The penultimate character who uses Ophelia in Hamlet is King Claudius. Although he has minimal interaction with Ophelia throughout the play, the reader is still able to see how Ophelia is a victim as a result of his actions. Much like Polonius, Claudius uses Ophelia to spy on Hamlet. He uses Ophelia to try and uncover what Hamlet is hiding from him. In Act 3, scene 1, Claudius tells Gertrude, “...leave us too / For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither, / That he, as ‘twere by accident, may here / Affront Ophelia” (Shakespeare 136). Claudius is aware of the fact that Hamlet has been sending Ophelia love letters, and that Ophelia only told Polonius about the letters “in obedience” (Shakespeare 94). Claudius willingly participates in a situation where two young people, who are struggling with their emotions for each other, will purposefully run into one another. Claudius does not care for how this interaction will affect Ophelia’s naive and sensitive emotions. He only uses her so that he can gain the information he so badly craves and needs from Hamlet. Finally, the last male figure in Ophelia’s life that mistreats her is the title character, Hamlet. In the beginning of the play, the readers discover that Hamlet has …show more content…
She has been expected to blindly obey and follow anything her father and brother tell her, her father has been using her to get closer to the king, her king has used her to gain information, and her first love has turned against her and gone mad. Ophelia’s madness “...is a natural response...of how someone can be driven mad by having her inner feelings misrepresented, not responded to, or acknowledged only through chastisement and repression.” (Leverenz 300).With the death of her father, Ophelia is no longer bound by an inhibiting power. Ophelia’s madness becomes a gateway for her to escape the constraints that have bound her through her entire
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a revenge calamity which concentrates on his wish and effort to solve his father’s murder. Throughout the course of the play, the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia could be described as a rollercoaster. Although Ophelia is not in every single scene in Hamlet, her impact on the play is highly noted. One way a reader could interpret her presence is because of how tragic her experiences in life is. She experiences the misfortune of love and security, but in order for her death to be truly tragic, she has to come to terms with the realization of her powerlessness without the men in her life.
Ophelia’s madness is caused by the actions of others in the story. “Madness becomes Ophelia’s last resort, her unconscious revolt. Indeed what else is left for her to do? Offering her an escape, madness provides her with the ability to finally speak her anger and desire” (Dane,412).Her father tells her to stay away from Hamlet, who she has fallen in love with. Hamlet has warned her earlier that whatever he tells her in the future will not be true but, when he tells her he does not intent to be with her it starts the beginning of her madness.
She suffers from psychological abuse, due to the way she is treated by her father and Hamlet himself. This is also due to her gender, as women weren’t valued in her time, or the time when the play was created. Some symptoms that prove she is a victim of such abuse are things such as her need for Hamlet and her father’s approval. She essentially breaks herself in order to please them both, because as a woman she is objectified and doesn’t realize that she doesn’t have to live her life just to please others. Mary Pipher, who wrote “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls”, states that “"As a girl, Ophelia is happy and free, but with adolescence she loses herself.
Hamlet views Ophelia as a naive and ignorant girl who is nothing but Polonius and Claudius's puppet. This was revealed when Hamlet said "God has given you one face and you make yourself another. . You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God's creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance." (III, i, 143-146) In this quote Hamlet knows that Ophelia is spying on him for Polonius and Claudius.
Ophelia goes mad throughout the story. She is overwhelmed by the loss of her father and the rejection of Hamlet. Her character is seen spiraling down a dark path that also ends in death. Ophelia is depicted as not having control over her actions; speaking and acting erratically. While Hamlet is speaking erratically and behaving oddly, he still maintains control over his actions and movement throughout the story.
Ophelia is grieving the loss of her father after Hamlet kills him. Ophelia doesn't know that Hamlet killed her father. But Ophelia has gone mad from learning about her father's death. Also, after Hamlet telling Ophelia that she needs to go to a nunnery, Ophelia is a little bit discouraged. She is discouraged because Hamlet had told her before that if Ophelia would sleep with him that they would get married.
Emily Dickinson once said “Much madness is divinest Sense— To a discerning Eye—“. This type of madness can be found in the play “Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Though many characters show madness throughout the play, Ophelia’s madness is the most prevalent. Ophelia has good reason for this irrational behavior because of the trauma she has gone through. First, her boyfriend dumps her, then he calls her vulgar names, and lastly, he kills her father.
For the duration of the play, Ophelia was portrayed as a naïve and submissive woman. Her passivity and powerlessness reinforce the voicelessness of women during the Elizabethan era. For example, “I shall obey, my lord” (I.iii.134) shows that Ophelia concedes to her father’s will, even though she believes Hamlet’s love is genuine. She is willing and expected to obey her father despite the fact that she still loves Hamlet, which emphasizes her character’s submissive nature. Furthermore, in Act I Laertes warns Ophelia that it would be shameful of her to love Hamlet, and she responds with “I shall the effect of this good lesson keep as a watchman to my heart” (I.iii.45).
Claudius and Gertrude invited two of Hamlet’s childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, in hopes of finding out why Hamlet has become so crazy and sad. The ambassadors Voltemand and Cornelius return from Norway and tell the king that Fortinbras will not attack Denmark. Polonius arrives and thinks he has figured out the source of Hamlet’s madness, which is his love for Ophelia, this is proven by the love letters Hamlet has sent to Ophelia. Claudius, Gertrude and Polonius come up with a plan to “spy” on Hamlet when they set up a meeting with Hamlet and Ophelia alone, and see what his reaction is. Hamlet barges in, just after Claudius and Gertrude have left, and talks to Polonius, not knowing that he is Ophelia’s father and thinks,
Hamlet has not only become distraught from his conniving and lying stepfather but also his mother, Queen Gertrude as well. The unfaithfulness that Gertrude shows to Hamlet’s father and Hamlet has a toll on him and plays a part in his insanity. The facade that Hamlet displays slowly leads to his insanity, causing him to show mistreated love towards Ophelia. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia displays a very honest
In Act III, scene i of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, readers will come upon Ophelia’s soliloquy. After Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have failed to find a reason as to why Hamlet is acting in a peculiar and mad way, Claudius is persuaded by Polonius that the reason for Hamlet’s madness is the broken romance between Hamlet and Ophelia. To prove this, Claudius and Polonius plan to spy on Ophelia’s meeting with Hamlet. During their conversation, Hamlet denies ever having loved her and curses her. Ophelia is left fretting over his sanity.
Hamlet does not value Ophelia 's feelings he belittles her. In Hamlets defense this is the way he was brought up to treat women, during that time this was a common way to treat a women. Even though in today 's society it is not at all ok to treat women with such disrespect. He also likes for everything to go as planned and this may result in why he can not have a stable relationship with a woman. This also causes him to have many stumbling blocks in his life that causes some emotional pain
Unaware of the role Hamlet is playing, Ophelia feels rejected and hurt. Eventually, Ophelia’s heartache, along with the death of her father, causes her to commit suicide. Next, Claudius and Gertrude’s role play affect their relationship with Hamlet. At the beginning of the play, Claudius takes on the role of a kind, just king; he seems to genuinely care for Hamlet. He often gives him fatherly advice, and shows affection for Hamlet in ways that an uncle would.
In the “nunnery scene” which is played in Hamlet, Ophelia (as per her father’s and King Claudius’ instruction) attempts to push Hamlet away. As Hamlet realizes that Ophelia is trying to cut ties with him, his mood changes from sweet and loving to angry and sour. In a fit of rage Hamlet curses Ophelia’s name, ruins her name in a public setting and leaves her, upset (and crying in most adaptations) as she expresses her sorrow about having to leave Hamlet. In Ophelia’s soliloquy following her interaction with Hamlet, Ophelia mourns the loss of her ‘one true love’ and the way that Hamlet was behaving.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet there are many male characters, but the only two significant female characters are Ophelia and Gertrude. Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius, a high ranking official in the court in Denmark who serves as a love interest and an object of desire for Hamlet, although it is often unclear which at many point during the play. Gertrude is the wife of King Claudius, the widow of the former king, King Hamlet, and the mother of Hamlet. In Hamlet the women often appear as if they do not have a significant role in the play. However, Ophelia’s interactions with Hamlet exaggerate his apparent madness and by being a foil to Hamlet.