Hamlet uses Ophelia for his own personal gain, he toys with her emotions by making to seem as though she is the cause of his madness. Hamlet emotionally abuses Ophelia with no regard for her psychological well-being.
Hamlet is cruel to Ophelia because he has transferred his anger at Gertrude's marriage to Claudius onto Ophelia. In fact, Hamlet's words suggest that he transfers his rage and disgust for his mother onto all women. He says to Ophelia, “God has given you one face and you make yourselves another.
She has been hurt both mentally and physically by three men in her life who are Laertes, her brother, Polonius, her father and Hamlet her one and only “true” love. Ophelia is a victim of the male dominated society she is surrounded by.
Rejected by Hamlet, Ophelia is now desolate at the loss of her father. She goes mad and drowns.
Perhaps the most descriptive sexualization of Ophelia is when Gertrude describes her dead body as “mermaid-like” (4.7. 201) with “her clothes spread wide” (4.7. 200). Describing her clothes as “spread-wide” is especially suggestive, as to reference the act of removing clothing before sex.
Hamlet fears that his sexual indifference makes him worthless, so he cruelly punishes Gertrude and Ophelia for their lack of indifference. After Hamlet mocks Ophelia's makeup, her flirtations, and other indicators of her sexuality, he says once again that she should go to a nunnery and leaves.
Hamlet's sexually objectifies Ophelia when he asks her if he can lie on her lap (Act 3, scene 2, 105). This behavior is Hamlet's attempt to transfer his frustrations about his mother. Hamlet reconfirms his sincere love for Ophelia at her death bed.
By this point, Ophelia would be well aware of her pregnancy, and well aware that she would soon begin to show outward signs of it.
Background: Ophelia's syndrome is the association of Hodgkin's Lymphoma and memory loss, coined by Dr. Carr in 1982, while it's most remembered for the eponym in reminiscence of Shakespeare's character, Dr.
Grief-stricken and outraged, Hamlet bursts upon the company, declaring in agonized fury his own love for Ophelia. He leaps into the grave and fights with Laertes, saying that “forty thousand brothers / Could not, with all their quantity of love, / make up my sum” (V.i.254–256).
Ophelia is hurt so deeply by Hamlet's cruel words and his accusations that she uses her feminine nature to deceive men. Hamlet is so consumed by grief and the desire for revenge that he calls Ophelia a 'breeder of sinners' and suggests that she 'get thee to a nunnery. ' He also tells Ophelia he 'loved (her) not.
The transformation in Hamlet is attested by Claudius, Ophelia (“what a noble mind is here o'erthrown”) and by Gertrude (“my too much changed son”). This is acute depressive illness, not chronic melancholy. Hamlet's self diagnosis is that he is “thinking too precisely on th'event”(IV. iv.
Hamlet's tirade reduces Ophelia to a dishonest, licentious creature whose corrupt womb breeds only sinners (3.1. 119). He casts Ophelia into this role of a duplicitous harlot to render himself as doubly victimised — betrayed first by his mother, then by his lover.
One moment he says 'I did love you once', the next 'I loved you not'. He goes on to insult Ophelia and tells her to go to a nunnery. He tells her that this will be the best place for her and, by being a nun, Ophelia won't have children and produce wicked men like his uncle.
Q: What does Ophelia represent in Hamlet? Ophelia represents femininity in Hamlet. Hamlet acts out his aggression toward his mother on her, which finally leads to her madness.
And two, he's already in a relationship with Ophelia and despite him being an a-hole sometimes, the two are still in love with eachother. Furthermore, Horatio is gay and in love with Hamlet but can't pursue any relationship with him, due to the reasons above.
Tragic flaw: Ophelia has no control over her mind, body, and relationships, she doesn't think for herself.
Ophelia, spurned by her lover and abandoned by the absence of her brother and the death of her father, is driven mad and drowns. Moreover, the portrayal of a woman in various stages of incurring madness stems from a fascination with the concept of victimized womanhood itself.
Ophelia has become mad in response to the murder of her father, Polonius, by Prince Hamlet, with whom she used to have a relationship. Shakespeare conveys this change in Ophelia by having her adopt prose when she speaks, as well as singing inappropriate songs of a sexual nature in front of the King and Queen.
Bidding his sister, Ophelia, farewell, he cautions her against falling in love with Hamlet, who is, according to Laertes, too far above her by birth to be able to love her honorably. Since Hamlet is responsible not only for his own feelings but for his position in the state, it may be impossible for him to marry her.
By the way he acted around Ophelia when he was alone with her, he showed that his feelings for her were true. Hamlet's actions throughout the play show that he was really in love with Ophelia. The audience can see that Hamlet really did love Ophelia when he told her, “I did love you” (Shakespeare III 125).
One piece of evidence showing that Hamlet really did love Ophelia is when he tells her, “I did love you” (III. i. 125). Hamlet confesses that he loved her, but then goes on to say that he never loved her.
Hamlet finally reveals to Claudius where he has put Polonius' body after he killed him. He does so after telling Claudius that he can find him in hell, implying that is where Claudius belongs himself. Hamlet is not hiding his true feelings about his uncle or Polonius anymore.
Hamlet curses himself for his failure to pursue revenge against Claudius, when in reality his murder of Polonius was a decisive act of revenge, so Hamlet should instead curse fate for placing the wrong man behind the arras.
In the play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, only two members of the cast are female characters. One, Gertrude, is projected as an incestuous, cold-hearted, whore. The other, Ophelia, is cast to be a naïve, spineless, and ultimately ignorant girl.