In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius says this line to Ophelia and it represents how women were depicted during this time period. The line starts out with Polonius calling Ophelia “Mary”. This could be a biblical allusion to the Virgin Mary, who is often depicted as pure and innocent. During this time, fathers, like Polonius, would expect their unmarried daughters to be virgins who was pure and innocent because their virginity determined their value. Polonius also calls her a “baby”, which often represents naivety and innocence. Another instance where Polonius believed Ophelia was extremely naive is when he says that he would like to “teach” her about things, not believing that she could possibly learn things by herself. During this time,
