An exploration of Femininity in Shakespeare's Tragedies.(Hamlet)

In a patriarchal structured society femininity and the female are restricted or defined by the socio-cultural precepts imposed by the male hegemony. Therefore, in order to examine the feminine as presented in Hamlet and other plays, I believe, we must have at the fore-front of our minds the masculine system which surrounds the feminine. For this reason, I propose the most satisfactory means of examining the role of the female is by comparison with that of the male. In order to examine the notion of friendship, bonding and duty between men and women and in purely male relationships, I intend to establish a number of comparisons to demonstrate the importance of the real/ ideal dichotomy in the presentation and social acceptance of women.

The comparisons I shall make are between: Hamlet and Horatio, and Hamlet and Ophelia; Hamlet and his father, set against Hamlet and Gertrude. These comparisons, I believe, demonstrate the power of male bonding, and show male/female relationships are formulaic in character, defining the woman by categories. Femininity, symbolic of sexual potency and control, must be determined by the male hierarchy.

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Some common words found in the essay are:
King Country, King Lear, Ophelia Forty, Lear Lear, Father Laertes', Sacred Wood, Gertrude Hamlet, Indeed Horatio, Hamlet Ophelia, Ghost Gertrude's, ophelia hamlet, king lear, male bonding, erotic power, hamlet's relationship, horatio hamlet, hamlet ophelia, male political, ophelia's chaste treasure, hamlet gertrude, hamlet horatio, purely male relationships, hamlet's revenge dilemma,
Approximate Word count = 3350
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)