The women’s function in HAMLET is in part similar to many characters in the play. There is a division between good and evil with the characters. For instance, good father/King is Hamlet (Sr.), while bad father/King is Claudius. Good friend to Hamlet is Horatio, while bad friends are Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Similarly, Hamlet himself is depicted as pure intellect Hamlet in opposition with Hamlet the Mad. Therefore, the women in the play are seen as good, pure Ophelia contrasted with his incestuous mother/ Queen. The play examines how both sides (good and evil) act upon Hamlet and how he acts upon them. In the examples of Ophelia and the Queen—whether or not they are good or bad--because of their love for Hamlet, they die. Ophelia commits suicide because her love, Hamlet, has killed her father. The Queen drinks of the cup her evil husband has prepared for Hamlet, thus warning Hamlet with her death. That is one way that Hamlet impacts them.
How do they impact Hamlet? One way that Ophelia impacts the play HAMLET is by setting up a duality between the "madness" of Hamlet seen beside the true madness of Ophelia. Hamlet tells the men, after they have sworn three times on his sword to be silent about what they have seen and heard, to promise never to disclose that his "antic personality" may not be real (Act 1, Scene 3). So when he acts the fool his madness is perceived by the players as real, but the audience has doubts. In contrast, Ophelia's madness is perceived by both players and audience as real. The Queen impacts Hamlet at the outset of the play, by marrying his father's murderer (brother) soon after Hamlet Sr.'s death. This act causes Hamlet to have dual feelings towards her. His natural love for his mother conflicts with his unnatural hatred for her incestuous betrayal of his true father. And this conflict becomes a major reason for his "madness."
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