LITERATURE QUESTIONS
LITERARY THEORY AND CRITICISM
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Ophelia’s madness represents the social oppression of women.
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It is nearly impossible to represent women as anything other than mad in patriarchal discourses.
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Feminist critics need to re-appropriate Ophelia for their own purposes.
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All of the above answers are correct.
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Detailed explanation-1: -MCQ: What does Elaine Showalter argue about gender in terms of representations of the character of Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet ? It is nearly impossible to represent women as anything other than mad in patriarchal discourses. Feminist critics need to re-appropriate Ophelia for their own purposes.
Detailed explanation-2: -Ophelia’s character is important in the story because she represents femininity, and Hamlet is able to act out his aggression towards his mother on Ophelia. Although she is really a naïve and innocent girl, Hamlet believes all women are manipulative and use their feminine nature to take advantage of men.
Detailed explanation-3: -In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is the embodiment of cherished femininity. She complies with the system that protects her and thrives within its protective walls. Gertrude stands in striking contrast to Ophelia. She is antithetical to the traditional standard of femininity.
Detailed explanation-4: -But at the same time, feminism offered a new perspective on Ophelia’s madness as protest and rebellion. For many feminist theorists, the madwoman was a heroine who rebels against gender stereotypes and the social order, at enormous cost.