Preview

Relationship Between Hamlet And Ophelia

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
400 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Relationship Between Hamlet And Ophelia
Since her childhood Ophelia is surrounded by two men - her brother Laertes and her father Polonius. They have the strongest authority over Ophelia and traine her to be obedient and chaste. Consequently, Ophelia believes what she is taught: women are chaste and constant; males are legitimate and noble. The assumption of "guardians" represents Ophelia as a week woman easy to manipulate. After the first scene she is going to be wrestling with many conflicting ideas of a proper way of behaviour of a young woman in the patriarchal society, where controversial attitudes toward men and women make the last to obbey (Dash).
Ophelia is a beloved daughter and sister. Her father and brother love her enormously and make a great efforts to protect her. Polonius and Laertes tell Ophelia that Hamlet's words, that she has taken as "holy", are mere meaningless. They order her to protect her chastity as men are inconstant "giving more light than heat, extinct in both, / Even …show more content…
However from Hamlet's speeches it can be assumed that he has deep feelings for Ophelia: "I did love you once" (3.1.114) and "I lov`d Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/ Could not with all their quantity of love/ Make up my sum" (5.1.269-271), but her faith in love and sincerity is crashed. She is not aware of Hamlet's conversation with the Ghost and she can not understand his tournament. She knows nothing about his condemnation of Gertrude`s "incest", so she is confused by the accusations of disloyalty he displaces on her. Finally the loss of her father, whom Barbara Smith calls "her link to emotional security", fatally assaults her mental stability and remains her betrayed, frustrated and lonely. Nevertheless, Irene Dash believes that the source of Ophelia's madness is not merely in her father`s death and Hamlet's rejection but also in Polonius's complex manipulation of
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ophelia's Farewell Analysis
    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ophelia's Farewell Analysis

    Ophelia was a modern day good girl gone bad. She obeyed her father, Polonius, and brother, Laertes’ wishes to stay away from Prince Hamlet while trying to fight for her love for Hamlet and being herself. Throughout the entire play Ophelia is used as pawn in a game of revenge between Hamlet, Polonius, and King Claudius. Polonius and Laertes forbid Ophelia from seeing Hamlet because they believe that he is only using her for sex, yet Polonius uses her to seek information from Hamlet as though she were his personal spy. Although Hamlet loves Ophelia and genuinely cares for her, he sees the danger he and the royal court pose on her. Hamlet wants to get her away from the corruption while putting on an act for King Claudius to prove that he is really mad, and in that attempt, acts as though Ophelia means nothing to him. He treats her in the same manner he treats his mother and all women for that matter. Hamlet sees all women as ignorant and deceitful. Despite Ophelia’s ability to see through Hamlet’s charade, there is still a sense of pain in the words he speaks to her. “Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell...To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell.” (Act 3.1) This had to have been the largest insult to Ophelia ever spoken, but was not meant in that…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ophelia Character Analysis
    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Ophelia Character Analysis

    The dismissive behaviour of Polonius and Laertes dehumanizes Ophelia and keeps her separated from the decision making “adults”. In one instance, Polonius instructs her to “think [herself] a baby”. In her interactions with these characters, Ophelia’s opinion is not asked for or valued she is largely cast aside or used as a tool. In Ophelia’s first appearance she is constantly reminded by Polonius and Laertes of the “danger of desire”, Laertes advises her that he “best safety lies in fear”. (Act I, Scene III). It is made clear early on that Ophelia is being taught to fear relationships, leading to long term isolation. These repressed emotions may relate to her fixation on desire during her madness. Polonius also dismisses Ophelia’s opinions on Hamlet’s behaviour saying, ”Affection? Pooh! you speak like a green girl”. Throughout all of Ophelia’s interactions with her father she maintains formal titles and language, referring to Polonius as “my lord”. By submitting to the perception of her inferiority Ophelia alienates herself from others. Even before her becoming insane, Ophelia is marginalized and removed from others, a the true outsider within…

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Hamlet Turn Against Ophelia
    • 138 Words
    • 1 Page

    How Did Hamlet Turn Against Ophelia

    After Hamlet started to turn against Gertrude because of her actions, he took the anger and used it against Ophelia. Hamlet says to Ophelia “God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures, and make your wantonness your ignorance.” (III.i.142-145). He comments on the way women mask their faces, all being unfaithful and dishonest. Hamlet completely loses trust in Ophelia after she was not honest with him and turned her back on him and listened to her father instead. Ophelia deceived Hamlet and in turn he is rude to her and continues to tell her that his love for her was false and demands that she go to a nunnery, he also makes it clear there will be no marriage for the…

    • 138 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Character Ophelia In Shakespeare's Hamlet
    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Character Ophelia In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    Ophelia, a fictional character in Hamlet, is the daughter of Polonius and young lover to the main character. Her father, the right hand of the king, originally requests she keep her distance from Hamlet. Quite soon, the company of Hamlet believes he has gone mad. Polonius, of course, asks his obedient daughter to spy on her lover. Mary Salter stated, “She certainly has a great deal of respect for her father and unquestioningly obeys his instructions…” Ophelia and Hamlet spend an extravagant amount of time together. In the time of Shakespeare, this was nearly unacceptable. One could understandably be under the impression they…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Ophelias Madness
    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ophelias Madness

    Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet was one that was very hard to understand. She was in love with him and that complicated things. The character of Ophelia was the daughter of the King’s Advisor. She was not royalty or even remotely from a royal lineage. Hamlet, on the other hand, was a prince. He was the prince in line for the throne. Ophelia was in love with Hamlet and the only chance she had was to conspire with him and earn his trust. Hamlet discovered that his father had been murdered by his uncle. His uncle, Claudius, then became the king. Hamlet pretended to be crazy in order to expose his uncle. Ophelia found out that this was what was happening and went along with it in order to convince her father, Polonius, that Claudius had murdered the king. Polonius was, after all, the king’s advisor. Speaking of Hamlet, she says in Act 2 Scene 1, “He took me by the wrist, and held me hard” (1546). She knew, by telling her father that Hamlet had gone crazy and grabbed her, that he would relay it to the queen and her new king.…

    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Destruction Of Ophelia In William Shakespeare's Hamlet
    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Destruction Of Ophelia In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    Due to Ophelia’s fickle behavior regarding Hamlet, he is unsure of her affection and does not deem her trustworthy. Ophelia is not yet a married woman, meaning she is not admitted to disobey her father, and not able to control her own choices. When her father demands “I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth have you so sander and moment leisure as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet.” (I, III, 136-140) Ophelia must heed her father’s commands. When Ophelia is requested to converse with Hamlet by Polonius and Claudius, she must endure. She attempts to return letters that Hamlet wrote for her, this seeming to have a powerful effect on him. Although he has suspicions that their conversation is being eavesdropped on, Hamlet does not restrain himself with his reaction towards Ophelia. Hamlet seems to contradict himself when proclaiming her “Get thee to a nunnery, go.” (III, I, 138). Nunnery, also meaning brothel, shows Hamlet’s indecisive feelings for Ophelia, by using a word that paints her as holy and sinful. As he continues to insult Ophelia, it becomes clear that Hamlet presumes all women to be deceitful, describing that “God has given you one face and you make yourselves another.” (III, I, 145). Although it is not certain whether or not Hamlet truly loves Ophelia, it can be deducted that due to his mother’s actions he cannot be definite in his…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    How Does Shakespeare Present Ophelia
    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages

    How Does Shakespeare Present Ophelia

    Ophelia as she is initially presented is the dutiful and attentive daughter of Polonius and sister of Laertes. We see she respects and cares for the opinions of her father and brother, we see this when they are giving her advice in regard to her relationship with Hamlet. “I shall the effect of this good lesson keep as watchman to my heart.” Though following this speech we can also see the differences between the relationships of Ophelia and her father and Ophelia and Laertes. With Laertes we can see a certain degree of repartee between the two with a line such as, “While like a puffed and reckless libertine himself the primrose path of dalliance treads and recks not his own rede.” Whereas after receiving similar advice from her father she merely says, “I shall obey my lord.” This could be due to the fact that Polonius uses a lot less tactful language than Laertes, “Affection? Pooh, you speak like a green girl unsifted in such perilous circumstance.” This could be due to Polonius consistently treating his daughter as an object or bargaining tool and persistently speaks in monetary terms to her with his overuse of the word “Tenders” and phrases such as “set your entreatments at a higher rate,” “which their investments show,” “tenders for true pay which are not sterling.” These are Polonius possibly unwittingly showing us how he sees his daughter. He’s more worried as to how…

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Gender Inequality Analysis
    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hamlet Gender Inequality Analysis

    It shows that Ophelia lacks in her own independence of thought and who continually accepts the thoughts of male figures in her life. From the very beginning of the play, Ophelia is compliant to her fathers will. This is represented through Ophelia’s response to her father when she says 'I did repel his letters, and denied his access to me' (Act II, scene I) were Ophelia complies with her father’s orders. Ophelia’s response to her father suggests that Ophelia lacks her own independence and who is under the authority of her father. Ophelia’s actions show how willingly she is able to sacrifice her feelings for Hamlet under the order of her father and that she will give up her happiness in order to please and obey her father. Throughout the play, Ophelia continuously portrays her obedience to her father. In particular, Ophelia decides that she will no longer insist on seeing Hamlet anymore after the request from her father with her response, ‘I shall obey, my lord’ (Act I scene III.) The actions of Ophelia show that Polonius is in control over her as she sacrifices her feelings for Hamlet to satisfy her father.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet And Ophelia Analysis
    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hamlet And Ophelia Analysis

    “When it came to property, a woman gave up all of her rights to own land and such things to her husband. He became not only the owner of her physical possessions, but of her as well.” (“Rights of Women” 1). In the play, Ophelia has been under the control of male characters by being used for her possessions, status and lust. "Come, go with me: I will go seek the king./ This is the very ecstasy of love,/ Whose violent property fordoes itself/ And leads the will to desperate undertakings/ As oft as any passion under heaven/ That does afflict our natures.” (2.1.101-106) as mentioned by Polonius. Here it is evident that Polonius uses his daughter for his own desires. When Ophelia talks about Hamlet's unusual behaviour towards her, Polonius immediately depicts this to his advantage. He speculates his daughter's description as madness from love which is in his advantage because it can mean that Ophelia will marry into royalty which would bring him up in status. Polonius's intentions are seen through his desperate actions. Secondly, when Ophelia sings a song "Before you tumbled me,/ You promised me to wed.", he answers: "So would I ha' done, by yonder sun,/ And thou hadst not come to my bed." (4.5.62-66). Ophelia's song indicates the mistake she made of losing her virginity to Hamlet. With the loss of her father, virginity and…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Ophelia In Hamlet
    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Ophelia In Hamlet

    Although Hamlet continued to pursue her as a lover, he eventually discovered that her loyalties did not lie with him, as she became a spy for Claudius and Polonius. It is unclear as to whether or not Hamlet is aware that Ophelia is being used by the men, but he is reassured of her loyalty to them when he asks, “Where’s your father?” and Ophelia replies, “At home, my lord” (3.1, 130-131). Ophelia’s social position as a woman in society is virtually nonexistent as the presences of manipulative men merely use her obedience as a means of improving their social positions, with little regard for hers. In accordance with the time period, Ophelia would have followed codes of conduct “influenced by religious literature, the attitude taken by most writers of deportment manuals reflect the theologians’ traditional dislike and distrust of women” (Kincaid 103). While there is no indication that Ophelia has broken any codes, Hamlet takes out his frustration with his mother on her, and chastises her for shortcomings as a woman when he says, “Let me think on’t. Frailty thy name is woman!” (1.2, 146). Regardless of Ophelia’s proper social behavior, Hamlet reveals that she cannot escape her fate as a woman. Hamlet tells her, “If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery” (3.1, 135-37). Even if Ophelia follows every social norm and remains chaste, she will always be restricted by society because of the men that define…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Father-Child Relationships in Hamlet and Fences
    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Father-Child Relationships in Hamlet and Fences

    The relationship that Ophelia shares with her father, Polonius, is rather dogmatic to say the least. Throughout Hamlet, Polonius demonstrates almost absolute control over Ophelia as if she were a tool with the sole purpose of serving Polonius. As a result of a weakness of mind caused by a lack of independent thought, Ophelia does not oppose Polonius; for instance when Polonius challenges Hamlet’s intentions with Ophelia, she can only say “I do not know, my lord, what I should think.” (I.iii). Ophelia allows herself to be controlled, even rebuffing her love for Hamlet simply because Polonius suggests her not to “give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet,” (I. iv) which illustrates the importance Ophelia place on her familial obligations. The structure and guidance that Polonius provides for Ophelia, leads her to affirm that she “shall obey” him (I. iv). Ophelia is subservient to her father's wishes and looks up to his patriarchal position. She listens to Polonius' counsel. She places her father (and family) above other affairs. Polonius seems to be dominant and almost controlling. However, Ophelia is never rebellious.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ophelias Madness
    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ophelias Madness

    Cited: ane, Gabrielle. We see this when she says she would give the Queen someviolets in memory or her father but they are all dead and when she offersrosemary "for remembrance" of her brother Laertes (Shakespeare IV.v.174).Ophelia comes to peace with these men and then kills herself. Because of this, he paints atainted view of the female sex to Ophelia. 86 Ophelia 's Introduction Ophelia 's suicide in William Shakespeare 's tragedy Hamlet arises fora number of reasons. For these reasons, Ophelia 's death represents the outwardmanifestation of something else that is rotten in Denmark, the manipulativetreatment and objectification of women in a patriarchal society. Polonius haslonged meddled in the love life of his daughter. In this sense, Ophelia 's madness isan outward symptom or sign of something else that is rotten in Denmark,patriarchal control and manipulation of women. Both Polonius and Laertes lecture her about the "dangers"of men. In "Reading Ophelia 'sMadness," feminist critic Gabrielle Dane locates Ophelia 's songs "withinthe context of Renaissance attitudes toward female madness as a signaldisorder of patriarchy" (Cheney 221).…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Market Segmentation Notes
    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Market Segmentation Notes

    A marketing term referring to the aggregating of prospective buyers into groups (segments) that have common needs and will respond similarly to a marketing action. Market segmentation enables companies to target different categories of consumers who perceive the full value of certain products and services differently from one another. Generally three criteria can be used to identify different market segments:…

    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Causes of Plastic Surgery
    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Causes of Plastic Surgery

    It is interesting to know as to how people really feel psychologically about themselves. Self-esteem is a major issue in plastic surgery. One way may be the way a person may look and feel about his or herself. Many people may say it is the person’s self-esteem level, but it could also be a psychological problem. Low self-esteem could lead people to believe that cosmetic surgery will cure this feeling forever. Cosmetic surgery has its commendations in making a person’s desires for beauty come true as long as the person has a positive mentality. The psychological state of mind can have an effect on a person’s mentality level in many different ways.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Green Movement
    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Green Movement

    My hypothesis was correct to a certain extent. I would think that the cooler the temperature the better the population but it seems that the warner the weather is when the biggest population occur.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics