Hamlet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 16th century, has been subject to evaluation for centuries. Each character has been broken down and analyzed. The psychology of each character has been examined. Every relationship has been studied to find more answer surrounding the play. Harold Bloom and Sigmund Freud have examined it extensively. Scholars have dissected all parts of the play. One character that has recently been analyzed more and more is Ophelia. She has been defended by feminists and criticized by many who believed she was mad. In their article and revisions, “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism,” from Shakespeare and the Question of Theory, edited by Patricia Parker and Geoffrey Hartman, the authors, being feminist critics, defend Ophelia and criticize the way she is treated and undermined as a minor character. The role of Ophelia in the play Hamlet is underappreciated and over criticized due to her developed psychosis following her rejection by Hamlet. However, Ophelia’s role is more than just a sexual arousal for Hamlet and psychosis for psychiatrist and specifically male critics to examine.
Scholars and critics throughout history have turned Ophelia into “an insignificant minor character” (Elaine Showalter). She lives in the shadow of Hamlet. Shakespeare has given Hamlet a back story while the reader has no clue what Ophelia’s past is like. Lee Edwards, a feminist critic, “concludes that is impossible to reconstruct Ophelia’s biography from the text: ‘We can imagine character. She is always shown as dependent on men, specifically Hamlet. The reader knows nothing about her, save the pre-play course of her love story with Hamlet is known only by a few a...
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...rtunity to make decisions for herself rather she is subject to the decisions of the men in her life. Ophelia is the representation of women’s’ inferiority to men. Although woman should have equal rights, this is how she is portrayed. In their feministic approach, the writers defend Ophelia and believe her role is underappreciated and undermined as a minor character.
Works Cited
Elaine Showalter (essay date 1985)" Shakespearean CriticismEd. Michelle Lee. Vol. 59. Gale Cengage 2001 eNotes.com 3 Apr, 2014 http://www.enotes.com/topics/hamlet/critical-essays/hamlet-vol-59#critical-essays-hamlet-vol-59-criticism-gender-issues-elaine-showalter-essay-date-1985
Leverenz, David. "The Woman in Hamlet: An Interpersonal View." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 4.2 (1978): 291. Print.
Shakespeare, William, and Harold Jenkins. Hamlet. London: Methuen, 1982. Print.
Pennington, Michael. "Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of "Hamlet": A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.
...She had lost her father and her lover while her brother was away for school, and she was no longer useful as a puppet in a greater scheme. Ophelia was displaced, an Elizabethan woman without the men on whom she had been taught to depend. Therein lies the problem - she lacked independence so much that she could not continue living without Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet. Ophelia's aloneness led to her insanity and death. The form of her death was the only fitting end for her - she drowned in a nearby river, falling beneath the gentle waters. She finally found peace in her mad world. That is how Ophelia is so useful as a classic feminist study - she evokes imagery of the fragile beauty women are expected to become, but shows what happens to women when they submit as such.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is set in the late middle ages, in Denmark. A time in history when women were not respected and thought of as the inferior sex. There are two women characters in Hamlet; Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest. Magda Romanska the writer of “Ontology and Eroticism: Two Bodies Of Ophelia”, argues that Ophelia represents the typical idea of women in the nineteenth century. I agree with this, but argue that it is not the only aspect of Ophelia’s character. Ophelia becomes the bearer of Hamlet’s hatred toward the world, and is also the character of lowest status because she is an average women. Ophelia surrenders herself to the cruelty of those around her, and sacrifices her sanctity to please and conform
The story of Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, is considered to be a perplexing play as the many subplots twist, turn, and unfold. The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is conceivably the most widely discussed topic as countless theories are developed throughout the story. It is a tragedy, of many sorts, that Hamlet and Ophelia are not able to display their love for each other,
Ophelia, who is very static and lacks in dimensionality, does what she is told and does not stand up for herself. She is dominated by the men in her life and eventually falls apart into insanity. One important detail that contributes to her lack of womanly identity is the absence of her mother. Throughout the play, Ophelia’s mother is non-existent and most likely had died giving birth to her. Without that female figure to look up to, the absence of her mother leaves Polonius, her father, her most influential guardian. In Act 1 Scene 3, while Polonius is essentially lecturing Ophelia as opposed to conversing with her, he is not only telling her what to do, but also telling her how to act and be. Although he is speaking to Ophelia, he refers to her as "my daughter," showing ownership and dominance over her. His speech surpasses advice by telling Ophelia what to do rather than suggesting. As Ophelia states, “I do not know, my lord,...
Leverenz, David. 1980. 'The Woman in Hamlet: An Interpersonal View.' In Representing Shakespeare: New Psychoanalytic Essays, edited by Coppelia Kahn and Murray M. Schwarz. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins Press, 110-128.
Culturally, women have been expected to be soft spoken, gentle, delicate flowers. They should not question a man's opinion or go against their will. Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is an example of a young naive girl who faces the dangers that come from only following what others want, and not thinking for herself. The men in this play use her for their own benefit and she suffers the repercussions, which leads her to madness and “accidental” death.
Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing.
Hamlet is one of the most controversial characters from all of the Shakespeare’s play. His character is strong and complicated, but his jealousy is what conduces him to hate women. He sees them as weak, frail, and untrustworthy. He treats Ophelia, the women he loves, unfair and with cruelty. Similarly, he blames his mother for marrying her dead husband’s brother, who is now the King of Denmark. Hamlet’s treatment for women stems from his mother’s impulsive marriage to his uncle who he hates and Ophelia choosing her father’s advice over him.
In Hamlet, one of the many things Shakespeare shows us is how the world can change a person, how certain circumstances can knock a person so out of proportion with who they used to be that they take on a new persona, a new identity. One such character is Ophelia, a young, innocent girl, who, throughout the play is torn between father and lover, accused of not being as innocent as she seems, and finally driven to insanity. In the end, she is driven to suicide, an innocent victim of the world around her.
The story of Hamlet is a morbid tale of tragedy, commitment, and manipulation; this is especially evident within the character of Ophelia. Throughout the play, Ophelia is torn between obeying and following the different commitments that she has to men in her life. She is constantly torn between the choice of obeying the decisions and wishes of her family or that of Hamlet. She is a constant subject of manipulation and brain washing from both her father and brother. Ophelia is not only subject to the torture of others using her for their intentions but she is also susceptible to abuse from Hamlet. Both her father and her brother believe that Hamlet is using her to achieve his own personal goals.
Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, represents a self-confident and aware female character. She analyzes the world around her and recognizes the multitude of male figures attempting to control her life. Her actions display not only this awareness, but also maturity in her non-confrontational discussions. Though she is demeaned by Laertes, Polonius, and Hamlet, Ophelia exhibits intelligence and independence and ultimately resorts to suicide in order to free herself from the power of the men around her.
Hamlet's relationship and actions towards Ophelia are not exempt from his dual personalities. In private, he is deeply devoted to her; but in public, he humiliates and belittles her...
Ophelia is introduced as young and naïve in the beginning of the play. She is a lady for all intents and purposes, but her father
Elaine Showalter defines Ophelia in many typical ways in her essay "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism." She discusses her significance in reference to how she reveals Hamlet's characteristics. Showalter touches upon the idea that Ophelia's character is one that is symbolic of the psychiatric theories of Freud. Showalter also attributes the characterization of Ophelia to not only the audience, but also to the actress that plays the part. Never does she suggest that Ophelia could be just that, "Ophelia." Her entire article is devoted to individual interpretation of the play in its entirety, focusing primarily on Ophelia. Showalter presents her own ideas by bringing together the ideas of many others such as Jacques Lacan, Susan Mountfort, Ellen Terry, and more. Showalter provides suffice evidence in addressing each argument, but in doing so, she never takes into account the possibilities of Shakespeare's reasoning.