In my readings of Hamlet, sexism was a huge element in the story. It's not entirely clear where incest comes into play and who is involved, but the unorthodox relationships that took place show how things were done in Elizabethan times, or were they? My goal in this article is to research the gender roles between men and women in history, prove how women were treated during this time, and determine who was involved in incest and sexism. The main characters will be Hamlet, prince of Denmark and son of the late King Hamlet; Polonius, advisor to Claudius; Laertes, the son of Polonius who returned home because of the death of King Hamlet; Gertrude, Hamlet's mother and queen of Denmark; and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius and sister of Laertes, also girlfriend of Hamlet. In theory, women in the Elizabethan era had no power in their homes. In royal families, women are the reproducers, they had the responsibility of maintaining the royal lineage by having male children to maintain male dominance. “A woman whose job is to represent the family performs the traditionally feminine job of wife or mother.” (Billig) Gertrude's role in the play had relatively little importance, other than the fact that she was a mother and wife. She showed no reason why she was in such a hurry to remarry after the death of her husband, King Hamlet. Claudius, being the wicked man that he was, was perhaps so eager to reclaim his title as king that he married the widow to rule Denmark. This whole ordeal of his uncle sleeping with his mother made Hamlet furious and sick to his stomach. Hamlet showed his emotions when he said, “It grows to seed; things of a gross and crude nature simply possess them. That it has to come to this! But...... middle of paper ...... the other characters experience that it has cost them their entire lives.Works CitedBillig, Michael. A woman's kingdom. Speaking of the royal family. London: Routledge, 1992. 173. Print. Blackmore, Simon Augustine. The Riddles of Hamlet. Boston: Stratford & Company, 1917. Shakespeare Online. August 2, 2011. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/opheliaandpolonius.html >.Resetarits, CR “The empathic function of Ophelia”. Mississippi Review Vol. 29 n°3 (2001): 215-217Shmoop editorial team. “Sex Quotes from Hamlet, page 1”. Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. May 1, 2014. Shmoop Editorial Team. “Laertes in Hamlet.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. May 2, 2014. Vives, Juan Luis and Charles Fantazzi. The Education of a Christian Woman, a 16th century manual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print.