Shakespeare’s themes
Women and love
An obsessive desire for love and power lies at the center of Shakespeare's tragedies. In these dramatic plays-also in the sense of a game-Shakespeare's heroines play an active role. Juliet is a 14-year-old girl who, in her absolute love for Romeo, finds the strength to oppose her parents, her relatives, and an entire society that denies her the right to love. Few scenes in Shakespeare are as brutal as the one in which Juliet's father, upon hearing that she refuses to marry Count Paris-her family's chosen husband- savagely insults her, while her mother refuses to respond to her pleas for help.
Women and vulnerability
Shakespeare emphasizes this aspect of her character, often portraying her as wishing she were a man; Macbeth himself remarks on how much more of a man she is than he is. Through Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare explores this dimension of human nature more effectively than he does with most of his male characters-perhaps with the exception of Richard III.Shakespeare's tragedies, women often embody vulnerability, caught in the tension between their own desires and the oppressive forces of society and the men around them. Desdemona and Ophelia are both tragic examples of how female vulnerability is exploited and ultimately leads to their downfall. Desdemona, in Othello, is a woman who loves with an intense sincerity, but her vulnerability lies in her unquestioning loyalty to her husband, Otello. Despite her strength of character, her innocence and trust make her susceptible to Otello's growing jealousy and doubt.Ophelia, on the other hand, in Hamlet, represents a different kind of vulnerability. She is a woman without agency, controlled by the men around her -her father, Polonius, and her lover, Hamlet. The loss of her father, combined with Hamlet's rejection and cruelty, drives Ophelia to madness. Her vulnerability is not only emotional but also reflects her limited role in a world where her identity is defined by the men she serves or loves.
