In the past, women have been subject to the “cult of domesticity.” This ideal lasted for centuries and ensnared women within a value system created by society that defined what a woman’s role should be. The cult presented women with four cardinal virtues: piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. In the ages when these ideals were held at a high standard, works of literature written during this time reflected the societal standard. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, various essays, and our culture also depict the cult of domesticity that still exists regardless of the success of the feminist movements throughout history and in present day; meanwhile, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a great example of women who lived within the “cult …show more content…
In the Neolithic age, a man would hunt while a woman generally gathered food and took care of the home—back then this was simply more efficient because men and women are inherently different, both physically and psychologically. This spurred stereotypes of how women should act or look while simultaneously beginning to confine them into the cult of domesticity. Fast-forward a couple thousand of years through the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution to an age where people don’t have to hunt for food. Following the aftermath of these two major revolutions, gender roles should have been deemed unnecessary; however, the old roles in society have become so integrated with daily life that it felt right to segregate based on gender. The belief that women aren’t up to a challenge because they have “smaller brans than men and, therefore, could not equal them in intelligence” (Gould 130) became more prevalent. Society has even gone as far as brain washing women into thinking they are worth less than men—or better yet, they believe in order to succeed in life, one must act fickle, harebrained, or whimsical. All of these stereotypes have penetrated the literary world and created novels that degrade women and their roles. For example, in Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Daisy says that she hopes her daughter will be a fool because apparently, “’…that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a …show more content…
Once her husband dies, she immediately remarries Claudius—the late King Hamlet’s brother. This shows the weak will behind Gertrude. Claudius probably killed his brother because he wanted to be king and wanted everything that came with the title as well. Gertrude could have remarried quickly due to Claudius pressuring the arrangement onto Gertrude. Moreover, her hasty remarriage from one she was devoted and dependent upon to Claudius implies her need for security and guidance from a man. While Hamlet’s words, “Frailty, thy name is woman” was implied to associate his mother with frailty, the generalization Hamlet made at the same time that all women are weak shows the true extent of the agony Gertrude has caused (Shakespeare 1.2.150). Without Gertrude’s remarriage, the play would not have happened; Hamlet would not have had much vengeance to attend to. Furthermore, Gertrude seems to avoid conflict and disagreeable situations; this serves as a comment that women should just smile and agree with anything men say. For example, after Polonius’ murder and Ophelia’s mental state began to deteriorate, Gertrude simply refused to see her or be in her presence. Only after Horatio told Gertrude Ophelia may “strew dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds” does she agree to see Ophelia (Shakespeare 4.4.20). Moreover, Gertrude’s interest in Hamlet’s madness does not seem to stem from a want for her son to