Ophelia As A Victimized Character In Shakespeare's Hamlet

192 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hamlet is both a victim and a villain essay

In the play Hamlet, everyone has a role that they must perform.Some characters are meant to push the story forward, and some are meant to make us question the symbolism that they represent. Ophelia plays both of these roles. She pushes the story forward, and she represents many important ideas.Ophelia plays a victimized character; she is the innocent bystander in the play that dies off due to manipulation that leads to her madness. Hamlet, the king, and even her father all use her as a pawn to gain something they want, ignoring whether she wishes to follow along or not. With her death, the significance of her role is seen through the events that transpire. This makes Ophelia one of the importantcatalysts for the end game of Hamlet; her death

Show More
Related

  • Ophelia as a Foil to Shakespeare's Hamlet

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the audience finds a docile, manipulated, scolded, victimized young lady named Ophelia. Ophelia is a foil to Hamlet. Plays have foils to help the audience better understand the more important characters in the play.  The character of Ophelia is necessary so that the audience will give Hamlet a chance to get over his madness and follow his heart.

    Read More

  • Ophelia's Tragic Flaw Of Hamlet

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    The life of Hamlet is without a doubt very interesting, he suffers from unfortunate events in his time that are often major blows to his ego. His father dies while he’s away at college, Hamlet is next in line to be king until his “uncle-father” steals it from him; but it is to be known his “uncle-father” would not have stolen it if his “aunt-mother” hadn’t allowed it. It’s very apparent from the beginning of the play that he is very well obsessed with his mother and her doings. He harasses, humiliates, and abuses her because she has done such an unforgivable act by marrying Claudius. His thoughts and feelings towards his mother are very strong and well known, he even describes the odd pair as “little more than kin and less than kind.” That’s not all with Hamlet; his mother remarrying is just the tip of the iceberg so deeply rooted in the ocean of his emotions. His relationship with Ophelia is twisted, Hamlet goes through episodes of

    Read More

  • Essay on the Oppression of Ophelia in Hamlet

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare developed the story of prince Hamlet, and the murder of his father by the king's brother, Claudius. Hamlet reacted to this event with an internal battle that harmed everyone around him. Ophelia was the character most greatly impacted by Hamlet's feigned and real madness - she first lost her father, her sanity, and then her life. Ophelia, obedient, weak-willed, and no feminist role model, deserves the most pity of any character in the play.

    Read More

  • The Abuse of Ophelia in "Hamlet"

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story of Hamlet is a morbid tale of tragedy, commitment, and manipulation; this is especially evident within the character of Ophelia. Throughout the play, Ophelia is torn between obeying and following the different commitments that she has to men in her life. She is constantly torn between the choice of obeying the decisions and wishes of her family or that of Hamlet. She is a constant subject of manipulation and brain washing from both her father and brother. Ophelia is not only subject to the torture of others using her for their intentions but she is also susceptible to abuse from Hamlet. Both her father and her brother believe that Hamlet is using her to achieve his own personal goals.

    Read More

  • Ophelia's Descent to Madness in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    People have mostly seen women inferior to men because women have been thought of as simple-minded and could not take care of themselves. Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows how men treated and thought of women during the 1500s. There was an order most did not interfere with; however, some did. In the 1500s, women were supposed to conform to men’s wishes. Throughout the play, Ophelia first obeyed her father and brother’s wishes, ignored the social norms later, and then went mad, which caused her to never gain her own identity.

    Read More

  • Female Role In Ophelia

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, represents a self-confident and aware female character. She analyzes the world around her and recognizes the multitude of male figures attempting to control her life. Her actions display not only this awareness, but also maturity in her non-confrontational discussions. Though she is demeaned by Laertes, Polonius, and Hamlet, Ophelia exhibits intelligence and independence and ultimately resorts to suicide in order to free herself from the power of the men around her.

    Read More

  • The Tragedy of Lady Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    Melancholy, grief, and madness pervade Shakespeare's great tragedy, Hamlet.  The emotional maladies presented within Hamlet, not only allow the audience to sympathize with prince Hamlet, but also with the tragic lady Ophelia as well.  It is Ophelia who suffers at her lover's discretion because of decisions she was obligated to make on behalf of her weak societal position.

    Read More

  • The Analysis of the Character Ophelia on Hamlet

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is the most static character in the play. Instead of changing through the course of the play, she remains suffering in the misfortunes perpetrated upon her. She falls into insanity and dies a tragic death. Ophelia has issues surviving without a male influence, and her downfall is when all the men in her life abandon her. Hamlet’s Ophelia, is a tragic, insane character that cannot exist on her own.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Ophelia's Character in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the English play Hamlet, Shakespeare incorporates deep analytical thought in his writing by the use of character, symbolism, and motifs. Specifically, readers can find these characteristics through analytical reading of the character Ophelia. While initially reading the story, Ophelia represents a character that is typical of the women in the 1600s, one who is too submissive and directed by the people around her. First impressions of Ophelia's character seem much too simplistic- one that is emotionally governed and trivial, in a sense. However, when her words are analyzed along with her motives and state of mind, it appears that there is a greater sense of understanding, an underlying motive that is directed and well thought out by her words. Deeper insight into her character reveals that Ophelia not only has her own opinion, but may possess a larger capacity for independent thought than the people she surrounds herself by. In fact, it isn't her lack of intelligence and understanding that leads to her ultimate demise, but instead, it is her lack of action to certain circumstances. This type of behavior can be symbolic of Shakespeare's views on English politics. It seems that a lack of action within the populace can lead to utter ruin in the state. A passiveness and lack of defense, as Ophelia characterizes, is also symbolic of the eventual downfall that is likely to occur if these characteristics are expressed in society. In addition to being a direct contrast of Hamlet, analysis of Ophelia as a character leads to the fact that she is intelligent in her understanding, but her lack of action is to blame for her eventual insanity and untimely death, which is characteristic of the society in England.

    Read More

  • Use of Juxtaposition In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1477 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ophelia and Hamlet are greatly juxtaposed against each other in Hamlet. Ophelia’s role in the play is the foil to both Hamlet and to her brother Laetres. In the play Ophelia is the catalyst, the means of Laertes and Hamlets actions and she acts like a mirror and enables the audience to view them though a more heroic perspective. Throughout the play, Ophelia sparks events and although she isn’t a well developed nor a main character her part in the play is crucial. As the catalyst she causes the battle at the end of the play, as she did “persuade revenge” on Hamlet by Laertes.

    Read More

  • Hamlet and Othello: Ophelia and Desdemona

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ophelia's insanity is driven by the fact that she has basically been cut out of Hamlet's life. " Like sweet bells jangled, out of time and harsh,/ That unmatched form and feature of blown youth/ Blasted with ecstasy" (III.i. 158-160).Her role as an "innocent lady" is to complete the picture of faithfulness and obedience. Without Hamlet, it is difficult for Ophelia to fulfill her role. Ophelia is completely pushed over the edge whe...

    Read More

  • Role of Women in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ophelia’s betrayal ends up putting Hamlet over the edge, motivating him in his quest for revenge. Ophelia is one of the two women in the play. As the daughter of Polonius, she only speaks in the company of several men, or directly to her brother or father. Since we never see her interactions with women, she suppresses her own thoughts in order to please her superiors. Yet, however weak and dependent her character is on the surface, Ophelia is a cornerstone to the play’s progression.

    Read More

  • Poor Ophelia

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ng shaped and molded to the reflection of what these men saw and wanted out of a sister, daughter and lover/whore. Without this constant reflection, Ophelia’s purpose within the play has no meaning, for she was Polonius' pawn, Laertes' chaste sister, and Hamlet's lover. Now being that these male influences are removed, Ophelia no longer holds those titles- in fact, she holds no title- she becomes a mere nothing; a lost identity exhibiting a large amount of pathos. With Laertes gone to France, Polonius gone and dead and Hamlet gone from her heart, she is left with no guidance, thus making her tragically lost in a tragic world which leads to her tragic death.

    Read More

  • Critical Criticism In Hamlet

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare, Hamlet is a revenge tragedy that focus on Hamlet’s desire and pain for his father’s death. One of the many desires Hamlet strives to achieve in the play is Ophelia. Ophelia is a structural character that several critics would discredit as a focal part of the play. Elaine Showalter proclaims that Shakespeare gives very little information from which to imagine a past for Ophelia. She appears in only five of the play’s twenty scenes; (Showalter 221). Although, Ophelia has very few appearances in the play, her tragic ending still captures the audience attention. As a reader I can imply that Ophelia’s tragedy began before her death because of a patriarchic society-a system in which

    Read More

  • Why Is Ophelia Important In Hamlet

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet, the world famous Shakespearean play, contains a wealth of knowledge that applies throughout the ages. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, and Shakespeare entangles these characters in such a way that it produces valuable life lessons that apply to a wide variety of people. Among the more interesting characters in this play is Ophelia, who commit suicide and is one of the main driving characters in the story, though none of the other characters seem to think so until her demise. Whether Ophelia was an innocent young woman or a crafty conspirator, she was a motivator in the plot of Hamlet with her madness and she eventually contributed to the bloodshed in the final scene of the play that withstood the test of time.

    Read More

More about Ophelia As A Victimized Character In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Open Document