"of the physical power of lionesses in the real nature." However, as strong as she is, Nala has little impact elsewhere; author Brian K. Pennington wrote in his book Teaching Religion and Violence that "Nala's assertions of gender equality are clearly groundless, since only a male lion can stop Scar." New York's David Denbey dismissed Nala's athleticism as nothing more than Disney's attempt to "disguise [the film's] essential boss-daddy ethos." Bacher believes that had The Lion King featured Nala as the Pride Lands' hero as opposed to Simba, the film could have avoided having a "patriarchal structure." Leab concluded that "the main and most problematic aspects of the film" remain that The Lion King "boils down to the fact that an entire group of strong female characters are unable to confront a single male oppressor; to do so, they need to be led by a dominant male." Leab continued, "It almost sucks more that Nala is such a strong ... female character and still ends up constrained by this plot device", accusing the film of depicting women as weak. Alongside Faline from Bambi (1942) and Maid Marian from Robin Hood (1973) added, Nala belongs to a trio of Disney heroines who, after having been separated from their love interests for several years, eventually reunite with them. Stephens believes that Nala and Simba's separation allows the characters to fall in love "properly" upon reuniting as young adults. Because The Lion King is loosely based on William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Nala is considered to be the film's "representative" of the Hamlet character Ophelia, Hamlet's love interest. Both characters' relationships with and opinions of their love interests are similar, however, there are several differences between the two women. The Daily Californian's Miyako Singer argued that "Nala is no poor, tragic Ophelia", instead resembling a "fierce princess warrior" similar to the strong heroines Disney introduced during the 1990s. Unlike Ophelia, Nala does not succumb to insanity, nor does she eventually die. Instead, Nala establishes herself as a powerful ally by encouraging Simba to return to Pride Rock, and helping the character overthrow Scar. Additionally, Nala is a more stubborn character than Ophelia, the latter of whom is quite passive and obedient. While Ophelia is raised by a single father, Nala is raised solely by her mother, which inspired Allen to believe that Nala is a manifestation of how Ophelia would have turned out had