To What Extent Did Hamlet Really Love Ophelia

In William Shakespeare’s play, many people wonder whether or not Hamlet really did love Ophelia. There is said to be much evidence arguing that Hamlet never loved her and that he was just using her for his own intentions, but there is even more evidence refuting that argument. By the way he acts around Ophelia when he is alone with her, he seemed to show that his love for her was real.

One piece of evidence showing that Hamlet really did love Ophelia is when he told her, “I did love you”. Hamlet confessed that he loved her, but then goes on to say that he never loved her. This could be because Hamlet knows his conversation with Ophelia was always being watched. There evidence to this was when Hamlet immediately asks Ophelia after they are

One line Hamlet writes her is “never doubt I love”. He told her that even though everything else around her may not have been true, his love for her was true. I believe that this was the only time before Ophelia’s death that Hamlet revealed his true feelings for her. This could have been because once Ophelia received the letter, she gave it to her father to read. She would tell him of their moments alone together causing him to ask if he was in love with her. Hamlet had so much distrust involved with Polonius, that from that moment on, Hamlet knew he had to begin hiding his love for Ophelia and act mad to protect

One example, he began to reject Ophelia and he would constantly insult her and deny that he loved her. It is so hard to understand Hamlet's true feelings toward Ophelia because of the contradicting ways that he acts. In one of the scenes, Ophelia returns the love letters Hamlet wrote to her rejecting him. He becomes so hurt, he lashes out at her. Hamlet has always seen Ophelia as innocent and virtuous but she is also a woman. Hamlet describes women as "frail" beings whose "love is brief." This may have possibly been the case with only his mother, yet he still applies it to every other woman in his life. So maybe he also doubted her honesty because he did afterall know about her plan with Polonius and Claudius to spy on him and his conversations with the people around him. He isn’t sure of her purity and her love for him. In one scene, he tells her, "get thee to a nunnery." He also began rejecting her and insulting her making it seem as if he didn’t care for her. He also believed that “this evil world” It will corrupt her as it has Gertrude. He does not want her to be a "breeder of sinners. Since he is unsure of her feelings, he can never fully express his to her. So instead, he tells her he "loved her not", contradicting his earlier statement "I loved you once" in order to protect himself. Later he once again continues to flirt with her. He asks her if he may