payment page
Ophelia’s role in the play revolves around her relationships with three men. She is the daughter of Polonius, the sister of Laertes, and up until the beginning of the play’s events, she has also been romantically involved with Hamlet. Given the deeply entrenched patriarchal values that define the royal court, Ophelia’s ongoing relationships with these men inherently restrict her personal agency. Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet frequently speak to her in either an infantilizing or sexualizing manner, and the diametrically opposed nature of these approaches highlights just how difficult life as a woman in the court can be.
Ophelia lacks the power to determine who she is as an individual because the men in her life dictate how she must behave. During her first appearance in Act I, Scene 3, Laertes and Polonius admonish Ophelia not to trust Hamlet’s expressions of love. While they both talk down to her like a child, Laertes in particular draws on sexualized imagery to make his case against Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship. This approach is rather ironic given that his primary message to Ophelia is to remain chaste. She readily accepts their instructions, an act which reflects her submissive nature, but the pressure she faces grows as Hamlet’s madness grows. After Ophelia attempts to return his letters, for example, Hamlet delivers the famous “get thee to a nunnery” monologue and harshly criticizes her sexuality. Between this jarring moment, the lewd jokes Hamlet tells her during the play, and the untimely death of her father, Ophelia begins to go mad herself.
The weight of the royal court’s impossible expectations drives her to lash out, leading to the moment in Act 4, Scene 5 in which Ophelia tosses flowers about while singing inappropriate songs. While each flower that she mentions has its own unique symbolism, the act of her tossing flowers about hints at her attempt to free herself from the pressure of maintaining a pure image. Ophelia ultimately drowns in the river surrounded by flowers, and her suicide represents a reclaiming of her personal agency. The fact that she allows the water to take her away, however, reminds the audience that she is still a primarily passive character. The tragic nature of Ophelia’s death stems from the fact that outside forces were fully responsible for her suffering and that, in life, she was powerless to resist them.
Take the Analysis of Major Characters Quick Quiz
Dive into our comprehensive guide to ace your Shakespeare assignments
