Hamlet himself rails against each of them separately, for very different reasons, in misogynistic rants which accuse women of being sly seductresses, pretenders, and lustful schemers. Gertrude and Ophelia are two of Hamlet’s most misunderstood-and underdeveloped-characters. Hamlet is obsessive about the women in his life, but at the same time expresses contempt and ridicule for their actions-actions which are, Shakespeare ultimately argues, things they’re forced to do just to survive in a cruel, hostile, misogynistic world. Written in the first years of the 17th century, when women were forbidden even from appearing onstage, and set in the Middle Ages, Hamlet exposes the prejudices and disadvantages which narrowed or blocked off the choices available to women–even women of noble birth.
Though there are only two traditionally female characters in Hamlet- Ophelia and Gertrude-the play itself speaks volumes about the uniquely painful, difficult struggles and unfair fates women have suffered throughout history.
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