Most cultures in the world follow a patriarchal society and this dates back to the beginning of time. In Hamlet the patriarchal society is clearly represented by the characters throughout the play. Hamlet is portrayed as an indecisive character when it comes to making a serious decision, such as when he thinks about killing Claudius. This shows the masculine and feminine aspect of his character, which offends the ideals of a patriarchal society. Claudius, Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia and Gertrude follow the usual gender roles in a patriarchal society, as with Hamlet, his characteristics come from both gender roles. Just like in society, Hamlet's men follow the rules of a patriarchal society. The three most masculine characters in Hamlet are Claudius, Polonius and Laertes. “Man should be strong, courageous, rational and sexually aggressive; while the woman is weak, shy, emotional and sexually passive” (De-Yan 1). The first identifiable male characters are Laertes and Polonius as they are introduced in the play while conversing with Ophelia. In this scene they tell Ophelia what she is allowed to do and order her not to be with Hamlet: "For Hamlet and the foolishness of his favor, consider him a fashion and a toy in the blood, a violet in the youth of primitive nature." , Forward not sweet and permanent, not lasting…” (1.3.5-9). After Laertes leaves, Polonius enters the scene and scolds Ophelia for believing Hamlet's words of affection. As in a patriarchal society the males of the family are the leaders. The father is the first to command, then the brother. Therefore, just like in scene three of the first act, Ophelia must do what her father and brother tell her. Claudius is another male character in Hamlet. He proves it with a murder... middle of paper... courage and courage, there would have been no game. Works Cited De-Yan, Guo. "Hamlet's femininity." Canadian Social Sciences 5.5 (2009): 89-95. Premier of academic research. Network. November 12, 2013.Watson, Elizabeth S. “Old King, New King, Eclipsed Sons, and Forsaken Altars in Hamlet.” Sixteenth-Century Journal 35.2 (2004): 475-491. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Network. 12 November 2013.Leverenz, D. 1978. The woman in Hamlet: an interpersonal view. Signs, 4 (2), pp. 291--308.Thompson, E. 1978. Eighteenth-century English society: class struggle without class?. Social History, 3 (2), pp. 133--165. Neely, C. 1981. Feminist Modes of Shakespeare Criticism: Compensatory, Justificative, Transformative. Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 9(1), pp. 3--15. Shakespeare, W. 2013. Hamlet. The necessary Shakespeare. 4th ed. David Bevington. Chicago: Pearson.