Many critics have noted the strange and extreme attitude that Hamlet has towards women in general. As one critic notes,
...there is a distinctive pattern in Hamlet's language and behaviour whenever he is thinking about or dealing with Ophelia and Gertrude in fact, Hamlet's peculiarly aggressive and often cynical view of these two women and, beyond them, of women in general, is an important indication of the general unhealthiness of Hamlet's character.
Johnston)
To fully understand this "unhealthy" attitude towards women one has to take into account the central themes and the play as discussed above. Hamlet is already filled with doubt and the ghost's revelation shatters his world and any existential unity and wholesomeness that he may have had. This is exacerbated by the fact that his mother is in a union with Claudius, the killer of his father and this shapes his complex attitude towards women in general. As he notes in the Act 1 Scene ii, "Frailty, thy name is woman!"
This attitude that has been shaped by circumstance is developed further in the play and the prime example of the jaundiced way that he treats women is his relationship with Ophelia. It must be remembered that this relationship should be seen against the background of his mother's apparent betrayal of everything that he holds dear and sacred. The attitude that Ophelia presents to Hamlet makes it appear that she too has turned against him. This view is summarized by Walker (1948).
What explanation can there be -- but that she is like all the rest? To be wooed by a Prince flattered her vanity and fed ambition while all went well with him. Now that he is distracted to the point of madness, now that hostility between himself and Claudius grows visibly and his expectation of the succession is in jeopardy, she, even she! sides with the King against him, contemptuously...
Frailty thy name is woman, all women, even Ophelia. The last illusion is gone: Hamlet is alone.
Walker 44)
3. Conclusion
Therefore, in the final analysis it can be argued that the suspicion of betrayal and the lack of propriety in Gertrude's early marriage to Claudius shape Hamlet's view women. However, the play is never simple and there are many complex and problematic aspects that could be considered in an assessment of Hamlet's character. What should also not be forgotten is the underlying philosophical aspect and the view that the world is without meaning, which also influences Hamlet's view of women.
Anther aspect that denies any easy and simplistic understanding of Hamlet's attitude to women is that his father's ghost does not instruct him to place any real blame on the Queen. From this perspective Gertrude is seen as an essentially virtuous woman who has been beguiled by Claudius, who "with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts... won to his shameful lust " the "will" of Gertrude (1.5.42-6). The nature of this profound work of art therefore means that critical views and discussion of Hamlet's nature and actions will remain an open-ended question.
Works Cited
Bradley a.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. London: Macmillan, 1937. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77456574
Bradley, a.C. Shakespearean Tragedy Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. 2nd ed. London: Macmillan, 1905.
Johnston I. Essays and Arguments, Section Three. March 5, 2008. http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/arguments/argument3.htm http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=12302185
Walker, Roy. The Time Is out of Joint: A Study of Hamlet. London: Andrew Dakers, 1948. Questia. 8 Mar. 2008 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=12302185.
