Ophelia's Suicide Research Paper

Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows many causes of teen suicide, all the way from the loss of a parent or family member to depression caused by the rejection of another. All of these aspects seem to have directly impacted one of the leading ladies in the tale Hamlet’s love interest, Ophelia. Through her father’s murder and Hamlet’s rejection of her love, Ophelia spiraled into a whirlwind of confusion and misguidance, in return throwing her into a state of madness. Through episodes of mindless singing and explaining the meaning behind violets and pansies, Ophelia’s mind deteriorates faster and faster until there’s nothing left. Then, she essentially commits suicide. The feelings of loneliness and abandonment she felt along her journey to death are what

She was very obedient towards her father and brother, assuming she doesn’t have a female figure/role model to guide her. She must’ve spent the majority of her life being told what to do and what not to do by her family, so she became accustomed to pleasing others and being told how to live her life. So, when she loses bother her father and Hamlet’s love, she is left ungrounded (Lester). Without having a dependent person telling her what to do, she is left alone, like a boat drifting without an anchor. Her feelings of loss and depression translate

Teens are ridiculed and taunted quite commonly through early life all the way to adolescence, similarly to how Ophelia is bullied into certain situations, and is pressured to do what others wish for her to do. Her father accuses her of being a whore, and her brother tells her that she will never be anything more than a “plaything” to Hamlet. Hamlet tells her to join a nunnery out of the rage he feels towards his mother. She is even described as mermaid-like as she drowned in the river; “mermaid” was a slang term for a prostitute (Lester). Considering Ophelia is a very incomplete character (Briggs), she accepts all of the criticisms placed upon her and doesn’t express any rejection to their