The Character Of Polonius In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Polonius, the Danish King’s counsellor and father to Laertes and Ophelia in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, cares deeply about his family’s reputation, which to him, is the same as his own. Polonius is often more concerned with his position in Denmark than the welfare of his children and as a result, his approach to parenting is often flawed due to his overprotective, suspicious, and controlling tendencies in regard his children, for their behaviour may reflect upon his own character and jeopardize his status at court.
Primarily, Polonius is overprotective and demands to constantly be involved in the lives of his children. He does not have faith in their decision making and insists that his opinion be obeyed at all times to prevent them from …show more content…
As a result, Polonius actively violates his children’s privacy to remain intertwined in their personal lives. He even goes to the extent of encouraging his man, Reynaldo to make up insulting lies about Laertes when speaking with others, saying, “put on him What forgeries you please” (2.1.20) including rumors that he is often found “drinking, fencing, swearing, Quarrelling” and even “drabbing” (2.1.26-7) to find out if any such accusations in regard to Laertes’s behaviour are true, rather than ask him directly. The issue with Polonius’ method of parenting, is that he does not aspire to achieve a transparent relationship with his children but prefers the alternative method of spying on them to “by indirections find directions out” (2.1.66) instead. Polonius’ determination to be constantly aware of his children's’ actions is tremendously harmful, for he does not prioritize the risk of “dishonoring” (2.1.28) Laertes as Reynaldo points out, above his selfish motive to maintain his public …show more content…
Because Polonius wants his children to behave respectably at all times on his behalf, he minimizes for Laertes and Ophelia’s freedom. The impact of this parental approach, is that even Polonius’ blessings are in fact further commands in disguise that his children must follow. This principle is highlighted when Laertes is first preparing to leave Denmark and journey to France as Polonius tells his son to “take my blessing with thee” (1.3.57) and then continues to warn Laertes to act in a very particular and secretive way including to “give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; / Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgement” (1.3.68-9) in order to always be aware of the affairs of others, but never involved, therefore extending Polonius’ intrusive ear and simultaneously protecting their family’s reputation abroad. Moreover however, Polonius even tells Ophelia to “think yourself a baby,” (1.3.105) in order to condition her to rely on him and follow a predetermined path that he has chosen rather than develop any capacity to rationally deal with problems on her