Why are the women in Hamlet portrayed as "weak"??

Question

Gertrude and Opheilia

Answer 1

It was written in a time when women were not even allowed to play themselves on stage, women were seen as inferior and women were 'owned' by men, and why? Because they were seen as being the weaker less intelligent gender.
Its not that it was particulary a Mysogynistic culture, but the women in all of Shakespeares plays reflected the values of society at the time.
Ophelia and Gertrude have no real Autonomy, they are at the mercy of Hamlet, Claudius, Rodrigo, and Laertes moods to define their moods, and when the men are in comflict the women suffer, anmd ultimately in the Cse of 'Hamlet' die.
I mean Hamlet is an intensely tragic play, and the women are tragic, but mostly because they are a real refelction of the time of which they are portraying!!

Answer 2

I am not sure I buy Gertrude and Ophelia are weak. Hamlet is perhaps the weakest character of all; he cannot decide what action to take. Ophelia is not weak; she is insane from grief. Women were not all weak in his plays. Regan and Goneril in King Lear or Lady Macbeth in Macbeth are certainly some of the strongest, even strident women till Edward Albee picks up the pen. Also it should not be forgotten that many of his plays were written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Certainly, most women were not weak. English common law actually does not debase the position of women as much as one would think from a twentieth century point of view. An unmarried woman of property could and would wield considerable influence.

Answer 3

I don't think that the women in Hamlet are unique in being weak. You can look at any of Shakespeare's plays and the same is true. If they are not portrayed as weak, then they are feckless or stupid.

Perhaps it is a sign of the times in which his plays were written that a woman's place in society was subservient to a man's, no women had the right to vote, very few were ever educated and women were considered firstly the property of their father and then on marriage the property of their husband.

The only woman that I can think of in Shakespeare at the moment who was worth a pound of flesh (pardon the pun) was the one in The Merchant of Venice - can't remember her name now. Was it Portia?

Answer 4

Could be of three(3) reasons:

1.I think most women then were weak.
2.OR that was how Shakespeare's view on women.
3.OR he was so dominated by women that he portrayed women as "weak" as a manifestation of his wish fulfillment.

Answer 5

All of the characters in Hamlet are flawed. If you look closely, you could consider every character (male and female) as 'weak' in one way or another.

Shakespeare was big on flawed characters. Those "fatal flaws" are what drive his plays and make them seem human. Because everyone is flawed in one way or another, we can related to the characters well.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

in the era that hamlet was written it was considered that all women were weak and stupid...they were treated badly and were used for man's comfort with no thought of respect...they were considered to be second class and treated like the man wanted to treat them...........

Answer 8

I think that Ophelia is considered weak because she fell in love!

Answer 9

They got womanly roles, like, I mean they got roles where women normally at like "fair ladies".

Answer 10

because shakespeare was a man