Ophlia:In Living Color
Women throughout history have constantly been analyzed more than men. Their every move can be used to stereotype a sub-culture of people. This is especially true for women in literature. It is here that a woman becomes more than a solitary being. No longer distinguishable from other women she becomes a symbol of the motivations and desires behind the female mind. It is interesting then to take a gander at William Shakespeare's timeless plays. While it is clear that Shakespeare alluded to the influential qualities of the female persuasion, the attributes that he instilled in his irrational heroines are less than flattering. In Hamlet, Shakespeare creates a seemingly insignificant female whose only worth and literary merit stem from her questionable relationship with Hamlet. Ophelia is purposely portrayed ambiguously to allow the reader to focus their attention on the Price of Denmark's motivations. Despite Ophelia's apparent lack of stage time, her dubious relationship! with Hamlet, and her symbolic portrayal of female insanity, Ophelia remains a prominent woman in literature. One thing is certain Shakespeare did not intend for the play to be centered around a love affair. Thus Ophelia and H
in white with flowers for everyone. "Her flowers suggest the discordant double images of female sexuality as both innocent blossoming and whorish contamination, who in giving away her flowers and herbs, is symbolically deflowering herself."(Burton 81) It is clear that Ophelia is never meant to be the pure maid that some make her out to be. "Shakespeare's description of Ophelia's flowers would have had sexual overtones for a contemporary audience because many of the flowers mentioned had associations with sexuality. Flowers such as fennel and rue were also recognized contraceptives and abortifacients." (Painter, Parker) Ophelia's bawdy song, her father and brother's warning against being seduced by Hamlet and her madness and suicide can be interpreted as suggesting an unwanted pregnancy. However, Shakespeare has intentionally left that question ambivalent. Finally her insanity has come to its limit. Having told everyone about her impurity the very thing that helped dri! note on decorum not much can be inferred about how much time Ophelia has spent with Hamlet. The reader is then left to draw their own conclusions through the interaction between Ophelia and Hamlet. There are three major scenes to consider. The first is the "nunnery" scene. Hamlet's comment " Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered,"(Monsell 72) indicates that Ophelia herself has been a witness to these sins and perhaps partaken in them. In the play within the play Hamlet's comments can only be considered lewd. The comfort and the manner in which Hamlet speaks to Ophelia indicate sexual relations between the two characters. The third scene takes place during Ophelia's madness, and quickly dissuades the reader from thinking of Ophelia as a pure maiden. However, Ophelia's innocence and confusion as to what she should think about Hamlet's interest in her can lead the reader to believe that Shakespeare himself did not write the play with intentions of suggesting tha! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ er father is killed and Hamlet is sent to England. Therefore if Ophelia's madness comes from the fact that her father was murdered, then her madness becomes one that makes her a victim. Rather than dismiss Ophelia as some lovesick girl who has drive
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Approximate Word count = 1544
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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