Ophelia

Ophelia in Hamlet

Ophelia’s beauty is emphasised throughout the play. Gertrude says that her “good beauties” are the cause of Hamlet’s “wildness” and that her “virtues” will eventually restore him to health.

Ophelia is dominated by men

Ophelia seems to be dominated by the three men in her life – brother, father and lover – and by a society which denies women freedom of choice in love and marriage.
Her brother, Laertes, insists that she “fear” Hamlet’s advances and instructs her to keep herself “chaste” to protect her “honour”. Her father, Polonius, infantilizes Ophelia, mocking her inexperience in dealings of love as “a green girl” and telling her to “think yourself a baby”.

Ophelia is treated as a commodity

Her love is treated as a commodity, something to be bought and sold, by both brother and father.
Laertes warns her to protect her “treasure” while Polonius urges her to ‘sell’ herself “at a higher rate”.
But Polonius and Laertes are simply following the expectations of a society which saw marriage as a means of material advancement.

Ophelia's lack of voice

Like Gertrude, Ophelia is only given 4% of the lines in the play. But, far more so than Gertrude, she is portrayed as someone who is spoken to, rather than someone who is listened to.
There is a terrible irony in her finally finding a distinctive, individual voice in a song she sings in her state of distress and madness – the fragmented lines of a fragmented mind.

How should Ophelia be played?

Each production of Hamlet, and each actress playing Ophelia, must decide whether to hint at some irony or defiance in her early exchanges with Laertes and Polonius - as if she resists or even mocks their advice - or to play her as a passive figure who meekly obeys her (male) superiors: “I shall obey, my lord”.

Ophelia as a passive figure

Ophelia is presented as an almost entirely passive figure who, “affrighted” by Hamlet’s visit to her in a state of distress, readily agrees to be used by her father and the King as they try to determine the cause of Hamlet’s “lunacy”.
Critics such as John Dover Wilson have argued that Ophelia’s willingness to participate in the performance directed by her father (in which she returns Hamlet’s love letters) is one of the root causes of Hamlet’s anger towards her.

Ophelia in Hamlet

Hamlet’s behaviour towards Ophelia is savage (described by the 18th century writer, Dr Johnson, as “wanton cruelty”).

Hamlet's disgust at his mother

Hamlet's behaviour at least partly stems from his disgust at his mother’s incestuous sexual desire for his uncle, which poisons his whole attitude towards women and their sexuality.
Hamlet’s exhortations to Ophelia to get to a “nunnery” in case she becomes a “breeder of sinners” shows how he links Ophelia (and womankind as a whole) to his mother’s sin. The fact that “nunnery” also carries connotations of a brothel also suggests that he sees Ophelia, like his mother, as someone already corrupted.

Ophelia's songs in Act 4

Hamlet’s disgust at Ophelia’s sexuality is perhaps reflected in the mad-songs she sings in Act 4, some of which portray women as victims of men’s sexual advances.
In the lines, “Quoth she, ‘Before you tumbled me / You promised me to wed’”, Ophelia laments a young woman’s sexual exploitation by a lover who has promised marriage only as a means of having sex. This song fragment may again show Ophelia subconsciously processing feelings of shame caused by Hamlet’s sexual innuendo.

Ophelia's view of Hamlet

Ophelia is unable to comprehend Hamlet’s behaviour. This perhaps lends support to Polonius’ opinion of her being “green” (immature and naïve).
She can only understand it as madness.
- Some critics have judged her inability to understand Hamlet harshly. But it can also be argued that Shakespeare leaves her a rather undeveloped character.

Reasons for Ophelia's madness

Ophelia’s retreat into madness most probably comes from her grief at her father’s murder at Hamlet’s hands, the disrespect with which Hamlet treats the dead body and the severity of Hamlet’s anger towards her.
However, some critics have interpreted Ophelia’s madness as an eventual act of rebellion against a patriarchal society which denies her an authentic, independent voice with which to express her thoughts, feelings and sexuality.

The cause of Ophelia's death

The extent to which Ophelia’s passivity contributes to her own death is also a point of debate.
The limited funeral rites she receives suggests people suspected that Ophelia allowed herself to be pulled under by the weight of her garments and was, therefore, at least partly a suicide.
Her lack of struggle can be interpreted as a deliberate act of self-destruction.

1Introduction

1.1Introduction & Background to Hamlet

1.1.1Introduction to Hamlet

1.1.2The Literary Tradition of the Hamlet Story

1.1.3Introduction to the Settings in Hamlet

1.1.4Introduction to Social Issues Raised

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas

2.1.1Act 1, Scene 1

2.1.2Act 1, Scene 2

2.1.3Act 1, Scene 3

2.1.4Act 1, Scenes 4-5

2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas

2.2.1Act 2, Scene 1

2.2.2Act 2, Scene 2

2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas

2.3.1Act 3, Scene 1: Key Events

2.3.2Act 3, Scene 1: Key Ideas

2.3.3Act 3, Scene 2

2.3.4Act 3, Scene 3

2.3.5Act 3, Scene 4

2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas

2.4.1Act 4, Scene 1

2.4.2Act 4, Scenes 2-3

2.4.3Act 4, Scene 4

2.4.4Act 4, Scene 5: Key Events

2.4.5Act 4, Scene 5: Key Ideas

2.4.6Act 4, Scene 6

2.4.7Act 4, Scene 7

2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas

2.5.1Act 5, Scene 1: Key Events

2.5.2Act 5, Scene 2: Key Events

2.5.3Act 5, Scene 2: Key Ideas

3Character Profiles

3.1Hamlet

3.1.1Hamlet's Speech & Mind

3.1.2Hamlet's Heroic Status

3.1.3Hamlet's State of Mind

3.1.4Hamlet's Indecision/Action Taking

3.2Claudius

3.2.1Claudius' Crime

3.2.2Changing Impressions of Claudius

3.3Gertrude

3.3.1Mystery & Hamlet's View of Gertrude

3.3.2Gertrude's Character

3.3.3Gertrude's Relationship with Hamlet

3.4Ophelia

3.4.1Ophelia

3.5Polonius

3.5.1Portrayal of Polonius & Treatment of Ophelia

3.5.2Polonius' Spying & Death

3.6Laertes

3.6.1Laertes' Popularity & Relationship with Ophelia

3.6.2Laertes' Character Traits

4Key Themes

4.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.1.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.2Madness in Hamlet

4.2.1Madness in Hamlet

4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet

4.3.1Guilt in Hamlet

4.3.2Punishment in Hamlet

4.4Settings in Hamlet

4.4.1Physical Settings & Historical Setting of Hamlet

5Writing Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure of Hamlet

5.1.2'Play Within a Play' Structure

5.1.3Play-Acting Motif

5.2Form

5.2.1Soliloquy

5.2.2Comedy

5.3Imagery

5.3.1Imagery of Corruption & Decay

5.3.2Imagery: Healing, Performance & Costume

5.4Language

5.4.1Word Usage & Hendiadys

5.4.2Questions & Classical Allusions

6Context

6.1Social & Historical Context

6.1.1Elizabeth I & Succession

6.1.2Cosmic & Social Hierarchy

6.1.3Renaissance & Emergence of Humanism

6.1.4Regicide

6.1.5The Reformation

6.2Literary Context

6.2.1Seneca Tragedy

6.2.2The Revenge Tragedy

6.3Performance & Textual History

6.3.1Performance History of Hamlet

6.3.2Textual History of Hamlet

7Critical Debates

7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.1.1Introduction to Critical Debates

7.1.218th Century Commentary on Hamlet

7.1.3Romantic Commentary on Hamlet

7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.2.1Freudian Response to Hamlet

7.2.2Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.1Introduction to Feminist Criticism

7.3.2Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.3Presentation of Ophelia

7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet

7.4.1Introduction to Marxist Criticisms

7.4.2Marxist Readings of Hamlet

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