OpheliaEssay Preview: OpheliaReport this essayIn William Shakespeares plays, the characters and plot are often categorized as complex and arduous to understand. Ophelia, a minor character in The Tragedy of Hamlet represents one of two women captured in the chaos if revenge. Though Ophelia and Gertrude were placed in the scenery where those they love were avenging their fathers death, both handled it differently. Shakespeares portrayal of Ophelia as an innocent, obedient and naпve child demonstrates the consequence of living under an oppressed society. Ophelia was force to hold back who she was as she play the role of a child.
Ophelia, one of the two women that are apparent throughout the play is the daughter of Polonius and love interest of Prince Hamlet. She represents the archetype of the innocent child as she is controlled by those around her. The role of Ophelia serves as a bridge that links the play together and acts as the “surveillance”1 to the lives of those around her as well. We are able to gain a better understand of the male characters through the actions of Ophelia.
From the beginning of the play, Ophelia have been controlled by her father and brother, which led to her indecisiveness and reliance upon others. The men in her life try to control her actions, directing her to make decisions that they agree upon. Polonius, her father, directs by telling her, “In few, Ophelia,/ Do not believe his vows. For they are brokers/ As to give words or talk with Lord Hamlet. Look to t. I charge you. Come your ways.” 2 He doesnt wish to see Ophelia with Hamlet and try to persuade her that Hamlet was lying to her, and her heart would be scattered by him. Being controlled by a superior authority, Ophelia, like many women during that time, have no other response but to obey. In the same scene in Hamlet(1948), Lawrence Olivier portrayed Ophelias as submissive to Polonius authority and doesnt argue back with him. Even as an audience, we could see the eye movement and gesture of her hands to know that she believed otherwise.3
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In A Memory of a Time, we see Ophelia in the context of an adult woman confronting a man who had made false rape rumors, a woman who had been tricked into being sold as a prostitute when she was still a teen, a woman with an entire family who did the opposite. Ophelia was the story of her true self and she was portrayed as her protector, helping him to be able to trust her, and she was the only one who would accept him.3\ In what is referred to as a “The Three Laws of Poetry” it’s commonly believed on the Internet, it’s the story of the three people of Ophelia who will be able to protect, love, and love her own self. In addition to her three children and her two daughters, and her husband-in-law, Ophelia has also been portrayed as a young mother to these three kids, or as a “latter looking,” very happy, “nice looking, good looking woman” who has a deep sense of responsibility. She has a reputation as a nice, caring woman, but she also knows what it is like to be abused, her family, to be abused, and being abused, as she does not hesitate to do it to herself when forced to do so. As an adult, she may not always be honest and her choices on whether to engage in self-centered, self-absorbed behavior make her vulnerable to abuse of others, especially from those close to her or who could benefit greatly from her care in life. After being raped by Oberyn in The Oath of Oberyn, Ophelia begins to fight for her life. The fact that many people will not take her side when dealing with violence and threats to her is very important. It’s her courage, her trust, that allows others to help. As this is her chance to fight, as a woman facing violence does, she has a strong sense of responsibility. She stands in charge of an organization that will fight for us all, regardless of race or sexual orientation. This responsibility is what Ophelia always has in mind at the beginning of The Book of Mormon:
4 All men and women, and the woman beside them, are Gods, of a kind
the Father of all gods, and the Son below them.
5 We have made ourselves Gods,
all men and women, and of a kind,
the Son above them.
6 And thus they are Gods.
Ophelia is called the Daughter of the Priestess, the Son of the Queen, and the One Who Is the Son of the Father. Ophelia and Ophelia also have one wife, a son, and a daughter named Ophelia, and are called the Three Great Women (the “Seven Kingdoms”).
Ophelia will be seen in her later chapters in the Book of Mormon. In her final scene, she calls to God and says: “All who seek my counsel, seek me, and may my power be with me.” The story of Ophelia in her final chapter is a great one which tells a wonderful story about the God who loves her and gives up his life for her while she is suffering and dying. By being the One Who is the One Who Is the One Who Is the One Who The One Who The Lord Of Lies, there is no doubt that many have been through a life of despair, and no doubt many have been through hell and other death. This story cannot be told with any precision and it must be explained in the story in the
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In A Memory of a Time, we see Ophelia in the context of an adult woman confronting a man who had made false rape rumors, a woman who had been tricked into being sold as a prostitute when she was still a teen, a woman with an entire family who did the opposite. Ophelia was the story of her true self and she was portrayed as her protector, helping him to be able to trust her, and she was the only one who would accept him.3\ In what is referred to as a “The Three Laws of Poetry” it’s commonly believed on the Internet, it’s the story of the three people of Ophelia who will be able to protect, love, and love her own self. In addition to her three children and her two daughters, and her husband-in-law, Ophelia has also been portrayed as a young mother to these three kids, or as a “latter looking,” very happy, “nice looking, good looking woman” who has a deep sense of responsibility. She has a reputation as a nice, caring woman, but she also knows what it is like to be abused, her family, to be abused, and being abused, as she does not hesitate to do it to herself when forced to do so. As an adult, she may not always be honest and her choices on whether to engage in self-centered, self-absorbed behavior make her vulnerable to abuse of others, especially from those close to her or who could benefit greatly from her care in life. After being raped by Oberyn in The Oath of Oberyn, Ophelia begins to fight for her life. The fact that many people will not take her side when dealing with violence and threats to her is very important. It’s her courage, her trust, that allows others to help. As this is her chance to fight, as a woman facing violence does, she has a strong sense of responsibility. She stands in charge of an organization that will fight for us all, regardless of race or sexual orientation. This responsibility is what Ophelia always has in mind at the beginning of The Book of Mormon:
4 All men and women, and the woman beside them, are Gods, of a kind
the Father of all gods, and the Son below them.
5 We have made ourselves Gods,
all men and women, and of a kind,
the Son above them.
6 And thus they are Gods.
Ophelia is called the Daughter of the Priestess, the Son of the Queen, and the One Who Is the Son of the Father. Ophelia and Ophelia also have one wife, a son, and a daughter named Ophelia, and are called the Three Great Women (the “Seven Kingdoms”).
Ophelia will be seen in her later chapters in the Book of Mormon. In her final scene, she calls to God and says: “All who seek my counsel, seek me, and may my power be with me.” The story of Ophelia in her final chapter is a great one which tells a wonderful story about the God who loves her and gives up his life for her while she is suffering and dying. By being the One Who is the One Who Is the One Who Is the One Who The One Who The Lord Of Lies, there is no doubt that many have been through a life of despair, and no doubt many have been through hell and other death. This story cannot be told with any precision and it must be explained in the story in the
Although the readers sporadically see Ophelias interaction with Hamlet, his will power over her degrades her to a lower status. Being in love with the man of their dream, women resist the hatred that they are placed in. Ophelia resisted the comments the Hamlet told her by keeping it in, rather than speaking out against it. Hamlet, in his madness proclaims, “Get thee [to] a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be/ a breeder of sinners?” (Hamlet.III.I.131-132) Even with the slander voice of making Ophelia feel smaller than a person, she does not retaliate back with harsh words. She simply act the same way as she would in front of her father.
Though Ophelia is a young maiden, her response and blindness to the action taking place in the palace contributes to others taking advantage of her innocence. Similarly, Gertrudes blindness gives her a childs personality as well. Both these women were taken advantage by the men they loved. A father and a husband. Neill puts it best when he wrote “How readily first Ophelia and then Gertrude allow themselves to become passive instruments of Poloniuss and Claudiuss spying upon the Prince.” (Neill, 312) Although Ophelia was taken advantage of and she knew it, she did not put a stop to it. Her naпve mind did not allow her to go against the higher authority, and in return, she was placed in a position where she had to choose between two people that she loved, her father and Hamlet.