Shakespeare often uses female characters to make subtle (or not-so-subtle) assertions about the roles assigned to women in their society and the ways in which they are treated. What does Shakespeare say about women through Gertrude and Ophelia?
During our panel discussions, I found that this topic about Ophelia and Gertrude is actually pretty interesting, so here’s my take on what Shakespeare was trying to say with the two of them. I think that although both of the women don’t do much in the play but die, they reflect a society with which good ol’ Billy Shakes did not agree. (I’m sorry I just said Billy Shakes, but I think that’s probably what his friends called him.)
It’s up for speculation whether or not Shakespeare cared about gender equality, but I tend to believe that he did. It’s clear to me that he didn’t place Ophelia and Gertrude in such submissive roles so that they could be praised by the audience for being submissive—its so that they can be examples of female liberation once they break free from their oppressor’s grip. Obviously, it’s a sad ending, but it seems to me that both of the women took control in their deaths because they were not in control of their own lives.
I’m pretty interested in the deaths in Hamlet; after all, it’s a tragedy, and each character’s death has a distinct meaning. I’m going to touch on the suicide question here too because I think that suicide and the two women are heavily intertwined. To me, both Gertrude and Ophelia’s deaths are somewhat unclear—were they honest suicides or were they just accidents? An important distinction is to be made between these two, but for the sake of my argument, it works best if we consider that both Ophelia and Gertrude did end their own lives. In Act 4, Gertrude enters, bringing the grim news of Ophelia’s death, and describes her “As one incapable of her own distress, Or like a creature native and indued Unto that element. But long it could not be Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay To muddy death” (IV.vii.176-181). Ophelia is said to be seemingly unknowing of her own peril, and that she was pulled to her death under the creek’s surface. For this reason, I see her death as extremely passive. She has been passive for her entire life, replying to Hamlet only with “No, my lord”, “Ay, my lord”, or most unfortunately “I think nothing, my lord” (III.ii.101-105). Making her sound like a servant, she responds to her brother and father with similar respect in Act I. So it is fitting that Ophelia would be passive in death as she was in life. If she recognized that she was about to drown, then her suicide would be submissive, but still it would be her decision. In my view of the play, Ophelia’s death was her liberation from a bleak world in which she was valued only for her purity.
The moment when Gertrude drinks from the cup, whether or not it was a premeditated suicide, was certainly an act of defiance against her husband. Claudius demands her not to drink from the poisoned cup, to which she responds “I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me” (V.ii.269). I absolutely love this line, but it only has the powerful impact if I consider her death as a suicide. If this was actually an accident, it would seem that Shakespeare was trying to convey the message of “don’t try to break social norms, or you’ll die”…or something to that effect. With my view of Shakespeare as something like an early feminist, this doesn’t seem quite right. Gertrude, with dignity, elegance and class, basically tells Claudius “#%&@ you”, and ends her life. It’s almost beautiful, but certainly hardcore. Here lies the difference between Ophelia and Gertrude: Ophelia is passive in her death, and Gertrude is active in hers.
As boring as Gertrude and Ophelia can be as characters in the play compared to Hamlet or Claudius, I really have a soft spot for these women, and I think it’s neat to explore how they are used as subtle symbols of female liberation.
excessivelycaffeinated 