Ophelia Character AnalysisEven as a minor record in the play sm masterfully townspeople, the pillowcase Ophelia plays a merry part in the develop handst of some(prenominal) the piece and thematic ideas. However, Ophelia is an passing perplex flake as she can be read in many different ways. This in piece ca designs the readers or auditory modality to be much insightful and gain a great deriveing of the plan and thematic ideas in the play such as ?Love and Loyalty,? and ?Madness.? When exploring the character of Ophelia we must take into know personal beliefs, knowledge and international criticisms which may affect our course session of the character. For example, if the reader analyses Ophelia?s character from the perspective of feminism, concerned with the equalise rights and fair discourse of women, or historical context, an sense of what it was equal in the flowing of m the play was both scripted and set; their views of the character impart differ, whi ch then guinea pigs the reader to start a much in depth infering of the maculation and papers. Ophelia is present in completely a few scenes of the play. This is repay adequate to(p) to the fact that when the play was scripted in the Elizabethan period cleaning womanlys were considered to be really ? tete-a-tete? sort of people. There muse was to stay home, look afterwards the family and complete the housework. They were non allowed to transact and and so there argon very few new(a)-bearing(prenominal) characters in Shakespeare?s plays. If a play did incorporate of female characters they were generally played by young boys, which effectively ca employ restrictions and limitations amongst characterisation. development feminism fudges it possible to recall that Ophelia is non to pose as a main character of the play, moreover to act as a ?foil,? to serve well the reference reckon the more grievous characters in the play. small town?s alienation and Opheli a?s feelings of love for both articulatio ! and her set about are prime examples of the use of Ophelia as a foil. In both instances she is being used to help the audience identify the emotions and discrepancies of crossroads and her pay off. Unfortunately, as Ophelia?s heraldic bearing is limited it is believed that her character, although important, is naughtily developed and therefore provides readers with the opportunity to make up their own judgement. Ophelia can be argued as a character that despite her beauty is weak, frail and slowly controlled. Her wishing of self confidence makes her an easy target for Hamlet?s abuse. Ophelia has a very connected family with her brother, Laertes, and make, Polonius, but unfortunately she allows them to secure her how to live her life. An example of this is where Laertes warns Ophelia against having a relationship with Hamlet:For Hamlet, and the coquetry of his favour,Hold it a fashion and a trifle in blood,A chromatic in the youth of primy nature,Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,The perfume and suppliance of a minute,No more. (Act 1: Scene 3 lines 5-10)He suggests to Ophelia that Hamlet may not actually love her, he proficient wants a girl because that is the ?fashionable? thing to do. That is what everyone else his age is doing and therefore it is not legitimate everlasting love. Furthermore, Polonius uses his ?parental power? to move Ophelia that she is a resembling young and doesn?t go through that her decision to go with Hamlet would be a bad option. He to a fault explains to Ophelia that as they are noble, continuing her relationship with hamlet pass on affect not only her life but analogous the lives of her family members:Marry, well bethought. ?Tis told me he hath very oft of lateGiven private age to you, and you yourselfHave of your audience been most free and bounteous. If it be so ? as so ?tis prepare on me,And that in way of circumspection ? I must tell youYou do not understand yourself so clearlyAs it behoves my daughter and your honour. What is between you? Give ! me up the truth. (Act 1: Scene 3 lines 90-98)These two positions both demonstrate the head of ?Love and Loyalty.? In both instances Ophelia is being warned against her love for Hamlet. She is hurl in the situation of having to choose between her love for Hamlet or her fealty to her family. However, as the play continues so does the situation between ?Love and Loyalty,? and we begin to notice that Ophelia lacks an identity of her own. She is dependent on the men in her life as is unornamented in Act 3: Scene 2 (line 126), where she narrates ?I think nothing, my Lord.? At this point she has been hurt so poorly and is so confused that she doesn?t consider her thoughts to be important. Unfortunately, as time goes on the conflicts continue and Ophelia is forced to choose truth over love causing her to go into a severalize of rage. Madness is a theme evident throughout the upright text. It is evident in Hamlet, Ophelia, Polonius and Laertes. When discussing Ophelia?s charac ter, her madness is almost eer at the centre of controversy. Some people believe that Ophelia?s madness was caused by ?erotomania,? which the Elizabethans referred to as ?female love-melancholy.? Ophelia has also been figure as a young girl who ?felt? likewise much and mosthow allowed theses feelings to overcome her. It would be quite unprejudiced-minded for such an meet to scram a person to madness, plainly as Ophelia was drive mad.
If this was the cause of her madness it suggests that it stemmed from some sort of forestall erotic passion between herself and Hamlet. However, a more interest suggestion i s that Ophelia?s madness was caused by the death of h! er father or more importantly, the removal from all the male connections of the hierarchy. Ophelia was backing in a patriarchal dry land where women were extremely dependant on men. Once all the men in Ophelia?s life were gone she could not look at as she relied on them for advice and direction. If this is the case Ophelia then becomes the victim. This type of madness no doubt causes a different reaction by the audience toward the character. Instead of being just some unhappy girl who drove herself insane, Ophelia becomes the ?innocent? woman who loved her father so dearly that someone else has caused her grief and drive her mad. However, when taking the perspective of a feminist we begin to see the ?madwoman? as a heroine, a powerful figure that rebels against both the family and fond order. At first glance Ophelia seems like a simpleton character. However, an in depth reading of her character proves otherwise. Although Ophelia can be argued as a woman who is weak, frail a nd ultimately driven to madness by the death of her father and her love for Hamlet, an cause of feminism and historical context helps the audience to better understand Ophelia?s complicated character which can have nine-fold readings. However, as a poorly developed character we are able to make our own judgement and hypothesise the plot and thematic ideas. In essence, Ophelia?s character is just like a book in which you ?choose your own ending.? Her character is both limited and incomplete. Therefore, in order to gain an understanding of the plot and the thematic ideas of, ?Love and Loyalty,? and ?Madness,? we must create a complete perception of Ophelia. However, no matter what interpretation you choose, you will free come out in the end with a woman represented poorly. Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeares Ophelia. Shakespeare Online. 10 Dec. 2000. (11 October.2007) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/opheliachar.htmlHelena Faucit Martin, Shakespeares Female Characters, blackwood a nd Sons, Edinburgh, 1888. p.7-9Anna Brownell Murphy J! ameson, Shakespeares Heroines:Characteristics of Women (1889), AMS Press, new(a) York, 1967. 2000, [On-line]http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Hamlet-Character-Analysis-Ophelia.id-121,pageNum-360.html If you want to get a broad(a) essay, order it on our website:
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