Ophelia’s Insane Young Love
Young love carries many emotions. In Hamlet, by Shakespeare, two characters share unsolved and mysterious emotions. Ophelia and Hamlet are young lovers separated by a series of disastrous events. Many people think that Hamlet was simply playing with Ophelia, and didn’t really love her; a fact that could drive one to an asylum. Did she really love him? Were her emotions confused enough to plunge her into insanity?
Ophelia’s actions when she is talking to Hamlet, prove that she is heartbroken that her father is keeping Hamlet from her. When Hamlet denies ever loving her, it seems to send Ophelia into a state of questioning what is real, like her love with Hamlet. From the moment Ophelia was detached from Hamlet, Ophelia
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When Ophelia is insane, she speaks plainly about the fact that she did in fact have sex with Hamlet, when she says, “before you tumbled me”(Shakespeare Act 4 Sc.5 line 67). However, she also speaks about the lies that Hamlet told her before they got too involved, she says that Hamlet “promised me to wed”(Shakespeare Act 4 Sc.5 line 68). A lie that is often told just to get women into bed. When Ophelia realizes that she shouldn’t have trusted Hamlet’s word, it is too late and she has already fallen for him and believed his lies. All of the false stories and promises he made her led her to question what she knows of everyone and everything. Without the one person she seemed to still trust in her life, she is lost faith in her ability to understand people when so many of them have lied to her. After Hamlet left her and lied to her, she realized that her father was right, and Hamlet was just using her. However, she had already gotten her emotions so tied up in the relationship, that she couldn’t see past what was happening and she was too stuck in what she believed was real. Shakespeare used Ophelia’s insanity in this play to caution it’s audience against believing wholeheartedly in another person or their words; especially when emotions are getting involved with young relationships. Many people joke about how young love isn’t real and doesn’t mean anything,