Frailty thy name is woman
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In Act 1 scene two of the play Hamlet, Hamlet prepared the audience for the two female characters of the play- Gertrude and Ophelia- with the quote "frailty, thy name is woman". This portrays both female characters as being quite weak as opposed to the dominating strong-willed men of the play. Women have always played a small role socially, politically and economically in the past. As a result, many literary works reflected the oppressed role of women in society. However, the truth that "behind every great man, there is a woman", cannot be ignored either. Although Gertrude and Ophelia were completely controlled by men, they were the driving factors for the actions of many other characters. In this play, women were portrayed as being weak beings that cannot exist without men. The male characters did not take the women seriously although they played an essential role under cover.
When the play first started, Ophelia seemed competent enough of having her own feelings and thoughtshowever; it did seem as though Polonius and Laertes where eager to destroy this power she had and to teach her to distrust herself. Polonius told his own daughter that she does not understand herself...