Saturday, October 25, 2008

Feminine response to Hamlet

An interesting article I found written by Carolyn Heilbrun named "Hamlet's Mother" takes a refreshing approach to interpreting the text. In it, she defended Gertrude, arguing that the text never hints that Gertrude knew of Claudius poisoning King Hamlet, a view which has been championed by many feminists. Heilbrun argued that the men who had interpreted the play over the centuries had completely misinterpreted Gertrude, believing what Hamlet said about her rather than the actual text of the play. In this view, no clear evidence suggests that Gertrude was an adulteress. She was merely adapting to the circumstances of her husband's death for the good of the kingdom. Ophelia, also, has been defended by feminists, most notably Elaine Showalter. Ophelia is surrounded by powerful men: her father, brother, and Hamlet. All three disappear: Laertes leaves, Hamlet abandons her, and Polonius dies. Conventional theories had argued that without these three powerful men making decisions for her, Ophelia was driven into madness. Feminist theorists argue that she goes mad with guilt because, when Hamlet kills her father, he has fulfilled her sexual desire to have Hamlet kill her father so they can be together. Showalter points out that Ophelia has become the symbol of the distraught and hysterical woman in modern culture, a symbol which may not be entirely accurate nor healthy for women.

Brad Rohan
A. Gorelik Section 1F

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