Shakespeare's Women

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Shakespeare's views on women clearly define his plays and how, by using the women as some of the most powerful and stage dominating characters his plays possess, he shows a remarkable gift for breaking down the barriers that held women captive. To many, Shakespeare was a man living in a man's world, but scratch the surface of those who understood his plays and the man himself, and we can see that Shakespeare was a feminist, and those ideas came out in his plays.

From the Paper:

"The patriarchal system was alive and well in Shakespeare's time, one need only look at some of his female characters like Desdemona and Ophelia to see the system at work. Ophelia, was completely at the mercy of the male figures within her life, is certainly a victim figure. In Hamlet's treatment of Ophelia, Hamlet waffles and spins between protests of undying love and cruelty, not entirely sure of where his own intentions lay while he is attempting to cope with the news of his father's murder. Hamlet uses Ophelia as a tool in his revenge plan throughout the play, thus adding more to her role of victim."

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• Analytical Essay # 141914 : "Women in William Shakespeare's Richard III"

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