From the beginning, men believed that they had more power and that women would always be beneath them. The way the men, Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet, in Ophelia's life treated her is a great example of the descent of most women at the time. Although women are more independent in the 21st century, they are still not seen as having the same value as men. Because so many women, like Ophélie, did not speak up and did not defend themselves; men continue to demean women. One of the many ways to change begins with how women accept being treated this way. If people talked and took