readings. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 1997. Print.