Students in Prairie Ridge’s AP Literature and Composition class were required to “[c]raft a literary analysis essay” to “address one narrowed aspect of the play” Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Miles Ray chose to analyze what role Ophelia’s character holds in the play and how her death is the final representation of her oppression.
Everyone seems to die in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but Ophelia’s suicide is one of the more shocking events of his play. Ophelia, the gentle lover of Hamlet and filial daughter of Polonius, descends into derangement and performs an extreme act: ending her life. In Hamlet’s iconic “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy, he discusses the plight of the oppressor vs. the oppressed, and, in this story, Ophelia is the symbol of the oppressed. Throughout the play, Ophelia appears secondary to the goals of her loved ones, and she is pushed aside for the sake of their plots. Ophelia’s suicide represents the final act of oppression and suppression of her voice by her family and lover.
Ophelia lacked agency in her life decisions as she both felt obligated to give full obedience to her father and brother and was demanded by Hamlet to make certain life choices. Her first appearance in the play is a scene of her father and brother giving her instructions around what to do in her relationship with Hamlet. Laetres tells her that “[t]he chariest maid is prodigal enough [i]f she unmask her beauty to the moon. Virtue itself ’scapes not calumnious strokes” (I.iii.40-42). From her first scene, restrictions are already put on Ophelia by her family. Polonius reveals the lack of autonomy he offers her when he says “You do not understand yourself so clearly” (I.iii.105). By saying this, he tries to dictate Ophelia’s own thoughts. Her father continues this trend by demanding the details of her relationship with Hamlet and tells Ophelia, “[g]ive me up the truth” (I.iii.107). When she explains her relationship, he demeans her by articulating that she “speak[s] like a green girl [u]nsifted in such perilous circumstance”, and asks the question “[d]o you believe his “tenders,” as you call them?” (I.iii.110-112). Polonius degrades the authority Ophelia carries in her relationships and disregards her opinions on the matter. His speech to her reinforces her place below him. Ophelia replies to his tirade of directives with “I shall obey, my lord” and therefore corroborates her role of obedient daughter ( I.iii.145). Hamlet is also implicated in forcing restrictions on Ophelia’s life. Due to his own inner turmoil he declares that she must “[g]et thee to a nunnery” without her input ( III.i.148-149). He does not ask and instead tells her what she must do. Continuously, Ophelia’s own wishes are not considered by those she cares for, and her voice is not allowed to be heard.
Ophelia’s privacy was disregarded as her love life was exposed and used by her father, along with the king, to plot against Hamlet. In his attempts to incriminate Hamlet, Polonius uses Ophelia’s confidence in him. He does not account for her emotions when he displays her romance with Hamlet. In an attempt to showcase Hamlet’s supposed madness, he reads love letters sent to Ophelia that contains writing like “[t]o the celestial, and my soul’s idol, the most beautified Ophelia” and “[i]n her excellent white bosom, these, etc.” (II.ii.121). Polonius’ willingness to showcase these letters exhibits his insensitivity towards his daughter’s privacy. When reading Hamlet’s love letters, Polonius even states that “in her duty and obedience, mark, Hath given me this” which implies that Ophelia is not capable of denying his demands (II.ii.115-116). He furthers this by using her romantic relationship, in collision with King Claudius, to attempt to ascertain Hamlet’s “madness”. In this plan her father states that he will “loose my daughter to” Hamlet in order to provoke a reaction in him (II.ii.176). Effectively, Ophelia becomes a political pawn without her consent. By not caring about whether she wishes or does not wish to share aspects of her romantic relationships, Ophelia’s father oppresses her in another way.
Her suicide prevented her from ever making the choices she wants or using her voice; it was a final act of obedience. In the end, she descends into madness after the death of her father. Hamlet’s act in killing Polonius both betrayed her and took away two important figures who hold the most influence over her life. The disloyalty in Hamlet’s actions deeply affects her as she sings “[y]oung men will do ’t, if they come to ’t; [b]y Cock, they are to blame. Quoth she ‘Before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed.’ He answers: ‘So would I ’a done, by yonder sun, An thou hadst not come to my bed’” (IV.v.65-71). The song’s lyrics indicate how she feels used by Hamlet and disbelieves his previous proclamations of love. The decline in Ophelia’s state of mind after Polonius’ murder and Hamlet’s following banishment is also noticed by the characters around her. King Claudius notes this when he comments, “O, this is the poison of deep grief. It springs [a]ll from her father’s death, and now behold!” (IV.v.80-81) about her singing, and says explicitly that “Polonius’ death, and we have done but greenly…[d]ivided from herself and her fair judgment” (IV.v.89-92). By the end of Act IV, Ophelia comes to her demise. Although the circumstances of her death are somewhat mysterious, suicide is alluded to when the gravedigger asks another if she is “to be buried in Christian burial, when she willfully seeks her own salvation?” in reference to her drowning (V.i.1-2). Ophelia represents a paragon of obedience and humility, but with no one to obey she can no longer be that. By ending her life, she no longer can choose what to do with it.
In Hamlet, Ophelia’s ability to make choices is continually stifled by the people she cares about in her life, and her death is the final representation of that. Her agency is drowned by the actions of those she feels she must obey, both figuratively and literally. Ophelia’s presence in the play is centered around the important men in her life, and her character is barred from existing without them.
