Ophelia's Madness Explained
Ophelia’s Madness Explained
Joan Montgomery Byles’s view of Ophelia’s behavior in “Ophelia’s Desperation” and Sandra K. Fischer’s view of Ophelia’s behavior in “Ophelia’s Mad Speeches” contradict each other and present opposing explanations. Byles’s view is that Ophelia is defined by the male roles in her life (i.e. her father, brother, and lover). Fischer’s view is that Ophelia is simply grieving the loss of her father and fails to break the hold of the men in her life. These two analyses present opposing explanations because one author is saying that Ophelia simply cracked because she has lost her father and she just could not handle it and the other is stating that Ophelia went mad and committed suicide because she was tired of just sitting around listening to the men in her life tell her what to do and when; with all that built up anger and aggression Ophelia needed an outlet to diffuse the situation and so she took her anger out on herself and drowned. Looking closer it is obvious that Byles’s view is the more accurate of the two. In Fischer’s “Ophelia’s Mad Speeches” Fischer explains more about how Ophelia seems to break down after her father’s death, rather than how she is dependent on the male roles in her life. Fischer does not speak much about the fact that Ophelia could not get a word in edge wise about her own life, that is until she goes mad and decides to drown herself. It is almost as if Fischer’s piece is more about how Ophelia’s mad speeches get the attention, “but they seem to point to a loss rather than an assertion of self…” meaning that Ophelia’s madness is more attributed to the fact that she lost her father, rather than her trying to open up and get out all the aggression and anger she feels towards her father, brother and lover. While Byles’s view is based on the fact that Ophelia was entirely dependent on the males in her life. The play supports Fischer’s view by the first real time you see Ophelia truly in her madness. In Act
Joan Montgomery Byles’s view of Ophelia’s behavior in “Ophelia’s Desperation” and Sandra K. Fischer’s view of Ophelia’s behavior in “Ophelia’s Mad Speeches” contradict each other and present opposing explanations. Byles’s view is that Ophelia is defined by the male roles in her life (i.e. her father, brother, and lover). Fischer’s view is that Ophelia is simply grieving the loss of her father and fails to break the hold of the men in her life. These two analyses present opposing explanations because one author is saying that Ophelia simply cracked because she has lost her father and she just could not handle it and the other is stating that Ophelia went mad and committed suicide because she was tired of just sitting around listening to the men in her life tell her what to do and when; with all that built up anger and aggression Ophelia needed an outlet to diffuse the situation and so she took her anger out on herself and drowned. Looking closer it is obvious that Byles’s view is the more accurate of the two. In Fischer’s “Ophelia’s Mad Speeches” Fischer explains more about how Ophelia seems to break down after her father’s death, rather than how she is dependent on the male roles in her life. Fischer does not speak much about the fact that Ophelia could not get a word in edge wise about her own life, that is until she goes mad and decides to drown herself. It is almost as if Fischer’s piece is more about how Ophelia’s mad speeches get the attention, “but they seem to point to a loss rather than an assertion of self…” meaning that Ophelia’s madness is more attributed to the fact that she lost her father, rather than her trying to open up and get out all the aggression and anger she feels towards her father, brother and lover. While Byles’s view is based on the fact that Ophelia was entirely dependent on the males in her life. The play supports Fischer’s view by the first real time you see Ophelia truly in her madness. In Act