Women as Victims of Male Pride in Hamlet and the White Devil - Essay Example

?Women as victims of male pride in Hamlet and the White Devil, an analytical study Introduction: The two major works of the Jacobean period are Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Webster’s The White Devil. The first one was published in the year 1601 and the second one was in the year 1612. Both Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Webster’s The White Devil fall into the category of revenge tragedy as both plays portray a series of bloodshed and violence in the play. Both the plays put forward strong female characters. The major female characters in Hamlet are Ophelia and Gertrude in Hamlet and Vittoria, Isabella, Zanche, and Cornelia in the White Devil. Among the female characters of William Shakespeare the role of Ophelia is supreme. She is considered as the most fragile character in his heroines. The attributes of Ophelia are far in high whereas the other female character in the play, Gertrude does not get much acclaim. The character Vittoria in The White Devil has been put to many comments. For many she is considered as the white devil in the play. As the other female characters of the play carry the attributes of innocence and good heartedness the chief lady, Vittoria is remarked for her wisdom, courage and harshness. The present essay tries to make an analysis on the female characters in these two plays. Further, a study is being conducted on the females as victims of male pride in these two plays. True, the Elizabethan and Jacobean attitudes of considering the females are also seen in these plays. As females they had to undergo male dominance and male chauvinism which caused the tragedy of the women characters vividly in these two. Women characters in the play Hamlet: The major women characters who enriched the play, Hamlet are Ophelia, the lover of Prince Hamlet and Gertrude, mother of prince Hamlet. The King of Denmark is killed by Claudius, his own brother and the uncle of prince Hamlet who later marries the former queen, Gertrude. It really infuriates prince Hamlet who was well aware of the plot of his uncle. The ghost of the King Hamlet appears before his son Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus reveals the story of his tragedy. The thoughts of revenge engulf in the mind of young Hamlet and the whole play is centred on his revenge against his uncle Claudius who killed his father and married his mother. The five long acts of the play tells his attempts to take revenge on his uncle and in the meanwhile it can be seen that Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, the trusted courtier of Claudius is making love with Hamlet. The suffering of Ophelia begins when Hamlet mistakenly kills Polonius by thinking it as Claudius. She becomes mad due to her father’s death and moreover at the rejection of Hamlet and commits suicide. Christy Desmet (1999, p.11) makes clear assessment about the character of Ophelia when he writes, “Ophelia is a cipher, or a “plot device” or pawn used by her father, her lover and Shakespeare himself; at most she seems a “sacrifice to the general meaninglessness and loneliness pervading the play.” The words of Gabriel A. Rieger (2009, p. 47) is also notable when he remarked thus; “Ophelia is an inversion to the prince.” Laertes, the brother of Ophelia is ravaged to take revenge on Hamlet and in the final scene it can be seen that the sword of Laertes is poisoned as instructed by Claudius and again a cup of bowl filled with poison was made ready for Hamlet. Meanwhile Gertrude drinks the cup for Hamlet and dies and she at the time of death announces the evil works of her present husband. Laertes wounds Hamlet and is himself wounded by the poisoned sword. When Laertes is seen dying he tells all about the plans of Claudius and at the end Hamlet stabs Claudius and makes him drink the poison prepared by himself. Thus in the final scene of the play a series of murders can be seen. Gertrude’s death is seen a part of her husband’s folly. Horatio, a friend of Hamlet becomes a witness to all the disgraceful acts that happened at the final scene. Two main characters in the play, Ophelia and Gertrude, are connected to the chief protagonist of the play and have often been regarded as the clear victims of the patriarchal structure of the play. Winkler (p.86) makes clear when he rightly puts it as, “She [Ophelia] is a victim of her father and brother as they advise her to reject Hamlet, a victim of hamlet’s cruel behaviour towards her as she feigns madness, and finally, a victim of madness itself- a madness caused by the twin misfortunes of Hamlet’s public humiliation and her father’s death.” Ophelia’s madness was mainly because of her rejection of love by Hamlet. The feigned madness of Hamlet turned Ophelia to be mad and this increased the death of her father by her lover. She can, in no way, get away from the, male circle of her life. She is presented in the play as innocent and pure just like the dews in the morning. Many regard Hamlet as the main cause for her suffering and the premature death. Her love towards Hamlet was so sincere that she never considered anything equal to it. The depth of her love and the pain of separation are visible when she says, “My lord, he hath importuned me with love/In honourable fashion” (William Shakespeare info, 2005). Here Ophelia tells her father about the love that is shown to her by Hamlet. The rejection of love in a scene by Hamlet and Ophelia made her a great blow. She speaks, “O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!” (William Shakespeare info, 2005). Her life was circled around her father and her lover. As both went away she was at the breaking point of her mind. The observation of Polonius over hamlet made him carry the faked madness even before Ophelia. In the play, the deaths of all, except Ophelia are justifiable. But this lady’s death was beyond all reasons. She had become a victim of the male world and affairs. Another women character in the play is Gertrude, the wife of former king Hamlet and the mother of the Prince hamlet. She was not in support of her previous king, King Hamlet. She never knew that her husband was murdered by his brother, Claudius. When it was announced by Prince Hamlet the shock was heavier for her. As a widow she was compelled to marry the brother of her diseased husband. In the soliloquy Hamlet speaks against his aversion to the marriage of his mother soon after the death of his father. He says, “Frailty thy name is woman”(Hamlet Act1, scene 2,142-146) When Gertrude understands the villainy of her husband Claudius and the crime that she had done she speaks to hamlet, “O, speak to me no more; These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears; No more, sweet Hamlet!” (William Shakespeare info, 2005). She was caught in the plot of Claudius, the villain. At last she understands the real villain and she asks her son to take avenge upon her diseased husband. In the final scene the audience can see the death of Gertrude. She has become a prey for the poison that was made for her son. Even in the outset she was scene with negative aspects, in a close look it is clear that she was a victim of Claudius’s acts. The women characters in The White Devil: The women characters play a crucial role in the play The White devil. It was put in the category of Revenge tragedy as ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ by the same author, John Webster. The play, the White Devil which was played in 1612 was slow in success. The revenge aspects of the play make the female characters to shed their lives for the male chauvinism. Among the major female characters, Vittoria Corombona, wife of Camillo in the beginning and later of Duke of Bracciano takes the key position in the play. For many she is considered as ‘the white devil’ in the play. Vittoria has often been considered as one of the finely sketched characters of Webster “retaining her dignity and pride in the very face of death” (Calvo & Weber, 1998, p.61). Other female characters, Isabella, the wife of Bracciano, Cornelia, mother of Vittoria, Flamineo and Marcello, and Zache, the maid of Vittoria take their position in the play well to consecutive the play a revenge tragedy. The play begins with the conversation of Count Lodovico, Antonelli and Gasparo with the matter of Duke Bracciano and Vittoria. In the play it can be seen that Vittoria and Bracciano cause for much of the incidents in the play. Bracciano too acts as the man behind for the death of his wife Isabella and Camillo, the husband of Vittoria. When Isabella comes to know of the affair of her husband with Vittoria she asks her brother Francisco de Merdici and Cardianl Monticelso. The attitude of Bracciano towards his wife Isabella is very cruel and at many times it can be seen that Isabella is put to shame and stress. Though not willing she agrees for the legal separation from her husband. In another sense the real villain in the play is Flamineo, the brother of Vittoria. The villainous acts of Flamineo make for the murdering of Isabella and Camillo. It is he who agrees to sell his sister to Bracciano. The husband, Camillo to whom she was at first given by her father was no good for her. He had clearly stated the relationship between Vittoria and himself. He speaks, “We never lay together, but ere morning There grew a flaw between us” (Webster, p.5). She was a true victim on men’s hands- first by her father, then by her impotent husband, Camillo, and by her brother Flamineo, and finally by Bracciano who too regarded her as his inferior and was cruel to her. Francisco and Cardinal Monticelso make a plan to avenge for the death of Isabella and Camillo and in their attempt Lodovico also is included. They plan a tournament and they poison the visor of Bracciano and likely Bracciano dies. Flamineo, meanwhile, makes love with Zache and promises her to marry but the breaching of Flamineo infuriates Zache. The nature of woman is also portrayed here as she delivers the whole incident to Francisco who disguised and acted as the lover of Zache. It is she who told the involvement of Flamineo in the deaths of Isabella and Camillo. The brutal activity of Flamineo never ends here. He kills his brother Marcello before his mother Cornelia who becomes mad soon after the incident. In the final scene also the villainy of Flamineo could be seen. As he gives the pistols to Zache and Vittoria to kill him and they themselves each other, these were not loaded and he acts as dead. Soon he resurrects but the doom of them was very near. Lodovico, Gasparo and other assassins kill Flamineo, Zache and Vittoria, thus making the play end. The women characters namely Vittoria, Isabella, Zache, and Cornelia are the mere victims of patriarchal society. The incest feelings of Bracciano to some extent cause the death of Isabella, Vittoria, and Zache. The villainous acts of Flamineo made more problems in the play than Bracciano. It is he who stood behind the murdering of Isabella and Camillo, which in no is justifiable. He was cruel to his mother, Cornelia and Zache. The reason of the madness of Cornelia is murder of her youngest son Marcello by Flamineo. All women characters in the play were encompassed with the villainy of male characters in the play. The deaths of Zache and Isabella are cruel some and beyond and justice to the assassins. The murder of Vittoria is rather reasonable as it was she who started the crime movements in the play. Conclusion The role and status of women characters in literature have often been regarded as a dispute among the critics as well as the readers. They have been portrayed as losing their identity and suffering under the male dominant society. The study has unveiled the fact that the women characters in 16th and 17th centuries were also not different from the clutches of the male folk, who suffocated the females and considered them as only the means for satisfying their desires. This is quite evident when observing the women characters in Hamlet who are under the shade of the male characters, Hamlet, Claudius and others. Ophelia’s madness and tragic death itself is the after effect of the cruel treatment from her lover, Hamlet and the death of her father Polonius. She is also victimised like Ophelia and became a prey for the poison that was made for her son. Though she was aware that Claudius was behind the murder of her former husband, she was not in a position to react to it. She fears that if she responds to it, she may lose her beloved son also and as such, she suffers everything calmly. The women characters in The White devil also are treated as downtrodden people under the male chauvinist society. Vittoria, the most important female character in the play has often been considered as ‘The White Devil,’ suffers terribly in the hands of her male counterparts. The cruel behaviour of Bracciano towards his wife also constitutes a best example for male chauvinism in the play. To conclude, one can infer that the both the plays clearly portrays women as victims of male pride who had to lead a miserable life and meet their tragic ends. References: Calvo C, Weber JJ 1998, The literature workbook, illustrated edition, Routledge. Desmet, C 1992, Reading Shakespeare's characters: rhetoric, ethics, and identity, Univ of Massachusetts Press. Rieger, GA 2009, Sex and satiric tragedy in early modern England: penetrating wit, illustrated edition, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Winkler, AE 2006, O let us howle some heavy note: music for witches, the melancholic, and the mad on the seventeenth-century English stage, illustrated edition, Indiana University Press. William Shakespeare info, 2005, Play Script Hamlet,viewed 24 March 2011, http://www.william-shakespeare.info/act1-script-text-hamlet.htm Webster, J n. d., The White Devil, viewed 24 March 2011, http://talebooks.com/images/bs/649.pdf Read More