I thought it was very sexist of Shakespeare to portray Ophelia and Gertrude as weak, dirty women. The play makes it seem as though he believes all women are just as weak as Ophelia, who cannot exist without Hamlet and falls hopelessly in love with him. Not all women are this weak, at least not today in society. The modern view of successful women involves the "independant woman" perspective. Today women, are go getters and just as competitive as men. Back in Shakespearean times it seems as though the women were just an accessory to the men.
Also Gertrude affects Hamlet a lot more than the play shows. He believes his mother is a whore for sleeping with his uncle and begins to view all women like that. This is obvious when he tells Ophelia "get thee to a nunnery" when Ophelia wasn't even a permiscuous girl to begin with. This view of his mother as a whore, plays into Hamlet's psyche, and it seems as though he loses all respect for women after his mother's actions.
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