This is quote is referring to men and women and the acceptance of gender norms. Men are the keys and women are the locks, obviously. I think it is so weird that in so many years nothing has changed. If one man sleeps with many women he is looked at as a hero, this is simply not the case for women. A woman who sleeps with many men is seen as a slut. This was the same in the Renaissance times. Women were expected to be virgins when they got married while men had no expectations at all. Why have double standards survived for so long? The fact that in the 21st century women are still expected to be virtuous and men still have no shame.
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We see this sort of mindset in the play when Polonius is telling Ophelia not to sleep with Hamlet. Polonius basically says that if she does sleep with Hamlet both her reputation as well as his would be ruined. During that time, normally a king or a nobleman would not marry a women if she was not a virgin. So, if it Ophelia did sleep with Hamlet and word got out, it would likely be the case that no one of high status would want to marry her, so she would either have to marry someone of a much lower class or possibly become Hamlet's mistress, but never his wife. I agree with Ashley in that this is a ridiculous double standard that still exists today. Although things are not as bad as it was during the renaissance time period, we are still far from recognizing equality of gender.
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