Ophelia’s character has always been interpreted in two contrasting lights, one as being an innocent and sexually unknowing and the other as being a reckless but sexually knowledgeable/experienced young woman. Two critics, Rebecca West and Mary Salter, have completely contrasting views of Ophelia.
West claims that it would be extremely naïve to suggest that Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet was of an innocent nature. She claims that this interpretation would only suffice in a society that frowns upon sex, something that this society has left behind. She also adds that this interpretation’s credibility would have been dismissed if it hadn’t it been for pre-raphaelite picture by John Millias. She says “Ophelia is not a young chaste woman. This is shown by her tolerance of Hamlet’s conversation….” Ophelia is not as inexperienced as she portrays herself to be, she is extremely perceptive and only appears to be obedient to her father she knows that it would be beneficial to her if she were to do so. Her strong character is evident when she challenges Laertes’ own chastity when he tells her to be careful with Hamlet.
Salter on the other hand describes Ophelia as “the innocent pawn who is sacrificed during the course of the larger drama which is taking place around her”. This is a bold assertion as it claims that Ophelia is merely a device used by Shakespeare to help build the bigger picture, similar to the beautiful young women presented in Saxo Grammaticus. Here she is portrayed as being extremely passive as she apparently agrees with all her brother and father have to say to her and is obedient to their wishes. She is sexually inexperienced and innocent when it comes to that subject, as her relationship with Hamlet is of respectable nature and her chastity is never in question.
From when we first see her in Act 1, Scene 3, Ophelia is a kind; affectionate and loyal to her family she is respectful towards both her father and elder brother and shows much love towards them. Leartes asks her to keep in touch with him once he has left for Paris, she replies by saying ‘do you doubt that?’ This shows her love for her brother, as she has no doubt in her mind that she will stay in touch with him. In act 1 scene 3, both Laertes and Polonius advise Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet, as the love he declares for her is not true and being obedient she replies by saying “I shall th’effect keep watchman to my heart”. Polonius warns her of the intentions of Hamlet not being dignified and that instead of carrying on her liaison with him she should take on the role of dignified young woman. Polonius then advises her against any form of relationship with Hamlet due to his disreputable motives. However she does try to convince Polonius that Hamlet’s love for her is more than a mere act of lust but of true love, she says the love they share is honourable and is nothing to be frowned upon, “my lord, he hath importuned me with love in honourable fashion.” After this comment she fails to defend her relationship with Hamlet and appears to become subservient to her fathers orders and eventually replies to him “ I shall obey my lord.” This interpretation of Ophelia supports Mary Salter’s view of Ophelia’s passive nature and that her relationship is of an innocent and honourable fashion, a relationship not of a sexual nature but one of the bond of love.
To counter this interpretation of Ophelia we see the contrasting view that she is sexually aware. Rebecca west interprets Ophelia as being sexually active and not as passive as she may portray herself to be. When reading Act 1, Scene 3, we see this when she retaliates to Laertes assertions about her relationship with Hamlet by saying, “Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, While, Himself the primrose path of dalliance.” This show shows that she is not as submissive as some critics may suggest, as she clearly defies that assertion by questioning her brother’s own integrity. It also shows her strength of character, as it would take some valour to question her elder brother. The metaphor she uses and the comfort with which she uses it also suggests her sexual knowledge, which supports the idea that her relationship with Hamlet is of a sexual nature.
It would be cynical to believe Ophelia was an innocent and chaste young woman, these interpretations take all that Ophelia says and does in Hamlet at face value and fail to realise the deeper meanings of what is being said by Shakespeare.
The actress Francis Barber played Ophelia in a stage version of the play in 1984. Barber initially “had a fairly traditional view of Ophelia” but to make the character her “own”, she searched for a “hidden” trait within the text that would distinguish her portrayal from any previous actress’s. However Barber pursuit to find that “hidden characteristic” was soon neglected and instead she chose to portray her as acutely intelligent and highly perceptive”. Barber’s Ophelia disregards her father’s counsel and comes across as more argumentative than Mary Salter would suggest. Barbers portrayal was an alternative to previous depictions of the character, in that she was not sexually active nor was she naïve and passive.
In recent productions of hamlet, notably Brannagh’s film, Ophelia is portrayed as a complete contrast to the pre-Raphaelic image. Brannagh’s interpretation throws out any notion of Ophelia being a virginal young lady, as we see erotic flashbacks of her and Hamlet, during her conversation Laertes and Polonius. She is portrayed as being a victim of the patriarchal society she lives in, her sexuality is suppressed and she also suffers psychologically, as we see when she loses sanity. Ophelia is also given more of a role in recent productions such as in the Ethan Hawke, Mel Gibson and Brannagh productions. As women now play a more pivotal role in society, it has become easier giving them larger more significant portrayals, as would not have been the case in the Shakespearean era. Directors can now afford a more in depth characterisation of Ophelia instead of just using her as a device to build the bigger picture.
Each portrayal of Ophelia closely relates to the view of women in society at that particular time. These depiction stretch from the 17th century to present day and during that time period there have been many differing views of Ophelia’s character traits. Productions before the 20th century depict Ophelia as being the passive, naïve and sexually inexperienced woman that the sir John Millias’ pre Raphealite image represents. Elaine Showalter supports the view that women were seen as being innocent and having little status in society and were merely objects for male lust, she says that this is why Ophelia was portrayed in this light during that period. The change in portrayal happened post feminist movement, after which woman were seen to be of equal standing with men in society. Showalter states that the fact that attitudes towards woman have changed has allowed for an intelligent and sexually knowledgeable Ophelia to be portrayed. The most notable example being Kate Winslet’s portrayal in the Brannagh production.
Also, the fact that Shakespeare did not add any stage directions to the play helps the director portray the protagonists in the light they see fit. This has granted directors the licence to portray Ophelia as either virginal or sexually knowledgeable. Brannagh uses the device of flashbacks to perfectly show his audience that he sees Ophelia as being less than innocent and that she and Hamlet have previously been sexually active. He does this without taking anything away from the script and gets his point across using a dialogue-less scene. However in the most recent silver screen version of Hamlet directed by Michael Almereyda, Ophelia is portrayed as being virginal and innocent as no sexual references appear during the film. This shows how different the character of Ophelia can b portrayed, almost as they were two separate individuals. The lack of stage directions not only makes it simpler for directors to portray her the way they want, but also for the audience, as they don’t have to decide whether she was innocent or not for themselves, but have it done for them.
The third interpretation of Ophelia is that if her being sexually active. The scenes in which she goes mad strongly suggest her sexual knowledge comes from her own experiences with Hamlet, as she acts in a sexual manner. The songs she sings during her madness are also of a sexual nature, which further points to her being sexually active. There is evidence of sexual activity in Branagh’s production, during the previously mentioned flashback scenes. Richard Corum also supports the view that she was sexually active, however Shakespeare never states whether she was a virgin or not
Her conversation with Hamlet in act3 scene2 strongly suggest that she and hamlet have had sexual relations, “you are keen, my lord, you are keen”. The keenness may be that of his sexual lust and she teases him by pointing it out. However much this may point towards the idea that they both have had sexual relations, Shakespeare still never specifically says whether she is a virgin or not.
Richard Corum investigates the symbolism and significance of the “flowers, herbs and willows, ” that Ophelia talks off in chapter nine. Corum implies that through the flower imagery that Ophelia uses, it is undoubtedly obvious that she is not innocent. The flowers symbolize Ophelia’s wishes to regain her lost purity and to once again become an ‘innocent flower’. The “fennel” that is mentioned represents the “fickleness of love”. Folklore of the time also suggests that fennel and rue were “abortion-inducing agents”. The willow which Ophelia was holding when she was found dead, was also thought to hold the same properties, which means that Ophelia attempted to abort a pregnancy before the died. Furthermore, the term “flowers” was used at the time as a term for menstruation, which suggests that Ophelia’s “interest in rosemary” was a way of her trying to tell herself that her menstruation cycle continued as is normal, meaning she was trying to convincer herself that she was not pregnant. Corum also states that rue supposedly made men impotent and that in handing it to Hamlet, Ophelia was trying to prevent a “situation that is now perhaps unpreventable”
Corum’s examination of the flowers in Act 4, Scene 5, seems to be viable. This is mainly due to his study being based on folklore that existed in Shakespearean times. The ideas themselves are plausible as they clearly fit into the character of Ophelia and can be related credibly to her apparent affair with Hamlet. Instead of outright stating Ophelia’s sexual knowledge Shakespeare uses this symbolism and imagery as subtle undertones to incorporate the idea of her sexual exploits.
Shakespeare has always had strong-minded female protagonists in his plays, which means that the assertion that Ophelia is a character of considerable aptitude is not a new phenomenon. Lady Macbeth for example is the driving force behind her husband’s ambition and influenced him to kill the king. Juliet is another astute and determined character despite her young age, her character proves that women can challenge the authority of the men, as she does with her father by marrying Romeo. Taking the conception of Ophelia being a strong minded and autonomous character would by no means be extreme, as the examples I have given surely provide enough evidence that Shakespeare has presented female characters as being of a significant standing.
