Are Shakespearean female characters perceived as characters of minor significance in Hamlet and The Taming of the Shrew?Often the female characters...

In Hamlet, you could reach this conclusion, although it is
all because of Gertrude's marriage to Claudius that we have the play in the first
place.  Had she not married her brother-in-law so soon after her husband's death (murder
by poison in the ear during his daily nap), Hamlet would not have so strong a moral
dilemma to overcome.

I do not agree that the characters of
Kate an Bianca are minor characters in Taming, however.  They ARE the play.  If it
weren't for the focus on Bianca's marriage and the dilemma of Kate needing to be married
first, we would not have such a wonderful, lively, and in the end, moral comedy.  Kate
is one of my favorite characters for her anger, passion, intellect, clever tongue, and
independence.  She makes the play, and no one would have guessed that she alone was the
one woman in the play who is led by her heart and loyal to her man; unlike Bianca and
the widow who are the real shrews of the play.  No, the women are the main focus in this
play...they rule the world!