Had there been no women whom he loved, Hamlet would have coped perfectly well with the situation in Denmark.
Do you agree?

Oedipal Complex

His Interior Feminine Side

Agree, because it is clear that Hamlet is plagued by his incestuous sexual feelings for his mother

The Oedipal Complex interpretation of the play was spearheaded by Freud and Ernest Jones, and is based off of the ancient Oedipus play

Hamlet's feelings for his mother are best shown when he speaks of 'swift dexterity' to 'incestuous sheets'

the use of sibilance here could reflect his disgust for his mother's sexuality

alternatively, it may also symbolise his jealousy towards his Uncle, as he has completed Hamlet's wish of killing his father and marrying his mother, according to the Oedipal Theory

Hamlet is unable to cope well with the situation because by killing his Uncle he would have to confront his own jealousy and 'buried' (Jones) emotions

this means that Hamlet 'cannot kill him [Claudius], without killing himself' (Jones)

in killing Claudius, Hamlet would have 'coped' by committing revenge and eliminating the source of corruption in Denmark

the Oedipal complex in him is scaffolded by the fact that Hamlet does not kill Claudius until the object of his desire, his mother Gertrude, is killed

only with her gone is Hamlet able to ignore his feelings, kill Claudius, and cope with the situation

even without the existence of women around him, hamlet would still struggle with misogyny and thus indecision

some critics posit that hamlet's misogyny is due to his hatred for his own feminine qualities

Hamlet says 'frailty thy name is woman!'

here he personifies an abstract noun to generalise all women, which exposes his misogyny

however his misogyny may have a more sinister element, as others have suggested that Hamlet is critical of women due to his self-hatred

this self-hatred caused Hamlet's melancholia and inability to 'cope'

some have even gone on to suggest that the character of Ophelia represents this feminine side of Hamlet

this is cemented by the fact that both characters have similarities, in that both of their fathers die, and they both go mad

this is further scaffolded by the fact that 'Ophelia literally has no story without Hamlet' (Edwards), as she has no backstory or scenes alone

perhaps Shakespeare has merely used Ophelia as a mechanism to showcase the depth of Hamlet's character, and the reasons for his delay in 'coping'