To Be or Not To Be: A Tragedy
Hamlet is a tragedy which primarily focuses on Hamlet’s feelings on his father’s death and his attempt to avenge the death. Part of this tragedy involves Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia, who gains attention only because of her tragic circumstances. One can imagine Hamlet’s story without Ophelia, but Ophelia has no story without Hamlet, which demonstrates the powerlessness of women in the play. In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,’ Ophelia’s life seems tragic, but for her death to truly be tragic, she had to realize her powerlessness without the men in her life. Ophelia does not have many options as a woman in a patriarchal society, and Helena Bonham Carter’s juxtaposition of Ophelia’s childlike nature with the …show more content…
“Think yourself a baby...tender yourself more dearly,” (1. 4.18) Polonius shows that she is not fit to make her own decisions and needs to tell her what expectations she should have for herself. Even here, when Polonius says that she needs to think herself as a baby, that shows how men in that society wanted women to be treated as children while still expecting them to be proper women. Ophelia suffers from hysteria because there is little she can do to solve it. Ophelia’s muteness, or inability to speak her mind, stems from her repressed desires and the hysteria is sexual frustration, social helplessness, and enforced control of women's bodies. Ophelia wants to be able to express herself and her desires, but the patriarchal authority does not allow her to. Carter supports this when she portrays Ophelia in the way she sexually assaults the male guard, and by fondling with the sash of the embarrassed guard. This supports the juxtaposition Carter represents because while she wears a shapeless smock that makes her look like a little girl, she contrasts that with her mature advances on the male guard. Carter is innocent, naïve, and obedient but in her acting, her madness seems real and tangible. Carter as Ophelia conveys the impression of a woman that thinks for herself. She opposes her father with her defiant looks and challenges what men expect of
Hamlet is a tragedy which primarily focuses on Hamlet’s feelings on his father’s death and his attempt to avenge the death. Part of this tragedy involves Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia, who gains attention only because of her tragic circumstances. One can imagine Hamlet’s story without Ophelia, but Ophelia has no story without Hamlet, which demonstrates the powerlessness of women in the play. In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,’ Ophelia’s life seems tragic, but for her death to truly be tragic, she had to realize her powerlessness without the men in her life. Ophelia does not have many options as a woman in a patriarchal society, and Helena Bonham Carter’s juxtaposition of Ophelia’s childlike nature with the …show more content…
“Think yourself a baby...tender yourself more dearly,” (1. 4.18) Polonius shows that she is not fit to make her own decisions and needs to tell her what expectations she should have for herself. Even here, when Polonius says that she needs to think herself as a baby, that shows how men in that society wanted women to be treated as children while still expecting them to be proper women. Ophelia suffers from hysteria because there is little she can do to solve it. Ophelia’s muteness, or inability to speak her mind, stems from her repressed desires and the hysteria is sexual frustration, social helplessness, and enforced control of women's bodies. Ophelia wants to be able to express herself and her desires, but the patriarchal authority does not allow her to. Carter supports this when she portrays Ophelia in the way she sexually assaults the male guard, and by fondling with the sash of the embarrassed guard. This supports the juxtaposition Carter represents because while she wears a shapeless smock that makes her look like a little girl, she contrasts that with her mature advances on the male guard. Carter is innocent, naïve, and obedient but in her acting, her madness seems real and tangible. Carter as Ophelia conveys the impression of a woman that thinks for herself. She opposes her father with her defiant looks and challenges what men expect of