In Hamlet, it could be argued, the
female characters are more well-developed than in Catcher in the
Rye. Though there are only two female characters of note in
Hamlet -- Ophelia and Gertrude - we have a basic idea of what they
are both about. We know Gertrude loves her son, but is also a bit selfish and foolish.
We know some of her motivations and her capacity for guilt. The same can be said for
Ophelia. We know some of her motivations and desies, at least in relation to Young
Hamlet and Polonius, and we get to hear some of her thoughts and
feelings.
Of the female characters in The Catcher
in the Rye we know very little, except about Phoebe. Since the narration of
the novel is entirely from Holden's perspective, we really don't know what the other
people are thinking unless they say it aloud. We know some of Phoebe's thoughts (like
how she wants to run away with Holden when he says he's going to leave), but we know
almost nothing about the thoughts and feelings of Holden's mother, Sally Hayes, Jane
Gallagher, or Sunny the prostitute. We only know how these female characters react to
or are spoken about by Holden. We do not have their point of
view.
Another important difference is that the two main
female characters in Hamlet die, and both by their own hands
(although Gertrude killed herself inadvertently, with a poisoned draught made by
Claudius). None of the female characters in Catcher in the Rye
die. The two female characters in Hamlet seem to love the main
character, Young Hamlet, a great deal, while only Phoebe, and perhaps Holden's mother,
love him. The rest of the female characters have varying amounts of regard or antipathy
for Holden.
A major difference, though, between the female
characters in these works is that we get to hear the women in
Hamlet speak for themselves, while we only really get Holden's
reportage of the female characters in The Catcher in the
Rye.
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