Ophelia's Avoidant Personality Disorder Analysis

Throughout history, legends of monsters and devils have captured the imagination of societies, the supernatural stories evoking both hatred and intrigue. Despite the many horrific creations that have developed, the most haunting monsters are the ones seen within mankind itself. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, he creates an abundance of characters with varying personal disorders and issues. Throughout the entirety of the play, the character Ophelia’s Avoidant Personality Disorder influences her actions and thoughts more and more until she ultimately drives herself to the brink of madness. Not only does Shakespeare uncover the many factors affecting the characters, but he also humanizes many of the symptoms of madness, creating a

In particular, the “tenders of his affection” leave Ophelia feeling insecure about Hamlet’s intentions, and the meaning behind everything he does and says to her (1.3.108). During her time of insecurity, Ophelia remains within her circle of familiarity: her father and her brother. She counsels both of them in hopes of receiving a better understanding of her situation and how she should react, and she takes Polonius’s advice to pretend that she does not love him so she can analyze whether he truly loves her or not by his reaction. Upon their next interaction, Ophelia was unsure of the meaning, but she “truly [did] fear” it was rejection (2.1.97). She worries that given her father’s advice, the risk of losing Hamlet is too great, and she does not want to do anything that could sabotage their potential relationship. In the first two acts, the symptoms of Ophelia’s Avoidant Personality Disorder are slight and barely noticeable, yet it has already begun to affect how she acts and reacts in situations regarding Hamlet. Thus far, Hamlet’s communication contains no real substance, thus Ophelia acts solely on the fear of what Hamlet might or might not do or feel for

Hamlet’s previous actions leave Ophelia feeling dazed and confused regarding where he stands. The next time they speak, Hamlet denounces her and declares his undying hatred towards her, demanding she “go [her] ways to a nunnery” and claiming women make “monsters” out of men in marriage (3.1. 140-150). After this encounter, Ophelia no longer wonders whether he truly loves her, and she amplifies his dismissal to the point that she proclaims that she has lived through horrors “to have seen what [she has] seen, see what [she sees]” (3.1.175). She believes that the lack of Hamlet’s affection makes her the “most deject and wretched”, when in reality, her worth never changed (3.1.169). Ophelia experiences a minor problem, and her brain blows it out of proportion, convincing herself to believe she has sunk beyond recovery, exaggerating the problem at hand. Shortly after this dramatic encounter, they meet again, this time in the company of many. Hamlet, disregarding the audience, makes degrading remarks toward Ophelia, verbally attacking her whenever she simply tries to be courteous. Hamlet entirely disregards her discomfort, a typical symptom of her disorder in social settings. In her final attempt to be civil, she remarks that the prologue of the play “‘tis brief”, where Hamlet retorts “as woman’s love”, an immature,