Laertes, the son of Polonius returns to Denmark, preparing to avenge his father by killing Hamlet, soon to hear that his sister had died as well when Gertrude says, “One woe doth tread upon another’s heel / So fast they follow. Your sister’s drown’d Laertes” (IV, vii, 63-64). Throughout the novel, it is apparent that the women in the play did not stand up for themselves. Ophelia is ordered around, and never argues. When she is told to end her relationship with Hamlet, she obeys, but unfortunately for her, Hamlet gives her a hard time. Once deciding to go mad, Hamlet continuously bothers and roundly insults her, saying things like, “Get thee to a nunnery” (III,i,121), implying that she should stay away from men, and he continues to insult her virginity. Once Hamlet murders her father, Ophelia meets her breaking point and goes completely mad. One can conclude that when Gertrude tells Laertes the story of how Ophelia dies, it sounds an awful lot like she committed suicide because she could not take it anymore. Whether Ophelia’s death was an accident or not, Hamlet is clearly the one to blame, for he was the reason her father died, and the reason she became mad, causing her inability to think clearly when she was facing death. Due to Hamlet’s fantastic procrastination skills, by this point in the play he managed to kill two people, but none of whom were
Laertes, the son of Polonius returns to Denmark, preparing to avenge his father by killing Hamlet, soon to hear that his sister had died as well when Gertrude says, “One woe doth tread upon another’s heel / So fast they follow. Your sister’s drown’d Laertes” (IV, vii, 63-64). Throughout the novel, it is apparent that the women in the play did not stand up for themselves. Ophelia is ordered around, and never argues. When she is told to end her relationship with Hamlet, she obeys, but unfortunately for her, Hamlet gives her a hard time. Once deciding to go mad, Hamlet continuously bothers and roundly insults her, saying things like, “Get thee to a nunnery” (III,i,121), implying that she should stay away from men, and he continues to insult her virginity. Once Hamlet murders her father, Ophelia meets her breaking point and goes completely mad. One can conclude that when Gertrude tells Laertes the story of how Ophelia dies, it sounds an awful lot like she committed suicide because she could not take it anymore. Whether Ophelia’s death was an accident or not, Hamlet is clearly the one to blame, for he was the reason her father died, and the reason she became mad, causing her inability to think clearly when she was facing death. Due to Hamlet’s fantastic procrastination skills, by this point in the play he managed to kill two people, but none of whom were