Ophelia

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For other uses, see Ophelia (disambiguation).

John William Waterhouse's painting Ophelia (1894)

Ophelia is a character from the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, Polonius' daughter, Laertes' sister, and Hamlet's love interest. She is a loyal and dutiful daughter, who obeys her father's instruction to lock herself from [Hamlet's] resort. There is a theory, however, that Ophelia might have been Hamlet's lover at some point in the past, made explicit in the 1996 Kenneth Branagh film. The character Ophelia has been portrayed in film by, among others, Jean Simmons (1948), Helena Bonham Carter (1990), Kate Winslet (1996), and Julia Stiles (2000).

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When Hamlet apparently goes mad, Polonius believes that his lovesickness for Ophelia is the cause. To test this he arranges, and secretly observes with Claudius, a meeting between the two lovers. Some critics argue^[1] that Hamlet, resentful of womankind and realizing that Ophelia is confederate in her father's plot, makes many cruel and humiliating remarks to her. Because of this, Ophelia is considered a scapegoat, a victim of Hamlet's anger with his mother and with women as a whole.

Ophelia by John Everett Millais (1852) is part of the Tate Gallery collection. His painting influenced the image in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet

Others critics believe^{[citation needed]} Hamlet acts this way because he is aware he is being spied upon and wants to convince Claudius and Polonius he has gone insane. Some see^{[citation needed]} Hamlet's sudden cruel treatment of Ophelia as an act of love: Hamlet may be attempting to cause Ophelia to leave him so she will be protected from the crisis he knows is coming, without burdening her (or risking exposure) by revealing his true plan.

Now truly convinced that Hamlet is mad, Ophelia comments sadly: O, what a noble mind here is o'erthrown. She supposedly loved Hamlet, and he rejected her. Hamlet later murders her father, Polonius. Ophelia loses her sanity, and falls into a stream while collecting flowers. She drowns without attempting to save herself. Some say^{[citation needed]} this supports a theory that she was carrying Hamlet's child as drowning oneself was supposedly a common way for unwed mothers of the time to commit suicide. Before her death, Ophelia sings snatches of bawdy songs and refers to common wildflowers that each had significance in folklore (rosemary, that's for remembrance).

Ophelia's death is described in detail by Hamlet's mother Gertrude in a famous monologue (There is a willow grows aslant a brook). It is also discussed between two clowns in the churchyard just before Hamlet enters. However, it is never explained exactly who witnessed her death.