Laertes says, “Perhaps he loves you now and now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch the virtue of his will: but you must fear, his greatness weighed, his will is not his own….,” (I,III 14-17.) Laertes harshly tells Ophelia to not have high expectations for Hamlet because his love will not last since he is at such a high position as Prince. Ophelia listens and obeys her brother. After Laertes leaves, Polonius talks to Ophelia about Prince Hamlet. “Set your entreatments at a higher rate than command to parle; for Lord Hamlet believe so much in him that he is young, and with a larger tether may he walk than may be given you: in few Ophelia, do not believe his vows, for they are brokers…”(I,IV 123-127.) Polonius also tells Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet, she replies; “I shall obey, my lord,”(I,IV 135.) Her brother and father seem to form a dictatorship to control Ophelia’s life. She helplessly follows their commands.
Hamlet is quite frustrated at the fact that Ophelia obeys her father. He makes the comparison of Gertrude marrying her dead husband’s brother and Ophelia choosing her father’s side instead of going with her instinct. He makes the conclusion that all women are defenseless and worthless. Later in the play, Ophelia suffers from Hamlet’s act of “antic disposition.” Hamlet verbally abuses her and severely hurts her emotionally. According to literary critic, Amanda Mabillard, Ophelia “is incapable of defending herself, but through her timid responses we clearly see her intense suffering.” Hamlet rudely claims that he never loved Ophelia.
Hamlet: ...I did love you once. /Ophelia: Indeed, my, lord, you made me believe so./ Hamlet: You should not have believed me...I loved you not. /Ophelia: I was the more deceived, (III, 1, 115-120.)
Not only does this hurt Ophelia emotionally but Hamlet’s act of insanity drastically confuses Ophelia. Polonius believes Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia but Hamlet admits that he never loved her at all. “Another example concerns Hamlet's false madness. Through it, he gives unrestrained vent to inward pain regarding moral corruption, regardless of the shattering effect of his words on his auditors. Indeed, Ophelia becomes the primary victim of such onslaught,” (Levy 53.) Hamlet’s act of insanity contradicts the idea of him being in love with Ophelia. Now that Polonius’s assumption has been proven wrong, Ophelia has no one to turn to for advice. Since she was so accustomed from receiving advice from her brother and father she is lost and nearly clueless about what to do. Ophelia is driven to more confusion as her conversation with Hamlet proceeds; “Get thee to a nunnery, “ why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest…,”(III, 1, 122-123.) After Hamlet tells Ophelia he never loved her and wants nothing to with her, he then tells her to go to a nunnery. In further meaning, he doesn’t want to be with her but he doesn’t want anybody else to have her. This indicates Hamlet’s true feelings for Ophelia which he is hiding through this act of insanity to side track the people who were told by Claudius to investigate this act. Such as Polonius, Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. This leaves Ophelia hurt and puzzled about the situation.
At this point Ophelia doesn’t know what she wants nor what Hamlet wants. She has no idea why Hamlet’s behavior has changed so abruptly. Everything that was in her favor has reversed, causing a state of depression. Later in the play, Hamlet accidently kills Polonius mistaking him for King Claudius. Ophelia’s depression drastically increases, she is heartbroken, terrified, and distraught. The man she loves killed the man who was the main structure of her life. She is completely lost. The tension of these events begin to take a toll on Ophelia. Hamlet’s act of insanity actually creates a sense of insanity within Ophelia. It is clear to see that Hamlet had the most affect on Ophelia. Later she is enclosed in a padded room, she sings songs, rhymes, and riddles about death;
“he is dead and gone lady, he is dead and gone, at his head a grass-green turf, at his heels stone.” (IV, 4, 37.)
Ophelia sings and shows signs of joyfulness as a way of mourning her father’s death, instead of being sad. Her madness is very apparent, she is very much insane, she can no longer cope with the rest of society. With no structure and a broken heart, her life goes through a drastic change. She goes from a normal lifestyle to a confused and emotionally damaged life. She then reaches the point of severe depression and insanity which causes her to enter a different state of mind. The character Ophelia never gains a true identity, she is influenced by the men in her life. The choices she makes reflect their desires. By them making her decisions and criticizing her actions she never actually gets the chance to live her life. She lives accordingly to the men.
Later, Ophelia is found dead in a brook. Many will say that this proves her weakness of dealing with adversity. However, her suicide was ultimately caused by the males who she interacts with throughout the play. Their commands and actions cause stress and emotional pain which breaks down who Ophelia is as a person. Frankly she can no longer deal with these circumstances. She is not driven insane because of a weakness in females, Hamlet, Laertes, and Polonius destroy her life, slowly but surely.
Works Cited
Text:
Roberts V. Edgar, and Jacobs V. Henry. Literature:
An Introduction to Reading and Writing. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2007
Electronic:
“Hamlet: Ophelia’s Death.” Scribd. 11 March
2007. (10 March 2009) <>
Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare's Ophelia." Shakespeare Online. 10 Dec. 2000. (14 March
2009) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/opheliachar.html >.
“The Problematic of Relation between Reason and Emotion in Hamlet.” Literature Resource
Center. 2001. (10 March 2009)
“Framing Ophelia: representation and pictorial tradition.” Literature Resource Center
September 1998. (10 March 2009) http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC?vrsn=3&locID=aacps&srchtp=kywrd&c=1&stab=2048&ste=43&tbst=ksrch&tab=2&KA=Ophelia%27s+death&n=10&docNum=A21240449&bConts=2050
