Ophelia's Character in Hamlet Essay

Ophelia has no choice but to say I will obey my Lord

Draft 1

In Hamlet, when looking at the character Ophelia, one of the main techniques Shakespeare uses to show her personality, is through her relationships with others and how she behaves in the presence of different characters. By focusing on her relationships, it is a lot easier to see her gradual progression into madness.

The first time Ophelia is mentioned in Hamlet, is in Act 1 Scene 3 where she is talking to her brother Laertes. We get the impression that she is not as important as Laertes as she has 4 word answers in comparison to his long paragraphs taking up most of the conversation. As they are discussing how Hamlet has told Ophelia that he loves her, it is ironic how she does not seem to have a real say in her views on the relationship. In Elizabethan times, it was an honour to be married, and the husband would then take over possession of the wife and she would obey him. The fact that Laertes is warning her about Hamlet shows he is trying to be a caring brother and protect her as he does not feel Hamlets love is genuine, therefore does not want her to get into a relationship with him.

Similarly her father warns her against Hamlet, but in a more domineering way. She says to her father I do not know my Lord what I should think. Polonius sees Hamlet as untrustworthy and unfit for his daughter, and as it is mainly up to the father of the family who the daughter marries, she has no choice but to listen. He tells her to think yourself a baby, which is degrading as most people would see her as a fully grown woman, yet he is putting her back down to a very low level; emphasising how she is inexperienced and is still young.

Polonius is not happy at all about Hamlets feelings for Ophelia, and in a long speech talks to her about how these small proposals of affection may not necessarily be love. He is obviously passionate in what he is saying to Ophelia, and makes it clear he does not agree with this when he says I charge you, come your ways. As Ophelia is only a woman, she does not have any right to argue back to her father as in the Elizabethan times the men were always in charge of the household and the women were made to follow their rules and guidance. This may be seen as another reason as to why Ophelia answered, I shall obey, my Lord, as she did not have any other option due to the low social position she held within the family.

As Ophelia has no motherly figure, she has no choice but to turn to both her father and brother when in need of advice, which could have some effect on the way that she behaves and obeys him, as he is her last living parent so she feels a need to obey him. This is also seen between Hamlet and his mother, when she asks him to stay in court, and he replies I shall in all my best obey you madam. However in comparing the two responses, Hamlets seems to maintain a high form of respect for his mother, whereas I shall obey, my Lord from Ophelia seems a much more blunt and unwilling agreement to what her father said, suggesting maybe she will rebel against his wishes.

When Laertes leaves, Polonius is the only person Ophelia can go to for help. The first encounter between Ophelia and Hamlet is when she had denied his access to her, which has supposedly seemed to send him mad. This is the first time we see any sort of relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia, yet from it we get the impression that he doesnt treat her well and has scared her. She again turns to her father for advice saying My Lord I do not know, making it clear that she is a much weaker character than Polonius as she constantly asks him for guidance on what to do, and therefore will always follow what he then advises her to do.

In comparison to another character that follows what she is told by Polonius, Gertrude is very much similar to Ophelia. Although she does have a higher status as she is actually his wife, she is still a woman so her own thoughts and opinions are always considered less than his. Even when Polonius is plotting against her son, she replies I shall obey you. This relationship would have been normal within Elizabethan England, as even when married and your immediate family lose control over you, the new husband therefore takes up the main role in a womans life to follow. Therefore it could also be argued that Gertrude has no choice but to say she will obey, as this is what was socially acceptable at the time.

In Hamlet, one of the main themes, even though at the time is was both set and written this had not been made an official act, is feminism. Throughout the play using both the characters of Gertrude and Ophelia Shakespeare puts them in contrast to Hamlet and Polonius to emphasise the fact that men did have total superiority over the women in their lives. One of the most famous lines throughout the play that really emphasises the way males dominate females is when Ophelia says to her father I shall obey, my lord.

Yet if we look more into the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia, he also uses this superiority of men to control Ophelia. From the beginning of the play where he says frailty, thy name is woman, it is clear that he lacks a lot of respect for Ophelia and sees being a woman as a bad trait, and that they do not deserve the same level of civility that they have amongst men. Also later on when he is acting on his madness, he both physically and mentally hurts Ophelia in front of others, but this is seen as acceptable because hes a man when he says get thee to a nunnery. Ophelia is unable to argue as not only is he using the fact that hes a man, but also that she loves him.

This could be because during the Shakespearian period in Elizabethan England, Women were still regarded as the lower sex, even with a woman on the throne. Women were expected to carry on obeying their fathers and brothers until they left home to marry, in which they would follow what their husbands said. We can clearly se the same ideas being used with both Gertrude and Ophelia in this play

I shall obey you my Lord can also be looked at in terms of stage purposes. With a Shakespearian crowd, Ophelia obeying her father would be seen as the norm, therefore when she starts to go mad, and talks back to her father, it would be seen as such a huge contrast in the play from the beginning where she obeyed her father without question.