Lear shows poor judgment when he banishes his favorite daughter and leaves her without a dowry. His two other daughters, Goneril and Regan knew of their father?s weak point, and they worked it to their own advantage. This way, Lear was satisfied at hearing what he wanted and at being flattered by his own daughters. But he also puts upon his daughters the responsibility for his happiness, and thus he will blame them when he?s unhappy. We see this in Scene 3 when Goneril is unhappy with her father.
It is seen that women in the Elizabethan era do not have a much free will and the women depend on men for telling them how they should act. Hamlet reacts to Ophelia’s betrayal by mentioning that, “Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell” (3.1.127-130). Ophelia is losing Hamlet’s trust due to her dependency on Polonius and Claudius when she shares Hamlet’s private love letters with Polonius and obeying his advice to stay away from Hamlet.
If Laertes was so concerned with her well being when she was in love with Hamlet then why didn't Laertes show concern with her life and protect her during her weak point of her life? I do believe that Laertes truly loved Ophelia and would do anything for her but at the time of her madness he was too concerned with the death of his father to pay attention to Ophelia. Polonius acts toward Ophelia with dispise and disgust. Polonius uses her as a tool to become closer and get on Claudius' good side. Polonius cares nothing for Ophelia: she is considered as a pawn in a chess game only to protect the king, Polonius.
He used the word "beautified" to display a sincere tribute, and it is apparent he still loves her. His attempts to win her affection are not triumphant. Ophelia is still too much under the influence of her father to question his wisdom or authority, and she has no mind of her own to understand how much she has made her lover suffer. No matter how much it pained her to not see Hamlet, all she could see in his present behavior is the madness that terrified her.
Hamlet - the Character of Ophelia Ophelia is in love with Hamlet, but like so many women, she is at the beck and call of her family first and foremost. Ophelia is not unintelligent, she is simply weak-willed. She doesn't know what she wants, so she lets other people decide for her, namely her father and brother. Hamlet's love letters are at odds with her father's wishes, and, because she is not able to form individual thoughts and opinions, she becomes confused as to what she really wants. Ophelia's weakness of mind and will, which catalyzes her obedience to her father and thus destroys her hope for Hamlet's love, finally results in her insanity and eventual death.
The need for Gertrude to send spies to find out her son's mentally shows further strain in the relationship. In act III scene iv, he shows Gertrude disrespect by threatening her and insulting her. On the mother's part, she mistrusts her son and thinks he's treacherous and insane. Finally, in act V scene v, the mother realizes that her son is right all along and calls out to him with love before she dies. Unfortunately, throughout the loops and turns, the sweet moment does not last as both fall to death.
This demonstration of obedience is juxtaposed by Hamlets line ‘I shall in all my best obey you, madam '. Although it is equally respectful as shown by the use of the lexical choice ‘maddam ', he does not promise to fulfil his duty to his mother by showing complete compliance. Equally, the lexical choice ‘you ' is used as a second person pronoun which can show that Hamlet does not respect Claudius ' as he is unwilling to follow his instructions. Shakespeare uses both Laertes ' impulsive character and Ophelia 's emotional side to show Hamlet as a complex character, as much like a coin, he is both impulsive and emotional. This is the cause of his dichotomy as although he wants to act his thoughts refrain him from taking
Although she too is insulted by Hamlet because of her femininity (“get thee to a nunnery, why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” (3.1.313-314)), she is a weak character because of her family structure (a brother and a father) and the men in her life. Hamlet and Polonius have such a significant power on her character and her life that her death is the very result of these two men. Shakespeare makes Ophelia an unfortunate character, whose demise comes from actually obeying her father’s wishes. Furthermore, while Hamlet is sexist towards his mother, Gertrude either intentionally or mistakenly saves her son’s life by drinking from the poisoned pearl cup. She goes against her husband’s warning, “Gertrude, do not drink / I will I beg you pardon me,” (5.2.287-88) and for the first time in the play, gains confidence to act according to her own will.
This allowed her to only accept her father’s views that Hamlet’s attention towards her was only to take advantage of her and to obey her father’s orders not to permit Hamlet to see her again. Hamlet has the disillusion that women are frail after his mother’s rushed remarriage as shown by “Frailty, thy name is woman!” He also believes women do not have the power to reason. (“O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason.”) Ophelia has the power to change his view but her unexplained rejection of him only adds to Hamlet’s disillusion. The ghost’s revelation that Gertrude dishonored Hamlet’s father but also their marriage by the adultery with Claudius is contemplated by Hamlet until he goes into Ophelia’s room to look upon her. As Hamlet searches Ophelia’s face for some sign that might restore his faith in her, he instead believes her face shows guilt and thinks she is another false Gertrude.
This is because in their first meeting Elizabeth's pride is wounded by Darcy as he says She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me, and I am in no humour to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.' This thoughtless and proud comment causes Elizabeth to take an instant dislike to Darcy. It also clouds her judgement of Darcy's true nature. After everyone has left for Rosings, Elizabeth is still fuming from the news that Darcy was the cause of Jane and Bingley's break up. Elizabeth is then startled by the arrival of Darcy.