Shakespeare was a master at portraying life-like and complex characters. Shakespeare wrote, in total, thirty-eight plays (Folger.edu). Of these thirty-eight, ten featured a strong female character, be it the antagonist or protagonist. The other twenty-eight plays portrayed women as frail and ultimately, weak. Hamlet falls into the former category with only two female characters: his mother and his almost lover, Ophelia. In total, Ophelia speaks fifty-eight times throughout the play, and what little she does, is very impactful.
Ophelia resembles what would be an obedient child and woman in the time of Shakespeare. With this being said, she also has the slightest bit of rebellion in her as she is very to-the-point and at times speaks her mind, …show more content…
Ophelia had no choice in whom she would marry. Richer women, such as Ophelia, were expected to marry as a teenager, and once married, she was under control of the husband (Trueman, Chris) Marriage for power was common during this time. We can even see an example of this in the play itself with Claudius and Gertrude. But like most young women, she is also ruled by the idea of romanticized love. How can she possibly obey her heart and also her mind when they are in conflict with each other? She can’t. Ophelia eventually makes her choice when lying to Hamlet about her father being at home. This shows the reader that she has made the choice to follow her father and do what is thought to be right. However, this weighs heavily on her mind and she spirals eventually into …show more content…
This may seem a sweet thing to do, but as she sings, her real thoughts slip out. In Act IV, Scene five, she sings a melody to Gertrude which reveals her true thoughts about the marriage between her and Claudius. She sings, “Which bewept to the grave did not go with true-love showers.” (Act IV, Scene 5). The reader can imply that Ophelia means as Gertrude’s dead husband lies in the grave, she did not go once to mourn and instead married another. The flowers she had given to each person are also a bit
Ophelia resembles what would be an obedient child and woman in the time of Shakespeare. With this being said, she also has the slightest bit of rebellion in her as she is very to-the-point and at times speaks her mind, …show more content…
Ophelia had no choice in whom she would marry. Richer women, such as Ophelia, were expected to marry as a teenager, and once married, she was under control of the husband (Trueman, Chris) Marriage for power was common during this time. We can even see an example of this in the play itself with Claudius and Gertrude. But like most young women, she is also ruled by the idea of romanticized love. How can she possibly obey her heart and also her mind when they are in conflict with each other? She can’t. Ophelia eventually makes her choice when lying to Hamlet about her father being at home. This shows the reader that she has made the choice to follow her father and do what is thought to be right. However, this weighs heavily on her mind and she spirals eventually into …show more content…
This may seem a sweet thing to do, but as she sings, her real thoughts slip out. In Act IV, Scene five, she sings a melody to Gertrude which reveals her true thoughts about the marriage between her and Claudius. She sings, “Which bewept to the grave did not go with true-love showers.” (Act IV, Scene 5). The reader can imply that Ophelia means as Gertrude’s dead husband lies in the grave, she did not go once to mourn and instead married another. The flowers she had given to each person are also a bit