An Analysis Of Ophelia And Teen Pregnancy In Hamlet

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Sixteen and Pregnant Today, Ophelia would be referred to as your typical confused and stressed pregnant teenager. However, because of the circumstances in her life, her teen pregnancy ultimately drives her to suicide. In order to prove this is Ophelia’s primary reason for suicide, it must first be proven that Ophelia and Hamlet have the opportunity to have sexual intercourse and take advantage of this opportunity. It must further be proven that Hamlet knows about Ophelia’s pregnancy and abandons her. Only then can it be stated that Ophelia’s suicide was attributable to her conceiving Hamlet’s child. First, there is substantial evidence throughout the play that implies Hamlet and Ophelia have the opportunity to have sexual intercourse. …show more content…

In Ophelia’s last scene, she walks around singing bizarre songs and handing out flowers. This scene is essentially Ophelia’s last cry for help as she is pregnant and alone without parents. In addition, her brother, Laertes, would disapprove as he warned her about Hamlet and Hamlet is responsible for killing their father. Furthermore, she sings: “Quoth she “Before you tumbled me,/You promised me to wed./So would I ha’ done, by yonder sun,/An thou hadst not come to my bed” (Shakespeare 4.5.106). Ophelia sings about …show more content…

This leads to Ophelia becoming impregnated with Hamlet’s baby in her ultimate abandonment. Ophelia drowns herself, which is only fitting as she is the ultimate symbolic character (Showalter 286). When a woman is about to give birth, her water breaks. Since this will never happen for Ophelia, she dies by completely immersing herself in water. Nevertheless, some may interpret taking her child’s life, in addition to her own, as an extremely selfish act. However, Ophelia may have thought she was doing her unborn baby a favor. Throughout the play, she has no mother,

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