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Ophelia's Character Analysis

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Another female character portrayed as a “weakling” in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is Ophelia. Ophelia is represented as a character that was typical of women in the 1600s, one who was too submissive and directed by the people around her; sort of a younger reflection of Gertrude. At first, Ophelia 's character seemed much too simplistic- one that is emotionally directed and inconsequential, in a sense. However, when her words are taken apart along with her intentions and state of mind, it appeared that there was a greater sense of understanding, an underlying motive that is well-structured by her words. Unlike Gertrude’s character, Ophelia has her own opinions and standpoints on matters at hand, and possessed a larger capacity for independent thought than the people she …show more content…

It seemed that the opposite may be true, in which Hamlet had his mind set to marry Ophelia. Since during that time, a person of royalty was expected to be betrothed to either someone who was of the nobility or of the royal family in a different land. The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia (who was of the nobility) was very legitimate, it was unlikely that this relationship would end soon or be based on purely sexual acts. If anything, Hamlet may want to end the relationship with Ophelia for both of their own good, but Laertes points to the fact that Hamlet is under the influence of the royal family. It is unclear how much of Denmark 's populace knew about this relationship, but there were people in Denmark 's nobility who were aware of the situation. If royal advice was to be put in this relationship, it would have been to keep everything on the down low, as there was enough controversy occurring in the kingdom as it is. A typical woman in that time period would have willingly obeyed to these claims, especially in circumstances concerning love. Ophelia, however, didn’t immediately respond in that manner. Ophelia tells her

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We see Ophelia torn between her desire to be near Hamlet or pleasing her father and her brother. This clearly represents a massive internal conflict to Ophelia. Especially when she has been ordered by her father to stay away from Hamlet. Then, He ordered again to be the bait for Cladius who 's want to snoop on her conversation with Hamlet. Hence, Ophelia placed for the second time in a difficult choice, She must choose between her loyalty to her father or her loyalty to her lover

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932 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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742 Words | 3 Pages

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship is touched upon many times throughout the play. In the beginning Hamlet and Ophelia were dating and the readers are told that they are in love but continuing through the play others manipulate the relationship enough for both characters to take on a huge toll. Hamlet really did love Ophelia and she loved him back but with others influence on their relationship matters take a turn for the worst. In the beginning of the play readers see how Ophelia's family has already put in their say on how they feel about Hamlet.

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560 Words | 3 Pages

That’s why some may say he was not in love with her, but in reality, he was trying to distance himself to protect her from getting hurt! Hamlet also tells Ophelia to not doubt his love for her! Hamlet knows that a bunch of stuff is about to happen, so he tells her this as

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460 Words | 2 Pages

In conclusion, it can be proven that Hamlet truly does love Ophelia. He pretends he isn’t in love with her kind of like in real life. Sometimes people pretend they not care for the people they really care for the most, just like Hamlet did to

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1502 Words | 7 Pages

Ophelia is like this because of Polonius’s manipulations. Polonius’ and Ophelia’s conversation in Act One demonstrates the results of his manipulations and shows Ophelia’s understanding of obedience to the audience. For whatever reason, Polonius does not want Ophelia to be in a relationship with Hamlet. So he stops their relationship by making Ophelia question herself and follows his orders. Polonius manipulates Ophelia by making her think that she invalidates her family’s honor, that she does not know anything, and that Hamlet is manipulating her among other things he says.

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277 Words | 2 Pages

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).

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937 Words | 4 Pages

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

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905 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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1389 Words | 6 Pages

Saying this, Hamlet’s behavior towards Ophelia is crude, rough, and full of anger. Despite Hamlet’s harsh treatment towards Ophelia, he really did love her, but because she was not his main focus, the

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937 Words | 4 Pages

This provokes him to say that god gives women one face, but they use make up to paint on another one. This quote suggest that Hamlet sees woman as naive and gullible creatures, as he sees Ophelia as nothing but an object that is owned by her father, as she is helping him with all of his dirty work. Hamlet believes that woman cannot be trusted as they have are deceiving. He also sees Ophelia as a grown women who is unable to make her own decisions. Hamlet is utterly disgusted by how feeble Ophelia is as she was following her father's scheme.

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745 Words | 3 Pages

They did sleep together, and then Hamlet told Ophelia that she needed to go to a nunnery and that he would never marry a girl who slept around. Ophelia's feelings turned around and she felt very disrespected by

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809 Words | 4 Pages

In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Hamlet has a unique relationship with Ophelia. Throughout the beginning of the play you learn very little about their relationship. Their relationship was referenced however. In the beginning of the play, Laertes warns Ophelia about Hamlet, claiming he does not actually love Ophelia. Throughout the play it is implied that Hamlet and Ophelia were involved with one another, but never showed the details of their "love."

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1370 Words | 6 Pages

Hamlet: The Tragedy of Female Oppression Feminism has erupted over the past century. The theme of patriarchy has ruled over women for centuries. With the uprising of the critique of patriarchy, more feminists have analyzed Shakespeare’s literary works as in favor of the male gender roles. In Act 1 scene 3, the station of Polonius and Laertes reveals their patriarchal position over Ophelia by constructing advices that molds their expectations of her and degrading her in ways that exemplify the oppression of women during the 1600’s.

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1056 Words | 5 Pages

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

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