In Shakespeare 's tragic play Hamlet, Ophelia is seen as an under-developed character that is defined by her relationship to men and lack of mother in her life. There are some things a father woould not ever be able to help his daughter with and thats what polonius and ophelia went through. Not only did sh ehave to go through pressure with her father but with society as a whole. Ophelia has limited options as a woman in a patriarchal society and this is what separates her from Hamlet, who has the freedom to change his own fate. Ophelia needs to be obedient and is not allowed to express herself and her true feelings. What happens in her life is determined by the whims of the men who control her. She is obedient to her father and brother and …show more content…
What is Super Girl Syndrome? Well, over the last few years, teenage girls have been under constant pressure from both the media and their peers to look the very best they can, to have an optimum weight, and to also obtain the best academic results possible. To be completely honest this not something that girls enjoy at all. For instance, Lakshmi Chaudhry said the same thing in her web story, But as it turns out, all this adulation doesn’t seem to be making the girls themselves very happy. Sure, the “amazing” students like Colby Kennedy featured in an April 1 New York Times article (“a great student, a classical pianist, fluent in Spanish, and a three-season varsity runner and track captain”) may claim to be “living up to my own expectations,” but the supergirl ideal is not quite so liberating for most young women. (The Super Girl Syndrome. Lakshmi Chaudhry, web). With Super Girl Syndrome Ophelia would be pressured to everything she most likely is not. She would base her life on her failure towards men which will eat her inside and most likely make her committ suicide considering how simple adn weak minded she already was. She will feel like she has to be everything a man wants and of every approval known to man. Such as Chaudry said when she detailed about her translation of a mother 's …show more content…
Therefore, she would be faced with low determination and being so weak minded that she wants to give up all the time. Even though all the aspects from Lakshmi Chaudhry 's web page article are negative, this one detail will be something that Ophelia needs, Martin argues that young women from the ages of 9 to 29 have internalized the go-girl rhetoric of feminine achievement as a duty to excel. “[My mother] told me, ‘You can be anything you want to be.’ (The Super Girl Syndrome. Lakshmi Chaudhry, web). Even though this wasn 't what Chaudhry was going for in her explanation for using this detail, but this is something Ophelia would need in her lufe if she were living today; A mother to encourage and inspire
The upper middle-class parents believe in teaching their daughters to be competitive, so they can build their leadership skills. As young girls they want to teach their daughters to look at the bigger picture, not just wanting them to look pretty and get there way around with basic job skills; they want them to go climb the ladder and exceed to higher levels. They do not want their daughter to be defined as “girly girls.” I Personally agree with Sheryl Sandberg because she experienced teaching her own daughter, “unprecedented set of educational and professional opportunities.”
Orenstein explores the rise of Girl Power in the 1990s and the differences that are in today’s society. The rise and fast spreading message that girls receive from the Disney Princesses is one of her biggest issues. Not only does she disagree, but other mothers from Daisy’s preschool do as well. In the second chapter Orenstein invites all the mothers with daughters that are obsessed with Princesses to discuss the subject, one mother states that she sees no problem with encouraging being feminine and then states, “On the other hand, I a...
Mary Pipher, author of the book Reviving Ophelia, has made many observations concerning young adolescent girls in our society. She wrote this book in 1994, roughly eleven years ago. Although some of her observations made in the past are not still accurate in today’s world, there are many that are still present in 2005. The primary focus of Pipher’s comments is to explain how young girls are no longer being protected within our society.
Ophelia is portrayed as a sensitive, fragile woman. Easily overpowered and controlled by her brother and father, Ophelia is destined to be weak. Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, warns and pushes Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet and is further supported by their father Polonius. “Polonius enters and adds his warning to those of Laertes. He orders Ophelia not to spend time with Hamlet or even talk to him. Ophelia promises to obey” (“Hamlet” 95). Ophelia’s obedience to her father’s directions prove the side she
Ophelia’s personality explains the importunity weak individuals fall into. Shakespeare indirectly portrays Ophelia as a vulnerable character; Thomas G. Plummer imposes a connection to an Ophelia Syndrome that everyone lives through. Thus, learning to think for yourself and build a road to individuation is an important self empowerment skill. Do you think if Ophelia had a stronger personality and had the guts to stand up for her rights the play would have ended in a different way?
By not speaking anything, Hamlet at once strengthens his image as a madman, as well as shrouding his real intentions towards those around him. Just following this passage comes a place in the text where we can see how the character of Ophelia has been manipulated by Polonius. After his "hint" that he might be doing this out of frustrated love, Ophelia says that that is what she truly does fear. (87) Her feelings of pity and concern are shaped by her father in order to fit his case of madness against Hamlet.
In conclusion, Mary Pipher’s main point in writing “Reviving Ophelia” is to reveal how adolescent girls are being neglected and overlooked. We must be willing to look beyond the surface, become involved, and support girls as they develop physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. We must strive for something better for our teens. We cannot keep labeling our “daughters and sisters”, instead we have got to give them a path that leads to self-esteem. The media will give the public what they are search for. Right now that has been women roles that are lessened and more sexualized for the pleasures of men.
People have mostly seen women inferior to men because women have been thought of as simple-minded and could not take care of themselves. Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows how men treated and thought of women during the 1500s. There was an order most did not interfere with; however, some did. In the 1500s, women were supposed to conform to men’s wishes. Throughout the play, Ophelia first obeyed her father and brother’s wishes, ignored the social norms later, and then went mad, which caused her to never gain her own identity.
Throughout the book, Ophelia never deviated from herself. All women of this time period had few choices in life. They were the maids of the home and the bearers of children. Forced to look up to men, this was their lifestyle. Ophelia was just like these other women. She spoke when she was spoken to, took orders and obeyed them fully, and always stayed loyal to herself and her family. When
In Act I Scene IV, Ophelia starts to talk to her father about the growing relationship between herself and Hamlet. Although she believes it is real, her father does not think so since he is a prince and tells her she is not allowed to see him anymore. She is unable to express herself or her feelings for others if it does not follow her father’s standards. In Act III Scene I, after Hamlet started becoming distracted and no one knew what was wrong with him, Ophelia was sent to find out information from him. No matter how much she loves Hamlet she will betray him to follow her father’s orders. In Act III Scene II, there is a play put on for the royal family and guests. Hamlet teases her and asks her if he should lay in her lap and then continues to tell her to go to a nunnery she cannot do anything about it. The only way she can keep her reputation and her father’s honor intact is by ignoring it and acting like it means nothing to
It is evident that Hamlet defines Ophelia by her sexuality. Hamlet does not value her as the woman she is. Instead, Hamlet views her as a mere object. Hamlet makes various sexual innuendos towards Ophelia. For example, this is apparent in 2.3, when Hamlet is speaking to Ophelia. Hamlet says, “It would cost you a groaning to take off mine edge” (3.2.250). Hamlet is making this regard to her in public and Ophelia lets him continue. Ophelia because of her gender continues to let Hamlet exploit and oppress her. Ophelia embodies a mutual assessment of femininity. Author Pragati Das writes, “Ophelia, it would seem, wholly at the mercy of the male figures throughout her life, is certainly a victim character” (Das 38). Ophelia does not have any alternative thoughts; she only responds with a simple sentence, “Still better and worse” (3.2.251). Ophelia is not standing up for herself, instead of she “…expresses acquiescence, uncertainty, and obeisance; she utters half lines” (Fischer 2). The power of Hamlet is manipulating Ophelia and it this shown through from her dull reaction of such crudities. Hamlet sums his vulgar and suggestive speech with, “For, oh, for, oh, the hobby-horse is forgot” (3.2.23–24). After Hamlet’s pressures of sexual suggestions, Ophelia is found to be under the absolute dominance of Hamlet’s demands, and as a result, her sanity diminishes. Ophelia’s song reflects on Hamlet, her father, and life
In Elizabethan times, Ophelia is restricted as a woman. She is obedient to the commands of the men in her life although she often attempts to do the right thing. Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet all have a grasp on Ophelia and who she is. She does not have the freedom to change her fate as Hamlet does. Shawna Maki states, “Ophelia’s life is determined by the whims of men who control her” (1). Polonius takes advantage of his relationship with Ophelia by using her to achieve a better relationship with Claudius. Polonius and Laertes teach Ophelia how to behave, therefore, abusing their power in allowing Ophelia to become who she wants to be (Brown 2).
Women have been in movies since they first started playing on the big screen, they have played an assortment of roles, the damsel in distress, the first one to die, the poor scullery maid who ends up a princess, the evil witch, etc. While some of the roles have shed bad light on women, for example being a femme fatale, other movies have set positive examples for the future generations. As time has changed, the Disney princesses have evolved with it, each princess becoming more outspoken and independent, influencing the young women of today to want to grow up to be just like them, “They enact a shift from the "princesses" of ballet to the "heroes" of sport. Heroism, egalitarianism and autonomy are slipped into the conventions of Disney princesshood” (Do Rozario, R.,C., 2004, para. 34). In Mulan the movie, Mulan saves her father by disobeying him, and taking his place in the war by doing that she ended up saving her whole country. Disney isn’t telling young women to disobey their parents; they’re showing them that while you may be a girl, you can be brave and succeed.
Despite Ophelia’s weak will, the male characters respond dramatically to her actions, proving that women indeed have a large impact in Hamlet. Her obedience is actually her downfall, because it allows the male characters to control and use her in their schemes. Ophelia’s betrayal ends up putting Hamlet over the edge, motivating him in his quest for revenge. Ophelia is one of the two women in the play. As the daughter of Polonius, she only speaks in the company of several men, or directly to her brother or father. Since we never see her interactions with women, she suppresses her own thoughts in order to please her superiors. Yet however weak and dependent her character is on the surface, Ophelia is a cornerstone to the play’s progression. One way that her manipulation is key to Hamlet’s plot is when Polonius orders her “in plain terms, from this time forth/ Have you so slander any moment leisure/As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet,” (1.3.131-133). She complies with his wishes, agreeing to return any tokens of Hamlet’s love to him, verify t...
The women deserve their fate because of their inability to be independent. Polonius instructs Ophelia to be aware of her shallow emotions and to display herself as more valuable by not responding to Hamlets every command. When Polonius says,