What is the significance of 'Frailty, thy name is woman' in Hamlet?
The quotation is from Shakespeare's Hamlet. It is part of Hamlet's first soliloquy in which he is lamenting the fact that his mother has remarried a man, whom Hamlet despises, soon after his father's death. In this soliloquy Hamlet contemplates suicide because it seems as if life is...
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an "unweeded garden." He feels betrayed by his mother who had seemed to dote on his father and now can so soon switch her affection toClaudius, her husband's brother. He feels as if his mother is weak to succumb to this marriage.
It is not entirely clear, however, in what way Gertrude is weak. We are not sure if Hamlet is condemning her for being sexually attracted to Claudius so soon after her former husband's death or if he is angry that Gertrude married Claudius to maintain the status quo. In her marriage to Claudius, Gertrude remains the queen, retaining her former position. If she did not marry Claudius, she would become a dowager queen, losing much of her former position and power.
Hamlet tends to generalize from the transgressions of his mother. He believes that all women are false, that all women's emotions are shallow. And these feelings carry over into his relationship with Ophelia in which he echoes some of these same sentiments.
Who does Hamlet refer to when he says "Frailty—thy name is woman!" in his first soliloquy, and why does he say it?
Shakespeare's famous tragedyHamlet centers around the turmoil Prince Hamlet endures. Before the play begins, his father dies unexpectedly. He returns home to find that his mother has quickly remarried. To make it more difficult, Queen Gertrude has married her first husband's brother, Claudius.
In his act 1, scene 2 soliloquy, Hamlet explains to the audience that women are both physically and mentally weak, so he exclaims, "Frailty, thy name is woman!" because of his mother's inability to stand up to Claudius. Hamlet feels that his mother has forgotten his father and replaced him too quickly with his brother.
When you look at the line in context, Hamlet outlines his parents' marriage and compares how much his mother seemed to love him to how quickly she has moved on from his memory. Hamlet remembers how Gertrude would fall on every word her husband said and how she would stare at him the same way someone who is starving looks at food; however, just two months after his death, she is now looking at another man in the same way. Hamlet can't understand how she could have loved his father so much but then moved on so quickly.
Another source of Hamlet's anger towards his mother is that she displays a lack of understanding as to why her son is upset. When he continues to dress in black, the traditional colors of mourning, she laughingly questions his attire, suggesting that he should just move on.
Hamlet considers his mother frail because he sees her decisions as those of a weak woman.