You have been talk’d of since your travel much, And that in Hamlet’s hearing, for a quality Wherein, they say, you shine.

July 23, 2019erainbowd

I’m trying to imagine what I could be manipulated with in this way. Like – I came back from traveling and someone was like, “Everyone’s been talking about you since you got back. They’re saying you shine at this one thing.”
What would I imagine that one thing to be?
I mean Claudius would ultimately seem to be aiming at Laertes’ fighting skills – skills that trigger a particular sort of masculine pride perhaps? What do I have pride in that could be that easily exploited? I feel like I’d have trouble believing any particular flattery. Maybe that’s an advantage of being a woman in patriarchy, it’s harder to buy the bullshit.