Essay on Ophelia - The Innocent Victim in Shakespeare's Hamlet

The story of Hamlet is a morbid tale of tragedy, commitment, and manipulation; this is especially evident within the character of Ophelia. Throughout the play, Ophelia is torn between obeying and following the different commitments that she has to men in her life. She is constantly torn between the choice of obeying the decisions and wishes of her family or that of Hamlet. She is a constant subject of manipulation and brain washing from both her father and brother. Ophelia is not only subject to the torture of others using her for their intentions but she is also susceptible to abuse from Hamlet. Both her father and her brother believe that Hamlet is using her to achieve his own personal goals.

In the exchange between Laertes and Ophelia, one learns a great deal about Hamlet, as well. Laertes explains to his sister that she must consider Hamlet's rank and position and know that he is not free to choose a bride for himself (1.3.19-26). He also cautions her not put any faith in "Hamlet, and the trifling of his favor / [and to] Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, / A violet in the youth of primy nature" (1.3.5-7). He means that Hamlet follows a passing whim where she is concerned, and that he does not truly love her. In other words, Laertes impresses upon Ophelia that Hamlet merely feels toward her the passion that is present in the springtime of youth. It is clear that Laertes believes he is telling his sister the truth about her situation with Hamlet because if he thought Hamlet would marry her Laertes would most likely encourage a relationship between them. Hamlet and Laertes are friends and if Hamlet married Laertes' sister he would at some point enjoy the advantages of a brother-in-law of the King.

In another scene, Polonius orders Ophelia to return the gifts that Hamlet gave her, and to make her rejection of him unmistakable and absolute. Polonius believes that if she is the cause of Hamlet’s madness, this would be the proof. “That Hamlet loses his mental stability is arguable from his behavior toward Ophelia…” (Foster, par.16) In Branagh’s version, we see how terribly this tears Ophelia’s heart. When Hamlet sees her, he walks up to her, telling her how much he loves her. After Hamlet kisses her, she returns the love letters that he wrote back to him. She sees how crushed he is, which makes her feel even worse; but she also believes she has to do this because her father ordered her to. Hamlet tells her “Get thee to a nunnery” (William

Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia suddenly becomes complicated, after Hamlet’s encounter with the Ghost. It all starts when Hamlet first appears in Ophelia’s chamber pale and dishevelled, after receiving news from the Ghost that King Claudius had poured poison into his ear, and it was Hamlet’s duty to avenge the death of his father. Hamlet’s condition frightens Ophelia, as she runs off to tell Polonius about the encounter;” My lord, as I was sewing in my closet/ Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced/… speak of horrors—he comes before me” (2.1 87-94). Hamlet may express that he does not love Ophelia anymore, but his ill treatment towards her comes at the price of testing her loyalties towards him or her father Polonius, who is the eyes and ears of Claudius. As Ophelia runs off to Polonius, it is clear to Hamlet that he cannot trust Ophelia with such a deadly task at his hands. Behind all this phony madness, it breaks Hamlet’s heart to jeopardize his relationship with Ophelia for his own motivations, but it is an intricate decision he has to make. This is again evident in Act 3, scene 1, when Hamlet instructs Ophelia; “To a nunnery, go, and/ Quickly too. Farewell” (3.1 151-152). The only reason Hamlet would utter such bitter words to Ophelia, is because he trusts Ophelia will be kept safer there than anywhere near the kingdom. In doing so, Hamlet proves that he still cares for Ophelia and what they had, but he cannot manage their relationship at the same time getting revenge, because he’s too caught up in pursuing his own motives. Eventually, as Ophelia goes mad and dies,

Ophelia was such an innocent character. She was young and naïve. Ophelia was faced with many dilemmas. She was in a relationship with Prince Hamlet, who was very distracted and eventually went mad himself. Ophelia’s madness started with an overbearing, over protective father. He controlled Ophelia and used her with out thinking of her feelings, “I must tell you, you do not understand yourself so clearly…What is

She says she loves Prince Hamlet yet she tells Polonius everything that goes on between them. Polonius forbids Ophelia to leave the castle, making Prince Hamlet write his love for her through a letter, in which Ophelia gives to Polonius to read, “Doubt thou the stars are fire,/ Doubt that the sun doth move,/ Doubt truth to be a liar,/ But never doubt I love.” (2.2.124-127). Ophelia feels the love but decides not to tell her father in fear of getting disowned and losing his love for her. The fear of losing her father's love makes Ophelia lie saying “No, my good lord, but as you did command/ I did repel his letters and denied/ His access to me” (2.2.120-122). Ophelia keeps to herself her wish to desperately be with Prince Hamlet from Polonius. When he finds out that Ophelia has been telling Polonius everything about their “relationship” and that she messed around with him just to get information, he gets very infuriated and “loses” the love he had for Ophelia. “I loved you not” (3.1.129).His feelings have changed to hate and regret, Prince Hamlet’s love for Ophelia seemed to be strong but in a flash it’s gone. When Ophelia tries to apologize to Prince Hamlet his feelings stay neutral and he can never love Ophelia again. Ophelia knows that what she did can’t be forgiven, after what Prince Hamlet told

Hamlet knows that she is helping her dad, Polonius, spy on him. He accuses Ophelia, and all women, of being a “breeder of sinners” (Shmoop Editorial Team 1). Hamlet orders Ophelia to a nunnery, but she cannot call him out on it because she is not supposed to know what the word means. This is not the only criticism that Hamlet calls out to Ophelia. He says that if Ophelia is to marry a man, she will turn her husband into a monster because she will cheat on him (Shmoop Editorial Team 1). Hamlet: “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, farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell” (3.1.130-134).

The character Ophelia is a young attractive woman. Hamlet finds her extremely beautiful with an innocence that keeps him wanting her. Ophelia sees the relationship as young love while Hamlet sees the relationship as a physical lust. Polonius, her father and Laertes her brother, do not agree with the relationship of Hamlet and Ophelia, shown early on in the play in act 1 scene 3 Laertes says, “Perhaps he loves you now, And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch The virtue of his will, but you must fear.” She fell in love

Ophelia’s interactions with the male characters of the play reveal her limited agency. As Ophelia tells her brother about her relationship with Hamlet, Laertes responds, “For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favor, hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, a violet in the youth of primy nature, forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, the perfume and suppliance of a minute, no more” (1.3.5-10). By instructing Ophelia on how to behave in her relationship with Hamlet, Laertes implies that he does not trust Ophelia’s judgement and she needs guidance with her personal affairs.

In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Hamlet, Ophelia, though not openly stated, feels oppressed within the patriarchal society of the Renaissance. She remains voiceless as her father, Polonius, makes every one of her life decisions. Ophelia later drowns in a brook, but it remains unclear as the characters wonder whether or not Ophelia’s death was intentional. Ophelia’s suicide serves as her final escape from a world in which she has no control over. Ophelia must follow every order of her father in order to live a prosperous life.

In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Ophelia, Polonius’s innocent child, overwhelmed with grief drowns herself in a brook. Many instances led to her unfortunate death. The first situation was Polonius’s ploy to see if Hamlet was mad because he loved Ophelia or from other causes. Hamlet, continuing to portray himself as a madman, ruthlessly scolds Ophelia. She is confused as to why he’s fanatically yelling at her since they loved each other. As the story nears its conclusion, Hamlet is bitterly criticizing Gertrude, his mother. In the heat of their discussion, Hamlet unsheathes his rapier and fatally wounds Polonius mistaking him as King Claudius. When Ophelia discovers the fate of her father, she is depressed. In conjunction, with Hamlet’s

   Michael Pennington in “Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven,” elucidates the character of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet:

Ophelia was Hamlet's lover and the daughter of Polonius. When Ophelia found out that her father was killed, she was so devastated that she drowned herself in the river. Gertrude tells everyone about Ophelia’s death, “But it was only a matter of time before her clothes, heavy with the water they absorbed, pulled the poor thing out of her song, down into the mud at the bottom of the brook.” (4.7.175). Gertrude tells Laertes that his sister killed herself by allowing the weight of her clothes to drown her. The ripple effect of Hamlet killing Polonius has affected Ophelia. Ophelia was an indirect victim of Hamlet's

The plot thickens and Hamlet's mind begins to ponder the possibilities of a confession by the king. His love for Ophelia is also strongly noticed by all. The nobles of Elsinor also notice the love he shows and they begin to realize the possibility that Hamlet love for Ophelia would benefit them all. When Polonius reads from one of Hamlet's love letter's to Ophelia, in which he says to her "But that I love thee best, O most best, believe it." (2.2.121-122). Queen Gertrude wishes to use Ophelia's love to bring her only son out of madness. Claudius wishes to do the same. His reason, however, is to end the threat of his own life. Once the king and queen realize this remedy they quickly act to use it by persuading Ophelia to talk to Hamlet.

With his heart shattered and ego in shambles Hamlet’s love for Ophelia still persists throughout the play. When Ophelia confronts Hamlet to return his letters he says that “No, not I. I never gave you aught.” (III.I) Internally Hamlet is crushed; he opened up to Ophelia so much only to have it all handed back as though it meant nothing to her. For Hamlet the situation is so unbearably embarrassing that he feels that redirecting blame from himself to Ophelia is the best solution. In a letter to Ophelia, Hamlet wrote to “Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love. O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers. I have not art to reckon my groans, but that I love thee best” (II.II) Through everything Hamlet told Ophelia to never doubt that he loved her. The way Hamlet treats Ophelia isn’t from lack of love, but rather, he feels betrayed by the way Ophelia disregarded his feelings. In light of Ophelia’s fate Hamlet asks Laertes “Dost thou come here to whine, To outface me with leaping in her grave? Be buried quick with her?—and so will I.”(V.I) To Hamlet, life isn’t worth living without Ophelia. Even with Ophelia dead, and with no other reason to deceive, Hamlet still openly speaks about Ophelia as though he loves her. Hamlet’s resilient love can also