A Character Analysis Of Ophelia
-
- Hamlet - Theme Analysis - royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest" (Iv.82-83). Hamlet has the...
-
- Hamlet: Analysis - of a loving father. Polonius further adds to the theme appearance verses reality by ordering...
-
- Gertrude Exposed - woman whose tragic flaw is her desire for sexual gratification. A thorough analysis of...
-
- Hamlet Commentary - the afterlife. Conversely, Hamlet maintains that suicide, as aforementioned above, will end his...
Submitted by freefortermpapers on 06/24/2008 03:00 PM
- Category: Psychology
- Words: 983
- Pages: 4
- Views: 8
- Popularity Rank: 695
A Character Analysis Of Ophelia
Ophelia is gentle, loving and beautiful. She is also obedient to her father and loyal to her family and it is this which draws her into the circle of disaster and leads to her untimely death. She is deeply in love with Hamlet and believes his tenders to be sincere, but her obedience to both her father and her brother must come first. The thoughts of her father and her brother influenced her the most. The love letters from Hamlet also swayed her opinions and confused her mind. Ophelia wasn't able to realize herself because of all the pressures exerted on her to be something she's not. That weakness of mind and will, which permitted her obedience to her father and thus destroyed her hope for Hamlet's love, finally resulted in her insanity and death.
Ophelia's thoughts and actions go beyond obedience to show that Ophelia is a weak and entirely dependent character. Ophelia's cruel actions towards Hamlet, which go against her feelings for him, demonstrate her obedience to her father. For example, in the beginning Ophelia tells her father that she likes Hamlet: "My lord, he hath importuned me with love/ in honorable fashion...." By stating this to Polonius, she implies that Hamlet is a decent and honorable man and that she does have some feelings for him. Ophelia's later actions sacrifice these personal feelings under the order of her father, proving her complete obedience. In particular, Ophelia agrees not to see Hamlet anymore after the request from her father. Ophelia's actions show that Polonius has complete control over his daughter because she sacrifices her personal feelings to please him. Ophelia's desire to please her father is the direct cause of her obedience. Thereafter, upon having agreed not to see Hamlet, Ophelia allows herself to be used as a puppet in order for the King and Polonius to spy on Hamlet. Ophelia's obedience goes deeper than her trying to please to father and shows what a weak character she is. Ophelia's thoughts and actions show...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!
