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One theory is that all tragedies arise from the same source; that is, tragedy itself is a manifestation of cultural conflict. Therefore, Hamlet's conflict is fundamentally the same as Oedipus's. Both heroes have to deal with a culture that is plagued by corruption, the source of which is the patriarchal system, a system which is by definition pathological because it is male-dominated, hierarchical, and repressive. Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet all share these characteristics, and their heroes are all suffering conflicts that originate from the greater cultural conflict. As a result, they all are victims of the same system and are sacrificed to it. So the tragedy is that this pattern is a self-propagating one that will continue to generate more victims as long until the culture itself undergoes some kind of transformation to correct its fundamental "tragic flaw."Posted by Mak on April 13, 1997 at 05:20:12
In Reply to "Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth: All the same play?" posted by Fair Ophelia on April 11, 1997 at 09:37:42
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