"William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet': What is the Reason for Ophelia's Insanity?"

Gliederung

1.  Introduction  Introduction

2.  Discussing Task  

3.  Conclusion  

4.  Bibliography  

1.  Introduction  Introduction

  My term paper is about the young girl Ophelia who is among Gertrude  

  the only female character in William Shakespeare s Hamlet  

  When we take a closer look on Ophelia s character we can easily see that  

  she undergoes a change of behaviour in the play In the first scenes she  

  appears as a normal young girl of her period but the process of becoming  

  insane goes its way which can be seen when she is singing her dialogue  

  songs and finally when she commits suicide During this process there are  

  questions that come up: What is the reason for Ophelia s insanity Why  is

  she such an obedient girl Is Hamlet s love to her real or just fake  

  The last two questions may help with the answering of the leading  

  question about Ophelia s  insanity.

  In the following I use some feminist approaches to analyse Ophelia s  

  madness.  

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2. Discussing Task

In the play Ophelia is presented as a beautiful young girl. She is the sister of Laertes and the daughter of Polonius, who is a member of the Danish Privy Council. The third important man in her life is Prince Hamlet with

whom she has fallen in love.

The play takes place 500 years before the Elizabethian period. In that

period, in general, the feminine ideal was a passive one which explains

Ophelia’s weak and dependent character. 1 She symbolizes the typical obedient women’s role of that time. Besides, she is no very complex

character and appears in only five of the twenty scenes.

Laertes tries to talk Ophelia out of her love to Hamlet. He does not believe

that Hamlet is able to return her love and he wants his sister to stay a virgin. “And keep within the rear of your affection, /Out of the shot and

danger of desire. /The chariest maid is prodigal enough”. 2 Whereas Ophelia takes Laertes’ warnings just as well-meant advices she obeys the admonitions of her father. Without being asked, she informs

Polonius about Hamlet’s visit to her bedroom. “Alas, my lord, I have been so affrighted.” (Shakespeare 200) “He took me by the wrist, and held me hard. /Then goes he to the length of all his arm,[…]” (Shakespeare 201).

Ophelia needs the commands and advices of her father because she has no own opinion of her life. Her life is determined by Polonius and her

personality development is prevented through him and her brother. 3 She misses a female wit at her home and so she does not even think of becoming emancipated. “I do not know, my lord, what I should think.”

(Shakespeare 178), “I shall obey, my lord.” (Shakespeare 180). Another problem of Ophelia is her love to Hamlet. She loves him in a very

passionate way but it is not sure if he feels the same way. When we read the play attentively we can note that he never mentions her in his intimate soliloquies (Quenell 197). The only thing that bothers him is the murder of

his father.

3 Seehase, Georg. „Hamlet and Ophelia“. 83

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Ophelia thinks that she is the reason for his madness, that gives the impression that she is very naïve. When the king, the queen and Polonius try to find out the reason for Hamlet’s madness Ophelia joins in the

arranged meeting between Hamlet and her as a kind of bait. 4 While cooperating Ophelia behaves like an object without any possibility of an

own decision.

The dialogue between Hamlet and Ophelia differs from what she has

hoped for. In his fury against all women 5 , Hamlet speaks to her in a very coarse way. “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.” (Shakespeare 244). When he says that she should go into a nunnery he means nothing else than a brothel.

With such insults Hamlet lays the foundations of Ophelia’s insanity. “And I,

of ladies most dejected and wretched,[…] / O woe is me / T´have seen what I have seen, see what I see.” (Shakespeare 245). She is lovesick,

which is, in general, no symptom for a forthcoming insanity, but in the situation of the following incidents it is an important stage of her sickness. When Hamlet stabs Polonius, Ophelia loses not only her father but also

Hamlet. With Polonius her life advisor dies. It is too much for the helpless Ophelia being alone in the world without someone who gives her

commands. She never did anything without the permission of Polonius or without telling him immediately about what had happened.

It is not only the death of Polonius that drives her insane, but also the fact

that her beloved Hamlet killed the person who is so important for her. How can she cope with the fact that her lover is the murderer of her father? And

that is the reason why she gets insane, she is not able to cope with that loss.

In the 4 th entrance, scene 5, we can witness the climax of Ophelia’s insanity. Ophelia wants to talk to the queen, who does not want to see her. Horatio, a good friend and confidant to Hamlet, informs Gertrude about

Ophelia’s condition. “She is importunate, / Indeed distract. Her mood will needs be pitied.” (Shakespeare 296). Ophelia confirms her madness through her speech. She begins to sing about her father’s death. “[…]

4 http://www.bignerds.com/show.php?eid=1402

5 Smith, Rebecca. “A Heart Cleft in Twain: The Dilemma of Shakespeare’s Gertrude.” 198

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