Shakespeare "Owns" Women

 

 Shakespeare's women all have one thing in common-they are a possession, even a commodity, and not a prized one at that. His works reflect the attitude toward women at the time. They were unquestionably inferior. This inferiority of women could have been kept in the past, but because of Shakespeare, it has been immortalized. Young women read Shakespeare in school, but do we really want these girls to be taught that the "greatest writer of all time" did not view women as worthy of self-determination?
   In Hamlet, Gertrude is passed off from husband to husband without a choice. It is just what she was expected to do because women are at the hands of men and could be traded off easily. Ophelia becomes deranged when she no longer has a man to take care of her. She commits suicide when her father dies and the male lover in her life abandons her. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is not allowed to marry the man of her dreams because her father would not allow it. She belongs to her father and must obey him absolutely.

“Frailty thy name is woman” Women in Hamlet

     Oh, Hamlet. What an awful play from a feminist perspective. Hamlet himself said "Frailty thy name is woman." Hamlet, the main character, the weak little boy who can't make up his mind, believes women are frail. His mother had the guts to do what was expected of her, no matter her opinion, and marry her dead husband's brother. She did what she was supposed to do. Yes, it is a shame she had no choice, but she had the strength and the power to deal with the situation she was given and  make the best of it. How dare he call her frail.
      It is a shame she was forced to marry a man she did not love. Now, Shakespeare, that is not very empowering to women, considering the men can treat women so badly. Just look at Hamlet! He can deny he ever wrote Ophelia love letters and dump her poor little heart and she just has to take it. After everything she has been through, she is frail??
     Hamlet is later disrespectful to Ophelia. Ophelia-the woman who loved him despite his craziness *cough his frailty cough.* He says to her: "Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them." Really, Hamlet? Women turn men into monsters. Hamlet turned into a monster by himself. He also tells Ophelia to get herself to a nunnery if she wants to remain pure. Men should never feel that they have the authority to tell women what to do. Hamlet disrepects those who care for him, not realizing that these women are all he has.
     The women in Hamlet are nothing but peaceful and obedient. While I do not agree that the women need to be obedient, their obedience is a testament to their strength. The worst comment of all is calling women frail. Women were oppressed for centuries and I contend that influential writers and playwrights such as Shakespeare contributed to that.
 

Sonnet 130: A Feminist Perspective

Have you seen the “why I need feminism posts” lately? They show people holding signs saying why feminism is important. Here is mine in response to Shakespeare's sonnet 130:

I need feminism because women were viewed as inferior for far too long.

In sonnet 130, Shakespeare claims that he does not care if his woman is ugly, she is still special to him. By saying this, he is implying that it is ok for him to comment on a woman’s appearance in any manner he would like. He can insult her as much as he wants, so long as he says "but I loveee youuuu" at the end. This is not ok.
Shakespeare is an influential writer. His works are still read to this day. He should have thought about the impact his works may have on future generations. We are still seeing the effects of the degrading statements in his works. Men think it is acceptable to tell their girlfriends "Honey, you shouldn't eat that. Those jeans are already too tight," so long as they love her even though she is fat.
In sonnet 130, Shakespeare insults this woman by saying she is ugly, her breath smells, her breasts are an ugly color...
Yes, perhaps these are trivial things and women should not worry about them, but the fact is they do. To women, criticism of outward appearance not only makes them self-conscious about their appearances, but also makes them feel as if they are not beautiful on the inside. If there is one thing men should know it is that they cannot take away the bad things they have said with a mere "sorry." The woman may reply with a "that's ok," but it is not. She will never forget those words. At least not for a while. Every time she looks in the mirror she will see the qualities you criticize.
Not to mention it will hurt your relationship. She will never feel comfortable around you again.
Every woman deserves to feel beautiful. Don't take advice from Shakespeare when it comes to your relationship. Make her feel beautiful AND special. Not one or the other.
Now, I am no poet, but here is my attempt to make a woman feel special.

I cannot imagine a woman so fine; 

So beautiful, so bright, so smart.

My love you shine like the sun-

No, brighter-you light up the universe, not only the world.

Your eyes show your kindness,

Your lips tell me you are mine.

There are a million wonderful women in the world, 

But in my heart you are the most beautiful, 

Inside and out.

   Doesn't every women want to feel special? And don't they deserve it? Shakespeare seems to have loved the dark lady described in many of his sonnets including sonnet 130, but as far as we can tell she wasn't treated very well. No wonder she cheated with the earl.