Ophelia In Hamlet

Ophelia is one of the characters in Hamlet with the most unrealized potential for character development. Even though she is relatively important to the plot we don’t know much about her. She is used as a pawn by almost every character in the play, and because she is woman, she is unable to say no, or speak her mind. She is essentially trapped. Throughout the play, she faces arguably just as much emotional trauma as Hamlet. She believes herself to be in love with Hamlet, but both her father and her brother insist, rather harshly, that she is being used and must stop seeing him. Neither of them seem to care for her feelings, they are mostly concerned with her reputation. After she breaks off her relationship with Hamlet at her father’s

command, Polonius forces her to spy on him, and when she does attempt to speak with him, Hamlet says horrible things to her and claims that he "loved [her] not” while only a few days before he had looked heartbroken when he came to visit her rooms. Anytime she attempts to say something with more personality than a simple yes or no, she is completely shut down by Polonius. Eventually it all becomes too much, causing Ophelia to go mad, and eventually commit suicide. No one ever listens to Ophelia, or asks her what she wants. Laertes obviously loves his sister, but even he talks over her and doesn’t really pay attention to how she feels. The only person who seems to be sympathetic to her plight is Gertrude, another woman, and probably the only other person in the play who truly understands what it means to be powerless.