The Representation of Femininty in Shakespeare's "Hamlet‪"‬

Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" is often described as an elaborate, dramatic presentation of modern subjectivity and confronts its reader with gender issues. As far as the gender issues in Hamlet are concerned, the following question arises: which feminist’s approach should be applied to analyse Hamlet’s character and to demonstrate in how far the historical background influences the gender constellations in "Hamlet"?

Therefore, it is important to give a historical background of social structures and social roles during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Elizabethans lived in a time, in which patriarchy was part of their lives. Women were obligated to follow the rules of men. First, it is inevitable to label the categories ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ in connection with cruelty and domination. However, it is difficult to define what is associated with ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ characteristics and to position these categories in a patriarchal system without developing clichés. To which extent, for instance is Hamlet allowed to grieve deeply for his father and why does Hamlet act misogynously towards women he loves? Obviously, along with the gender distinctions go different functional roles thus, examining the representation of gender roles in Hamlet in connection with social roles will play a dominant role in this paper.

This term paper will first address the early modern society to outline the hierarchical system in the Elizabethan World View. After a brief presentation of the Elizabethan World View, patriarchal structures in the early modern England will be illustrated since the cultural context describes the beliefs of Shakespeare’s time and provides the basis for the analysis of gender roles in "Hamlet".