Throughout the centuries, literary scholars have analyzed literature to better understand the way literature impacts our world. One of the most influential literary theories is Feminism. Feminist literary theory examines how gender structures power, identifying, and analyzing the ways in which women have been oppressed and marginalized through various works of literature. In this essay, I will apply Feminist literary theory to Shakespeare’s classic play Hamlet.
In Hamlet, we see female characters who are not fully developed characters and merely serve as the object for the male lead characters. Gertrude, the queen and mother of Hamlet, is one such character. She is portrayed as a passive character whose purpose in the play is only to be the mother of Hamlet and Claudius’s wife. Ophelia is another such character who is one dimensional and whose purpose in the play is solely based on her relationship with Hamlet.
However, a feminist reading of Hamlet reveals how the play is not just a tragic story of a prince avenging his father’s death, but a story about society’s power structures that privilege men and harm women. Gertrude is subject to patriarchal norms and expectations which leads her to choose to marry her dead husband’s brother which, according to her society's view, was the appropriate choice for a widow. In doing so, she exhibits a lack of agency and submits to the societal expectations and obligations of women at the time.
Ophelia, on the other hand, is so badly treated by the male characters around her that she is driven to madness. Her father Polonius tries to control her and thwart her relationship with Hamlet, while her brother Laertes disapproves of her relationship with Hamlet, and Hamlet himself, the supposed "hero," is cruel to her and eventually causes her death. Ophelia’s character serves as a reminder of women's vulnerability to male control and the violent consequences that such control can bring.
The feminist frames of analysis shed light on the female characters and their experiences and situations in the text. In conclusion, Hamlet demonstrates how men have historically been the dominant gender and how they use their power to oppress women. We can use feminist theory in our analysis of the play to understand better the dynamics between these characters and the impact of a patriarchal society on women's experiences in literature. Through applying feminist literary theory to Hamlet, one can see how the themes and characters of the play reflect a larger societal issue, namely, a male-dominated society.