Ophelia exists at his beck and call, even ending her relationship with hamlet at his whim. Such was the lot for women in renaissance England. Heather brown touches on this in her work Gender and Identity in Hamlet: A Modern Interpretation of Ophelia; “the woman's position in history-- seen only in relation to men--is problematic because of the hierarchy implicit in the relationship.” (Brown, paragraph 3) In a like manner, the King who, like Polonius, holds influence over Ophelia (being her king) uses her to surmise the intentions of Hamlet, and gauge his mental state. In league with Polonius, he set up Ophelia to meet with young Hamlet. In this situation, Ophelia is verbally abused by Hamlet, much to the indifference of the king and her father.
We are introduced to a majorly significant and complex character, named Curley’s wife. Steinbeck shows us that Curley’s wife is flirtatious, mischievous (despite the patriarchal society of the 1930’s) but most of all she is an isolated character. Her hasty marriage to Curley proves to be failed attempt to escape her own spiral of disappointment of not fulfilling her ambition of becoming an actor. This ironically is a main theme in both texts. This essay will analyse and compare the presentation of Lady Macbeth and Curley's wife through the structure, themes, what is said about them, their actions and what they themselves say.
The actions of the nurse and the Friar are responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. From the very begging of Romeo and Juliet’s newfound love, the nurse is supportive and helpful with Juliet. The nurse was an influential adult to Juliet and knew that the Capulets planned for Paris and Juliet to be married. She should have known better and discouraged Juliet from seeing Romeo. Instead, the nurse acted as a messenger between Romeo and Juliet for information about the wedding (Act II, scene iv).
Should the widow be content to have been married once and remain celibate after her husband has passed? Is it possible that a woman might marry twice for love, or was remarriage primarily motivated by lust? In Hamlet, Shakespeare mirrors society’s animosity toward widows by casting Gertrude in a highly unfavorable light, and ultimately punishing her “sins” by killer her off. Certainly, the Protestant Reformation and a strong female ruler helped usher in somewhat more progressive and egalitarian thoughts about women, love, and marriage. Still, the more traditional image of a submissive and somewhat powerless lady was still valued.
But after her father yells at her and tells her if she doesn’t marry she’ll be kicked out of the house; she goes to Friar Laurence for advice. When Juliet takes the potion Friar Laurence gives her she has to think about it. This is something Romeo probably wouldn’t do. But love over comes her decision and she takes it. Nobody tells Romeo that it’s just a potion and Juliet’s not really died, he buys poison and goes to Juliet’s tomb.
At the end of Curley’s Wife’s life, Steinbeck presents her in a way that makes us feel sympathy for her. She is described as ‘sweet and young’ in her death. The use of the word ‘young’ reminds us that was quite healthy and youthful and that her life had just begun. This creates a powerful contrast because death is ugly and evil and Curley’s Wife is pretty and young. It makes the reader visualize Curley’s Wife in a new light and realize that she maybe did not deserve this outcome and deserved a second chance.
Another comparison between Hamlet and Laertes is their love for Opheliah. They obviously have different types of love for Opheliah regardless, both love her very much. Leartes gives Opheliah brotherly advice, by telling her not to go near Hamlet. After Opheliah rejects Hamlet, the love between Opheliah and Laertes slowly dies. This allows Hamlet to show how much he really loved her.
In Juliet’s most time of need, she goes on to say “(Romeo) Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye As Paris hath.”(3.5.222-223). As the mother figure for Juliet it is the nurse’s responsibility to give advice on what to do, and she gives terrible advice when she tells Juliet to marry Paris. This is a selfish thing to do and it only benefits her social status, and the nurse knows that Juliet does not love Paris. Overall, the situation could have been avoided had the nurse made better decisions and helped Juliet make them as well. So many say that Lord Capulet was the cause for the young loves’ deaths, it is obvious throughout the play that the real cause is none other than the nurse.
What is love? This is an age-old question that has been debated and discussed time and time again. Corinthians 13 tells us that, among other things, love is patient and kind. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, on first glance, Hamlet’s love for Ophelia is neither patient nor kind. In spite of this, throughout the play it is evident that Hamlet truly loved Ophelia and that she was important to him through the letters he sent her, how he responds to her when they are alone, his reaction to her betrayal, and his declaration of love at her funeral.
The Nurse calling Romeo “naught" and “dissemblers”, speaking-ill of him and cursing “Shame come to Romeo!” is a catalyst in helping to clarify her feelings. Immediately after the Nurse says that of Romeo, Juliet regains control of herself and realises her grounded loyalties to Romeo. This can be proved by her defending Romeo, telling the Nurse “He was not born to shame”. Her sense of resolution is further accentuated through her rhetorical question, “Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?” Hence she has evidently put herself as Romeo’s wife first, and cousin of Tybalt, a Capulet, second. This change of emotions is caused by her overpowering love for Romeo.