Essay on Ophelia - The Innocent Victim in Shakespeares Hamlet

Ophelia - The Innocent Victim in Shakespeare's Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚   Poor Ophelia, she lost her lover, her father, her mind, and, posthumously, her brother. Ophelia is the only truly innocent victim in Hamlet. This essay will examine Ophelia's downward spiral from a chaste maiden to nervous wreck.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the beginning of the play, in Act I Scene iii, Laertes and Polonius are trying to convince her that Hamlet does not love her and only is interested in her so he can sleep with her. Laertes says "Perhaps he loves you now, ...... His greatness weighed, his will is not his own." He is telling Ophelia that she is likely to have her heart broken because of Hamlet's high birth. He may not be able to choose who he marries, so although he may love Ophelia, he can never marry her because of the difference in their social classes. This cannot have a good effect on Ophelia, her brother telling her that the her relationship with the one she loves is doomed from the start! Polonius tells her "Affection pooh! You speak like a green girl, / Unsifted in such perilous circumstance. / Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?" He means that although Lord Hamlet has been showing many signs of affection to Ophelia, it cannot be real. He is saying that Ophelia is blinded by Haml et's charm and is inexperienced (Unsifted) in this sort of situation. He goes on later to say that these affections are merely "...springes to catch the woodcocks" (traps to catch stupid little birds.) Why does Ophelia's family find it necessary to bring down her spirits about her relationship with Hamlet? Can't they let her figure it out for herself? This, in my opinion, is a good example of how Ophelia is victimized in this play.   Ã‚   Later in the play, when Hamle... ... shows how Ophelia is the real victim in Hamlet. Everybody else who was killed in the play had done at least something evil to warrant their deaths, but what did Ophelia do? Did Shakespeare intend for Ophelia to be an innocent victim? Was it his way of adding to the feeling of loss or waste that one is supposed to have after seeing the play performed? I believe this to be true, but we may only speculate as to his reasons for doing this. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos. Showalter, Elaine. "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism." William Shakespeare: Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Boston: St. Martin's, 1994. 220-240.