Country Matters and Sins Remembered:

Ophelia in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark



Rob Vest

L314 Late Plays of Shakespeare

Dr Annette Wyandotte

22 July 2002





































In Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare presents us with the character Ophelia, the daughter of the king's advisor, Polonius, and beloved of the Danish prince. On the surface, Ophelia seems little more than a love interest for Hamlet. However, looking deeper, Ophelia can be interpreted as representative of the majority of women of the medieval/ Renaissance era: second-class citizens in a man's world.

The status of most women in Shakespeare's day (and earlier) is well known. Few were allowed property rights, a voice in government, education, or careers. Woman of the time were often viewed as valuable livestock, the property of a male guardian, be it relative or husband. In acquiring a wife, a man would gain not only a means to produce legitimate heirs, but several servants in one package-cook, launderer, maid, prostitute. Women of the day who wished to be "taken seriously" were at best, ignored, and at worst tried for witchcraft.

Ophelia's role in Hamlet reflects much of the patriarchal attitudes of the day. Her status is established early in the play, in Act I, Scene III, when her brother Laertes warns Ophelia to be cautious with Hamlet, lest her "chaste treasure open," (1) and she end up a plaything. Laertes believes Hamlet has no desire to marry his sister, therefore the implication is that Ophelia will be more valuable to future suitors with her maidenhood intact. This characterization of virginity as a valuable commodity serves to reinforce the status of women as property.

Shakespeare uses some interesting metaphors in this scene to stress the value of Ophelia's maidenhood: not only is it a "treasure," (2) but he compares it to a flower in the following lines:

The canker galls the infants of the spring

Too oft before their buttons be disclosed (3)

Much information can be gleaned from these two lines. "Infants of the spring" implies both innocence and fertility, while "buttons" could be taken for an anatomical metaphor. In contrast, while Ophelia's maidenhood is seen as a beautiful thing-both flower and treasure-Hamlet receives the unflattering phallic metaphor of the canker worm, eating away at the flower's beauty.

Ophelia plays the pawn in Act III, Scene I, where she meets with Hamlet at the behest of her father Polonius and King Claudius. Here Hamlet goes into a misogynist rant on the deceiving nature of women-"God has given you one face and you make yourselves another." (4) Of course, the reader knows that Ophelia is only being devious in this scene because her father and the king urged her to do so, which reinforces the stereotype of the day that women were innocent but not very bright. Hamlet, on the other hand, claims that Ophelia knows full well what she does-"you . . . make your wantonness your ignorance." (5) Shakespeare simultaneously reinforces an opposing stereotype-that women are devious creatures who feign ignorance in order to pursue their own agendas. It appears that women are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

In the same scene, it is implied that Hamlet has already had his way with Ophelia and is now treating her as disposable. This is seen in his query "are you honest?" which not only questions the truthfulness of her words but also her chastity. The rhetorical way in which Hamlet phrases the question tells us that he already knows the answer. Hamlet's cry, "Get thee to a nunnery," while on the surface makes Ophelia appear to be a tease who would be more at home in a convent, takes on a whole new meaning when one consults the Oxford English Dictionary, in which we learn that "nunnery," in Shakespeare's day, was a slang term for brothel! Is Hamlet telling Ophelia that she's no longer valuable as a wife, so she might as well seek her future in a whorehouse?

Hamlet is seen goading Ophelia further in Act II, Scene II, with all the sexual innuendos and puns he throws her way: "Lady, shall I lie in your lap?," "country matters," and "nothing." (6) One can interpret Hamlets off-color comments as the privileged royal having had his way with the help and now feeling like he can disrespect her any way he wishes. Ophelia's meek responses show the audience that she feels helpless, victimized, confused, and afraid to stand up to the prince.

Ophelia's final performance is in Act IV, Scene V, where she seems to have entered the realm of madness that her love Hamlet seems to also tread. Her madness differs from Hamlet's in that it is not hard-edged, angry, and confrontational, but sweet, soft, and sad. Her madness is also real, further feeding the stereotype of women as emotionally fragile creatures which need the protection of men.

Ophelia's madness seems to stem from a sense of loss, for she has lost not only her father, but apparently Hamlet's love. One is led to also wonder, by the song she sings, if she has lost her virginity as well:

Then up he rose, and donned his clothes,

And dupped the chamber door;

Let in the maid, that out a maid

Never departed more. (7)

Is Ophelia saying that she was not a "maid" when she left the chamber? Further, she sings:

Young men will do't, if they come to't,

By Cock, they are to blame.

Quoth she, "before you tumbled me,

You promised me to wed." (8)

It certainly sounds like Ophelia's lost her virginity. Though it is later revealed in the play that Hamlet is feigning his madness and still loves her, Ophelia, being just a pawn in the machinations of both Hamlet and Claudius, doesn't not know any better. Feeling as if she has lost everything that gives her value as a woman-her father, the man she hoped to one day marry, and her virginity-she finally loses her mind as well.

Finally, we learn in Act IV, Scene VII that Ophelia's madness has driven her to commit suicide by drowning. As this event is not even considered important enough to warrant a scene of its own, we see how Ophelia has been dehumanized from a living, complex character, to a plot device designed to intensify the tragedy suffered by Hamlet. One could argue that Ophelia's death is the true tragedy of Hamlet. Innocent, virgin, victim, trophy, whore, plot device, Ophelia serves as a good example to illustrate the perceived role of women in a patriarchal society.

1. William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (New York: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1997), I.3.34.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid, I.3.42-43.

4. Ibid, III.1.150-151.

5. Ibid, III.1.151-153.

6. Ibid, III.2.111, 115, 119.

7. Ibid, IV.5.51-55

8. Ibid, IV.5.61-64.