Function of Ophelia in the Plot of the Story
Ophelia is portrayed as an innocent girl who is faced with grief when her father dies as she is left talking in riddles and singing sorrowful songs. The grief Ophelia undergoes leads to her drowning in the end with suggestions that she might have killed herself. However, there is a disagreement with the sentiments of the clerics during the funeral event since Laertes, her brother believes that the innocent soul of Ophelia will be in heaven. The fact that her brother believes that she shall be in heaven further paints the picture of an innocent Ophelia. The Queen wishes that Ophelia would have been alive to marry her son. The events that take place at the funeral portray a picture of the love that everyone had for Ophelia to an extent that Laertes jumps into the grave excavation with request to hold the body of Ophelia in his hand and proclaim his love for her. However, after the funeral, Ophelia becomes forgotten and is not mentioned in the scenes that follow. Ophelia is used in the play to depict the plight of troubled lives of young girls in the society. The events that happen around Ophelia reflect the pressure that subject young ladies to mental problems leading them to find it hard to cope with normal life. Ophelia plays the role of how insanity can hinder the ability to overcome stressful situations in life.
Ophelia is used to investigate the behavior of Hamlet thereby representing the picture of how women are used in the society for purposes that paint them as tools to be used in spying on men. Ophelia is used to depict goodness among young who are often oblivious of the exacting actualities of life. Her innocence is proven by the fact that she is less interested in the matters of the state since most of her time is spent gathering flowers. Ophelia is ordered by her father not to see or write letters to Hamlet, an order she obeys. The fact that her father’s death makes her insane shows the vulnerability she is exposed to since her father was among the people she depended upon largely. Through her songs, Ophelia functions to pass the message of how actions of people lead to oppression of the innocent souls. The innocence in Ophelia is proved by the fact that she is obedient with no control over her body, relationships and choices given that she obeys what she is told by her father and complies with the orders in a way that shows utmost respect for everyone.
Value of Innocence, Beauty and Honesty as Portrayed in the Character of Ophelia
The character of Ophelia shows the extent to which being completely obedient can be destructive to the life of an individual. The innocence portrayed by Ophelia shows that it is hard to fight back in situations that require obedience even when one need to. Ophelia is used by her father to spy on Hamlet with the latter accused of being a bad woman by Hamlet. The innocence and beauty of Ophelia therefore makes her father believe that she could be the right person to spy on Hamlet. Polonius, Ophelia’s father arranges for a place where Ophelia and Hamlet could meet with demands from her father to reply to the letters Hamlet had written to her as a way of winning his heart. The reaction of Hamlet is one that could cause any woman to be mad, but the innocence and honesty of Ophelia makes her calm in spite of Hamlet suggesting that she gets into a nunnery.
In her madness state, Ophelia sings songs that depict sorrow in the ways she was treated and the fact that she had been a victim of abuse. The fact that the madness kills her also suggest that her innocence makes her incapable of defending herself and that she is unable to share her predicaments with anyone around her. Her honesty and innocence makes her subjective to what the men tell her such that she is unable to make decision of her own. The then shows the fact that her freedom of expression had been infringed on and that she had no power to contest whatever she was required to do by his father, brothers or Hamlet. The character of Ophelia therefore shows how values of honesty, innocence and beauty could be used in a way that finally causes psychological complications to the victim. Ophelia is shuttered under the strain of her father’s death and the cruelty she faces from Hamlet which then makes her to go mad.
Innocence of Ophelia
Ophelia is innocent considering the humility and obedience with which she functions in the play. Ophelia is willing to obey all the instructions given to her by her father, brother and Hamlet thereby suggesting that her heart was one filled with respect and honesty for her seniors. Even after her father’s death, Ophelia does not seek for ways to revenge or investigate on what transpired to her father’s death. Instead, she is involved in gathering flowers which proves that she had the heart of an innocent woman. After her death, Ophelia is buried at a secret ground which indicates her innocent soul with her brother indicating that her soul will be in heaven. Ophelia is painted as a noblewoman who in spite of being insulted by Hamlet, remains cool and still shows the humility in her. This implies that Ophelia had no personal agenda and is only governed by her humble nature and respect for those in authority and her elders.
It could be argued that Ophelia has her own agenda by the fact that she agrees to her father’s order to spy on Hamlet but to an extent, the gesture could be because she has to obey the instructions of her father and fear the consequences of disobedience. Through her innocence, Ophelia is able to survive the hardships exacted upon her since she does not seek any forms of revenge for all the problems she faces. Her innocence leads to her crumbling to insanity that in turn leads to her drowning. In spite of Hamlet’s belief that all women are driven by corruption and sexual desire, the case for Ophelia is different as she is a humble young lady. The reason for Hamlet’s reaction could be because Hamlet had the hint that Polonius was using his daughter to spy on him.
However, as an obligation to respect her father, Ophelia had no option but to respect her father’s commands to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet is only disappointed by the fact that Ophelia chose her father over him, a claim that could not be used to brand Ophelia as a bad woman. Ophelia is, therefore, the epitome of goodness who does not undertake state matters as she devotes most of her time gathering flowers. Her heart is therefore pure and in the event where she does dishonest acts, it is simply because she fears the consequences of her disobedience. Despite of the brutality from Hamlet, Ophelia still shows love for him with her innocence working against her considering that traumatic events keep following her. Even in her insane sate, Ophelia is seen as an incorrupt and virtuous lady as she is still humble in his insane state. The character of Ophelia is therefore one focused on goodness and that any actions that contradict her good traits are a result of fear of the consequences that would follow if she failed to obey commands from his father.
Works Cited
Bradley, Cecil. Shekespearean Tragedy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1966. Document.
Shakespear, William and Constance Jordan. William Shakespear's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. New York: Pearson, 2004. Document.
