Ophelia is first introduced in the third scene of the first act. In this scene, she is having a discussion about Hamlet's advances towards her with her brother, Laertes. During his lecture about the ways of men, Laertes reminds her that "His greatness weighed, his will is not his own. / For he himself is subject to his birth"(1.3.20-21). He continues by warning her of giving up her chastity lightly saying of Hamlet's advances: "Fear it, Ophelia, fear it my dear sister. / And keep you in the rear of your affection, / Out of shot and danger of desire"(1.3.36-47). Ophelia responds to her brother's admonishment on the subject of love, saying "I shall the effect of this good lesson keep / As watchman to my heart"(1.3.45-46). As Laertes departs, Ophelia promises him that his advice will be taken to heart: " 'Tis in my memory locked, / A

In my mind, to turn away from love in this fashion is certainly not commendable, and even goes so far as to damn her in my mind before her role in the play has really begun. However, Ophelia takes this one step further. She not only denies Hamlet, but after denying him and his purported love, she agrees to a scheme devised by her father and the King to see if she is indeed the cause of Hamlet's unhappiness. When the planned encounter occurs, Ophelia says to Hamlet "My lord, I have remembrances of yours / That I have longed long to re-deliver. / I pray you now receive them"(3.1.94-96). When the situation demanded it, her father once again manipulated her, this time to test the theory he has concerning the cause of Hamlet's madness. Ophelia does exactly what she is told, which should make one doubt whether Ophelia feels anything for Hamlet at all, for she appears to be able to turn her heart on and off again at the whim of her father.

The question that this brings to the foreground is why Shakespeare would choose to give his audience this impression of one of only two female characters in the play. One thing that must be considered when attempting to answer this question is the nature of the Queen, who is the other female character. As the Ghost proclaims, she is easily manipulated during the play by the King: "So to seduce! - won to his shameful lust / The will of my most seeming - virtuous Queen"(1.5.97-98). Also, as we are shown many times in the play, the Queen remarries quickly after her husband's death; indeed, in describing the hast of the wedding, Hamlet points out, "The funeral baked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables"(1.2.180-181). This may well signify the Queen's need for, and dependence on, male support and guidance. This may well have been the

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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)