Hamlet And Ophelia Analysis

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A dainty and beautiful woman, Ophelia is introduced as an obedient and frail character. Only listening to her father and brother, she is condemned to a life of purely following orders. The trait that is favorable of women during the Elizabethan era, will be her downfall. Her character may seem plain and simple, but is she?
Upon the first encounter with Laertes and Ophelia, readers learn of the blossoming love between Hamlet and Ophelia. However, like any good brother, he cautions Ophelia against pursuing this love. Hamlet is the prince. Even if he loved her, he would one day be forced into a royal marriage. The first impression is that Ophelia and Hamlet are similar in that they cannot be with whomever they desire since obligations prevent them from being with who they love. In the Elizabethan era, women in lower class and royals were faced with the same problem. Women were set up in arranged marriages. Royals had to marry other royals for their country. However, after mentioning Hamlet, Laertes’s innate way of thinking of women and of lower class leads him to force Ophelia to behave like a proper woman. Even after all the logical reasoning, he finds himself talking about women’s role in society. The way in which he talks to Ophelia is also revealing. Laertes speech presents itself as a lecture to a naïve mindless child. He does not think of …show more content…
When Hamlet found out, he decided to take revenge. Ophelia being a lower class than him, become perfect bait. When someone inferior to you, wrongs, you revenge becomes easy and inviting option. Since betrayal could make Hamlet appear as weak, he went to the extreme of saying that Ophelia should go to a nunnery. Wanting to be more powerful one in the situation, he turns the situation around and makes Ophelia appear as the weak character. Had Ophelia been a royal, Hamlet would not be able to call Ophelia’s betrayal out in

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