In Hamlet, what's up with Ophelia? Why does everyone seem to have a say about what...

In Hamlet, what's up with Ophelia? Why does everyone seem to have a say about what happens to her body and her relationships but her? Did she actually kill herself, or is she just so passive that she won't even save herself?

Expert Solution

I think she a passive and obedient character who lived by her father's rules until she was married and then would live by her husband's rules eventually. Which is why, Ophelia has no control over her body, her relationships, or her choices.
And eventually, Ophelia snaps—just like a lot of people who spend their lives obeying other people without any sense of personal agency.
Girls are always taught to obey the patriach of the family,that the men in her life kind of control who they are and what they should do.Their idenities our determined first by their father's name and then by their husband's name and they should submit to the rules laid out by them,which is what exactly Ophelia was doing.
She knew her father was using her to spy on someone guy and he accuses her (and all women) of being a "breeder of sinners" and orders Ophelia to a "nunnery", i.e. a brothel. But she can't call him out on his language, because, as a good girl, she can't admit that she knows what it means.
She was kind of traumatized about constant comments on her sexuality,which ultimately lead to madness in her.When she goes mad, she sings a bawdy song about a maiden who is tricked into losing her virginity with a false promise of marriage,part of the reason why many literary critics see Ophelia's madness as a result of patriarchal pressure and abuse.
Rather than straight-up committing suicide,she accidentally falls in the water and then simply neglects to save herself from sinking. Ophelia's "garments" "pull" her down, as if they had a mind of their own. This seems to be a metaphor for the way Ophelia lives her life: doing what her father and brother and boyfriend tell her to do, rather than making decisions for herself.

Hayet Jeridi answered 2 months ago

What does research say about consumer responsibility during recall situations? And, what's a consumer to do,...

What does research say about consumer responsibility during recall situations? And, what's a consumer to do, when the manufacturer has no remedy?

Why is there no justice in the state of nature? What does this say about the...

Why is there no justice in the state of nature? What does this say about the nature of justice? would it make difference if God looked over (and created the state of nature?)

What does it mean when we say an interface is 'Up-Up'?

In your own words, what does the Law of Large Numbers have to say about a...

In your own words, what does the Law of Large Numbers have to say about a coin which is twice as likely to come heads as it is to come up tails? Be sure to give the real world interpretation of any mathematical expressions you use (like x̄n, for example). What does the central limit theorem have to say about that coin from problem 1 (in your own words)? In particular, how does the central limit theorem tell us more...

Describe the main ideas of the endogenous growth theory. What does it have to say about...

Describe the main ideas of the endogenous growth theory. What does it have to say about the role of government in economic growth?

1.) What would a trauma therapist say about the Loftus memory experiments which seem to cast...

1.) What would a trauma therapist say about the Loftus memory experiments which seem to cast doubt on the possibility of repressed memories? What would Loftus say? Who is more correct in your opinion? 2.) Do you think mental development is mostly due to biological brain growth or social factors (Use Piaget and his critics to answer this question)? 3.) Explain the serial position effect and how it can be tested/demonstrated. In addition, explain the dichotic listening task and mention some of...

What does the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations say about Categorical Grants? Why are Categorical...

What does the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations say about Categorical Grants? Why are Categorical Grants important?

Question

In Hamlet, what's up with Ophelia? Why does everyone seem to have a say about what...

Solutions

Expert Solution

Related Solutions