To what extent do you consider Hamlet a play which presents a patriarchal society Essay Example

To what extent do you consider Hamlet a play which presents a patriarchal society Paper In order to understand a patriarchal Elizabethan society, we must first understand the social and historical context of the play. Elizabethan society was fundamentally male. Most roles of importance were assigned to men. The thought that a woman was to be given a post of responsibility would have caused much upset among male civilians. Even though there was a female monarch at the time, men essentially ruled the scene, with the queen as its figurehead. Shakespeare had to convey this situation fairly accurately, as a play in which women were empowered by male standards would have been frowned upon during that period in history. However, given the change in societys views on women since Elizabethan times, the play may not have been construed as patriarchal at the time of writing. It would have been viewed as an accurate representation of the monarchy and its hierarchy of power. It is known that Elizabeth was a fan of Shakespeares work, and for Shakespeare to present a society in which women were viewed entirely as sexual objects and nothing more would have been unacceptable in the queens eyes, which I believe results in the subtle hints at empowered women. Some film portrayals show Gertrude as very similar to Elizabeth I, a woman who uses and manipulates men in order to gain power. Others show Gertrude as a wine-swilling, rampantly sexual temptress, which I do not believe to be true. I believe that even though Gertrude marries her brother-in-law, and so soon after her Husbands death is not an act of sexual desire, rather an act of emotional need. Also, in the closet scene, she expresses remorse for marrying Claudius so early, and some believe that in doing this, she aligns herself with Hamlets quest for revenge, and shuns Claudius touch and bed. We will write a custom essay sample on To what extent do you consider Hamlet a play which presents a patriarchal society specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on To what extent do you consider Hamlet a play which presents a patriarchal society specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on To what extent do you consider Hamlet a play which presents a patriarchal society specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In the play, it can be considered that women are only disempowered in a male sense. They do not play major roles in the development of the play, but their interaction with the male characters can be seen as a form of sub-plot, additional to the main events of the play. To empower someone is defined by the English dictionary as to authorize, or enable someone. Throughout Hamlet, we see that this means women are not empowered in the play in terms of power in the literal sense, however are empowered in their dignity and actions. There are two views of female figures in Hamlet cunningly empowered, as one critic, Praveen Pillai, puts it, or as fundamentally weak figures, who are entirely disempowered. Both these views, I believe, are partially true. In one sense, women are cunningly empowered through death. Females in the play die in a gentle fashion, with Ophelia slowly drowning, surrounded by her dress, and the queen being poisoned by wine. This can be seen as a more empowered way to die than the male figures in the play, as most of them die violent deaths, through poisoning, being stabbed, and killed by other men. In a way, this is a triumph for the women in the play, especially as Ophelia, corrupted by her sexual desire for Hamlet, dies a virgin. This is empowerment in a feminine sense, as it does not fit with male views of empowerment. However, women can also be seen as fundamentally disempowered in the sense that they hold no real authority, and are merely seen as objects of desire by the men in the play. Ophelia is seen as the cause of Hamlets madness, providing women with a negative image. Some critics, such as Praveen Pillai, even say that Ophelias name has roots in sexual imagery, with Ophelia being likened to O-Phallus. Also, Hamlets sexual obsession with his mother further proves the fact that women are seen as sex objects and no more Incestuous sheets, Live in a bed of rank sweat. This lust seems highly derogatory, and jealousy of Claudius may be a contributing factor in Hamlets anger and madness, also shown in the quote Almost as bad as to kill a king and marry his brother. This Freudian view of Hamlet is widely accepted by many, and has become a fundamental part of analysing the play. One of the most powerful statements in the play clearly shows a male view of female disempowerment in the play Frailty thy name is woman. A powerful statement, which has its roots in the Elizabethan attitude towards women. It shows that women are viewed as fundamentally weak beings in the eyes of men. The scene between Hamlet and Gertrude in the royal bedroom acts as a sort of commentary on the male societys views of Elizabethan women. It shows the low amounts of respect given to women, and the way they are scorned through sexual relations with others. Loving a woman was seen as weak, and Hamlets lust for both Ophelia and Gertrude are seen as weaknesses contributing to his madness. Rebecca Smith states that because Claudius, his mothers second husband is the killer of his Father, Hamlets general outrage at women increases and spreads and that it Ophelias unexpected rejection of his love is also a trigger factor in this, her rejection being due to the order from her brother and father, that results from their one-dimensional view of a woman as a sexual object. I am not entirely sure that this is true. I do not doubt that the general view of the female characters in the play by male characters is that of sexual objects, but rather the order was given to Ophelia by her brother and father out of an unselfish and untainted love for her as a family member, in them wishing that she should not be associated with Hamlet, who they regard as Mad. In this way, Ophelia is empowered Gertrude appears in the play as a woman whose actions contribute greatly to the negative turns in the plot as Claudius puts it, Gertrude is both My virtue or my plague. She is shown as having poor judgement, as seen in Act 1 Scene 2, in which we realise she must be more sensitive to her sons feelings. However, Gertrudes own insensitive actions reveal a form of male disempowerment in the play Jealousy. Hamlets jealousy of his mother during the grieving period may be for two reasons one, that as her son, Hamlet should be given more attention than Claudius, and two the fact that his mother has just married his uncle O, most wicked speed, to post, With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! . During the scene in the royal bedroom, a symbol of sexuality in itself, one of Gertrudes main weaknesses shows. She has the opportunity here to face the issue head on and resolve it, however she is the type of person to put bad news to the back of their minds and pretend like nothing has happened. She gives no deep thought to the matter at all. Hamlets madness can be linked to his jealousy of Claudius in this scene, and the fact that the ghost of his father warned him to Let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest The introduction of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern by the King and Queen show a fundamental contrast in their characters, the Queen, representative of a female character wishes them to discover the roots of her sons madness so she can help him feel better, however the king, representative of a male character in the play, uses them for more sinister purposes, showing the great contrast between male and female characters in the play, and highlighting a form of empowerment for the women the mens underhand evil deeds lead to acts of revenge and violence, yet the female act of kindness leads to a form of peace and understanding. In this way, then we can definitely say that women are subtly empowered in Hamlet. Even though it is seen that Gertrude is an insensitive mother, in not showing her son compassion and understanding after his fathers death, while still being married to her Husbands murderer, there are certain parts of the play where she defends her son from Claudius, showing moral strength for example, when talking to Claudius about Hamlets murder of Polonius, she says that he Cries afterwards in an attempt to cover up the fact that he did not think anything of it. This is an outstanding act of compassion towards Hamlet, and proves her to be a loving mother, morally empowered. A form of female disempowerment is seen in the way that Gertrude cannot see through the deception of Claudius. He convinces Gertrude (perhaps too easily) that Hamlets sending away is to protect her, rather than the true reason, that Claudius fears for his life when Hamlet is still around. If Gertrude was empowered as a woman in this way, she would object, for fear of Hamlets life. This is a subtle element throughout the play that really stands out when the play is seen in terms of weakness, empowerment and disempowerment. Ophelia, the only other woman in the play, mostly shows female disempowerment throughout most of the play. One critic puts it well Amanda Mabillard says that Ophelia could become the tragic heroine of the play; instead she crumbles into insanity and becomes merely tragic. It seems that Ophelias purpose in the play is to show the dual nature of women Ophelias distinct purpose is to show at once Hamlets warped view of women as callous sexual predators, and the innocence and virtue of women. Throughout the play, Hamlet becomes increasingly convinced that women are whores, shown by both women in the play Gertrude chose Claudius over her dead husband, and Ophelia chose her father over Hamlet. These both strike Hamlet as incestuous and add to his madness. Ophelias character is very one-dimensional and shallow; her main purpose is as an instrument through which other characters act, i. e. her father using her beauty to suit his underhanded needs, such as where she is told to spy on Hamlet to try and determine the cause of his madness. She gives Hamlet the opinion that the most innocent looking women are the worst corrupted with sexual desire, and throughout the play, we see that to an extent this is made true through Ophelias sex-crazed madness. Hamlet appears before Ophelia with no hat on his head, his stockings soiled, and round his ankles. This initially frightens Ophelia, and the fact that she confides in her father to tell him of her fear portrays her as a weak individual, unable to cope with her feelings, or her sexuality. This develops into a sex-fuelled insanity later on in the play, with her using blatantly sexual imagery in her speeches, such as when she sings By Cock. This may be untrue, as the slang word Cock may have not been used in Elizabethan times. However, in a modern context, this can be seen as a way for Ophelia to release her bottled-up emotions through her madness, much alike to Hamlets madness throughout the play. Gertrudes last acts show female empowerment in a nice way. During the dramatic final scene in which she drinks the poisoned wine, and realises that Claudius is guilty of killing her husband and attempting to murder her son, she valiantly warns her son against drinking the wine No, no, the drink, the drink o my dear Hamlet The drink, the drink! I am poisoned! It is unusual in this scene that Claudius does nothing to prevent Gertrude from drinking the poisoned wine, even though he murdered the King out of a sexual desire for her. Even though she is about to die, she still manages to show a final act of compassion for her son, and effectively renounces Claudius from her heart, giving Hamlet a final triumph, and easing his madness. In conclusion, I think the evidence shows that there are different types of empowerment and disempowerment, male and female scattered throughout the play, some blatantly obvious, some rather more subtle. After careful analysis of the play, I have come to my own personal opinion that women in Hamlet are essentially disempowered, for these main reasons : Firstly, there are more men than women in the play, showing that women play less important roles. Secondly, women are not involved in the real important parts of the plot, they only act as a sub-plot, a tangent from the storyline. Also, by the end of the play, neither of the women are seen to have any sort of peace of mind, and they both die tragically. Sources Used: Shakespeares Ophelia Amanda Mabillard Gertrude In Hamlet Orah Rosenblatt A Z of Shakespeare Charles Boyce Shakespeares Life And Times Oscar J Campbell Hamlet Commentary Granville Barker Hamlet Psychoanalysed. 1815words. W/Quotes 1703words W/out Quotes.

Cost of living essays

Cost of living essays Have you ever wondered who came up with the cost of living figure, well it all started in 1919 when the Department of Labor first started publishing a little book, rightly named, Cost of Living Index. This handy book has since then been the guide to the pricing of the goods and services that ordinary people use in their daily living affairs. Not only does this figure wavier, but the name was changed to Consumer Price Index, during the Civil War. With so much economical impact the Index is constantly moving up and down. The causes of change are attributed to the change in the supply and demand of goods. Yet the consumer influences it by the amount of money and credit that they can command. It is also greatly affected by the way the government regulates it and surrounding policies. This Index should be moved up and down, depending on the times, so that it assures price stability. Although, this has not always played out the way that we want it too. From 1800-1870 the price of goods rose tremendously during the times of war. The government tried to introduce the idea of greenbacks a term used for paper money. This however didnt give the expected out come. The paper money was not widely excepted and the price of goods was twice as much, if the goods were bought with greenbacks. Also contributing to the loss of confidence in the dollar from the citizens was the setbacks brought from the military. Such as the blockading of the habor, not allow imports to the U.S., and the seizure of Washington. Although after the war the prices started to drop steadily. This trend seems to continue, never the less, only because the government at the time did not know what to do. Since about the 1900s the problem with inflation increased, mainly caused by the governments efferts to try and lower the national debt because of the wars. Thus, creating the great depression and the numberous recessions we have experienced. Again ...

The roles of an Auditor in Discovering Illegal Acts Essay

The roles of an Auditor in Discovering Illegal Acts - Essay Example This essay discusses that when implementing SAS no. 99, auditors often find themselves in a complex arena of systematic approaches to detecting fraud. Most often, the auditing process fails due to barriers which escalate from the auditor’s ability to uncover fraud accurately. Such problems often involve inadequate characteristics of professionalism. Such barriers revolve around the auditor’s accounting profession of independent accounting with regard to experience, training, skills and education. Primarily, expectations gap form a complex barrier in the ability of an auditor to uncover frauds at costs that are reasonable. For instance, the actual practices that an auditor is capable of may be far away from the expectations of the stakeholders. In such cases, stakeholders presume auditors as being faults. More so, regulatory and legal impediments are barriers that auditors face. The present audits are also characterized by limits that guide the extent to which auditors c an uncover reasonably. The limitations are not often aligned with auditing standards for the methods of auditing are limited while the audit is constrained by cost. Furthermore, these barriers emanate from educational issues of the auditor. Education of the auditor will enable him or her to acquire skills and experience while he or she undergoes training in his or her profession. The vice versa cannot be true. More so, the communication between the auditor and the company’s management can be a substantial barrier especially when communication barriers come from the auditor’s side.... The Role Played by the Setting of Objectives in Auditing Planning for an audit process is highly significant for the success of the process as a whole. Setting of objectives prior to conducting an audit provides a clear framework that guides the audit process as it is in progress. First of all, setting of objectives places the auditor in a position of the person who inquires on fraud issues. The auditor acquires first hand knowledge given that he or she can get vital information from the internal workforce on the people who were involved in fraud. Ramos (35) asserts that; those people who have significant information on the individuals concealing and committing fraud, have always said that they would give out the information, but they were not asked. Hand in hand, the objectives enable the auditors to visualize risks as well as respond to them accordingly. This implies that; the setting of objectives creates a clear guideline for conducting the audit process, and it sums up to the su ccess of the audit process. Significant steps can be taken to ensure that the objectives of the audit are met consistently. Prior to the conduction of an audit, the auditors should have a proper internalization of fraud as an aspect. They should have the awareness and a better understanding of fraud. Besides, they should be familiar to risks that are attached to auditing and the necessary steps for mitigating them. For instance, auditors should have adequate information necessary for identifying the risks attached to misstatement of material as a result of fraud. They should also have the capacity of assessing those risks after post-evaluation of the entity’s controls and programs. More so, the auditors should be bold enough to have a timely response