Hamlet Character Analysis Ophelia

The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, contains many complex characters involved in the royal court of Denmark. After the king’s tragic death, his son, Hamlet begins to lose his mind, leaving behind the girl he once loved. Ophelia, the daughter of the Lord Chamberlain to the royal court, remains a static character; obedient and passive, while still maintaining her innocence. Upon the death of a loved one, however, she goes mad, her own end reflective of her inborn characteristics.

Ophelia lived a very sheltered life, causing her to maintain an innocence even as she matured. Those around her aided this maintenance by treating as such. Before her brother, Laertes, departs for France, he warns Ophelia of her possible corruption if she stays with Hamlet. “‘The canker galls the infants of the the spring too oft before their buttons be disclosed. And in the morn and liquid dew of youth, contagious blastments are most imminent. Be wary, then. Best safety lies in fear. Youth to itself rebels, though none else near.’”(1.3.38-43) He is referring to Hamlet as the canker and Ophelia as the flower which has not yet bloomed. Hamlet’s promiscuity leads Laertes to believe that he will corrupt his innocent sister, warning her that even the best of girls can be led down the wrong path. Those around her feel obligated to protect her innocence, and her brother does so by trying to scare her away from someone who is not as innocent as she is. In her conversations with the more experienced Hamlet, this innocence becomes more obvious. While watching the play, their conversation turns more sexual, and Hamlet asks the innocent girl, “‘Do you think I meant country matters?’ ‘I think nothing, my lord.’ ‘That’s a fair thought to lie between maid’s legs...

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...lement. But long it could not be till that her garments, heavy with their drink, pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay to muddy death.’”(4.7.171-182). The description of her death brings about the perception that she allowed herself to drown. The drowning could have easily been prevented if she had gotten herself out of the water, she allowed herself to sink in the brook. Her passivity eventually led to her ultimate downfall, she accepted her death and did nothing to stop it.

Ophelia let her strongest characteristics ultimately destroy her in her mermaid-like death. Her innocence and family’s attempts to shelter her made her father’s death even more tragic. Unable to cope with her loss, and no longer having someone to command her, she allows her passivity to end her life. Immortalized in Denmark as the innocent girl who “died” of unfortunate circumstances.