The Character of Ophelia
In Shakespeare’s tragedies, the characters all have flaws that eventually lead to
their undoing. In the play Hamlet, the character of Ophelia is ultimately killed by her flaw.
It is apparent that Ophelia is an obedient person but, upon closer inspection, the audience
can see that she is not merely obedient. Ophelia’s thoughts and actions go beyond
obedience to show that she is a weak and entirely dependent character. Nothing that she
says or does is a representation of herself but mostly that of her father.
Ophelia’s cruel actions towards Hamlet, which go against her feelings for him,
demonstrate her obedience to her father. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia tells her
father that she likes Hamlet but her later actions sacrifice these personal feelings under the
order of her father. She does as her father says regardless of how it could affect her own
life. In particular, Ophelia agrees not to see Hamlet anymore after the request from her
father: “I shall obey, my lord...”(act 1, scene 4). Ophelia’s actions show that Polonius has
complete control over her because she sacrifices her personal feelings to please him.
Ophelia’s obedience goes deeper than her trying to please her father and shows
what a weak character she is. When Hamlet harasses her and tells her to go to a nunnery
where she can no longer harm anyone, she does not try to defend herself. Instead, she just
feels sorry for herself. Ophelia could not su...
King, and play's homewrecker with Ophelia & Hamlet, at one point Polonius says to Ophelia, "
Ophelia in the fourth act of Hamlet is demonstrably insane, but the direct cause of her slipped sanity is something that remains debatable, Shakespeare uses the character Ophelia to demonstrate how women during this time were unable to break away from social norms. While it is evident that Ophelia is grieving over the death of her father, Polonius, as Horatio says of her “She speaks much of her father, says she hears / There’s tricks in the world, and hems, and beats her heart” (4.5.4-5), as lines from one of her many “songs” points towards grieving over an aged relative, “His beard as white as snow / All flaxen was his poll” with flaxen indicating a white or grayed head of hair (4.5.190-191).
The name Ophelia has been most commonly associated with William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, where she is referred to as the title character's mad lover. She is believed to have killed herself out of madness by drowning herself in a river. Interpretations about Ophelia's character have ranged from being a woman who lost her sanity upon her father, Polonius' death to being the object of hatred by Hamlet. However, despite her supporting character in the play, her personality has roused numerous criticisms and interpretations from philosophers and critics. This is probably due to the fact that her role in the play is more of a descriptive character rather than a speaking one. There are also various symbolisms towards the current society such as gender issues which her character represents. The character of Ophelia portrays relevant symbolisms to the feminine history which is continuously open to different interpretations from the sixteenth century up to this present day. Ophelia's character embodies the intrinsic sexual struggle that women in her time have commonly encountered.
Melancholy, grief, and madness pervade Shakespeare's great tragedy, Hamlet. The emotional maladies presented within Hamlet, not only allow the audience to sympathize with prince Hamlet, but also with the tragic lady Ophelia as well. It is Ophelia who suffers at her lover's discretion because of decisions she was obligated to make on behalf of her weak societal position.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is the most static character in the play. Instead of changing through the course of the play, she remains suffering in the misfortunes perpetrated upon her. She falls into insanity and dies a tragic death. Ophelia has issues surviving without a male influence, and her downfall is when all the men in her life abandon her. Hamlet’s Ophelia, is a tragic, insane character that cannot exist on her own.
as an immoral person. She speaks up for her herself when she knows she is not
In the play Hamlet, Ophelia’s downfall is dependent on love. Being one of the two women in the play, Ophelia lives in a very male dominated society. When the ties are broken between her relationships with the significant men in her life, it breaks Ophelia to
Ophelia to think of him as a wise, moral, and respectable father as shown in the following lines:
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare developed the story of prince Hamlet, and the murder of his father by the king's brother, Claudius. Hamlet reacted to this event with an internal battle that harmed everyone around him. Ophelia was the character most greatly impacted by Hamlet's feigned and real madness - she first lost her father, her sanity, and then her life. Ophelia, obedient, weak-willed, and no feminist role model, deserves the most pity of any character in the play.
It is widely believed that “Living life without honor is a tragedy bigger than death itself” and this holds true for Hamlet’s Ophelia. Ophelia’s death symbolizes a life spent passively tolerating Hamlet’s manipulations and the restrictions imposed by those around her, while struggling to maintain the last shred of her dignity. Ophelia’s apathetic reaction to her drowning suggests that she never had control of her own life, as she was expected to comply with the expectations of others. Allowing the water to consume her without a fight alludes to Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia as merely a device in his personal agenda. Her apparent suicide denotes a desire to take control of her life for once. Ophelia’s death is, arguably, an honorable one, characterized by her willingness to let go of her submissive, earth-bound self and leave the world no longer a victim.
Hamlet’s attachment to his mother is quickly made evident within the first act of the famous tragedy. Hamlet, who sulks around wearing black clothing to mourn the death of his father, first speaks in the play to insult his stepfather. He voices his distaste at his new relationship with his uncle by criticizing that they are, “A little more than kin and less than kind” (I.ii.65). He believes that it...
Ophelia loves Hamlet; her emotions drive her to perform her actions. Some would say that Ophelia’s emotions could have actually been what ended her young
interest of Hamlet, but is driven crazy by Hamlet’s sudden disregard of Ophelia and her feelings.
Another significant female character is Ophelia, Hamlet's love. Hamlet's quest for revenge interferes with his relationship with Ophelia. There is much evidence to show that Hamlet loved her a great deal, but his pretense of madness drove her to her death. Ophelia drowned not knowing what was happening to her. This can be deduced by the fact that she flowed down the river singing and happy when in truth she was heartbroken. Ophelia was very much afraid when she saw Hamlet "with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd, Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). She described him as being "loosed out of hell" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). In addition to that he scared her when he left the room with his eyes still fixed on her. She is especially hurt when Hamlet tells her that he no longer loves her and that he is opposed to marriage. He advises her to go to a nunnery and avoid marriage if she can.