What does William Shakespeare have to say about women? Quite a bit, actually. But his writing of the character Gertrude in his play Hamlet can be clearly seen to tie in with one viewpoint of women: the weaker-sex. To be fair, it must be said that he presents both sides of the issue, but let Gertrude be the focus of this study. Gertrude is a shallow, flighty, sensual woman, whose character is summarized by Hamlet …showed first 75 words of 898 total…

…showed last 75 words of 898 total…against her physical nature. The place that one is the most sensitive is also the place where one gathers the most pleasure. Shakespeare presented Gertrude as a character that was “keen” in a physical way. Gertrude possesses a depth of spirit measured in angstroms, an attention span that rivals the half-life cesium, and a sex drive to move planets. Gertrude is the Shakespearian blonde: shallow, flighty, and sensual. Shakespeare has excelled in presenting the weaker-sex.