Chloë Witherow
Prompt 2: “Show how a secondary character helps develop a theme in Hamlet.”
Sixteenth-century England was a predominantly patriarchal society, in which men controlled the majority of societal functions, such as politics, economics and religion. William Shakespeare’s plays were written during this time period and were influenced by the overarching misogyny of his time, featuring stereotypical gender roles, such as inferior women and powerful men. Arguably his most popular play, Hamlet, immortalizes these past beliefs through its depiction of female characters as obedient, docile and weak. Ophelia, a secondary female character in Hamlet, is integral in developing the theme that overpowering men oppress women, turning them into passive objects of desire, thereby reflecting their own internalized misogyny. Ophelia herself is a vessel for her male family members to shape to their will, is described as a dishonest, sexual object by Hamlet and ultimately commits suicide when she loses the men who externally defined her sense of self.
Ophelia seems to have grown up without a mother or strong female role model, and her actions and thoughts are heavily shaped by her male family members’ opinions. Her closest relatives, father Polonius and brother Laertes, are very concerned with appearances and, along with many others during this time, believe a woman’s worth can only be defined by her chastity and purity. When Laertes and Polonius learn of Ophelia’s budding romantic relations with Hamlet, they scoff and scold her for believing that the Danish prince could truly love her. Laertes tells Ophelia not to lose her “heart or [her] chaste treasure” (I.iii. 31), since a woman’s virginity at that time was valuable and necessary in order to be wed to a respectable suitor, who would support the woman for the remainder of their lives. Polonius also believes Hamlet is using Ophelia, since a royal in line for the throne could never seriously consider wedding a woman in a lower class. This too was consistent with English royal traditions and obligations of the Elizabethan era. Polonius also condescendingly calls his daughter a ‘green girl’, and tells her that he, as her father, will teach her how to think and how to assess the world. Polonius says to Ophelia, “Marry, I’ll teach you: think yourself a baby/ That you have ta’en these tenders for true pay/ Which are not sterling,” (I,iii). Polonius speaks to Ophelia as if she were a child and tells her that while she may perceive Hamlet’s advances as genuine, he is in fact just using her for sexual favours. Furthermore, when Polonius tells Ophelia to cease relations with Hamlet, Ophelia initially resists but soon agrees to obey, showing how much influence and control Ophelia’s male family members possess over her. Polonius then uses Ophelia as bait in his plan to spy on Hamlet and determine if his source of his madness is Ophelia’s rejection of his romantic advances. This is significant as Ophelia feels as though she has no choice but to abide by her father’s wishes and no other course of action, which shows the beginning of her surrendering her will to the men in her life, namely her father. By enforcing their personal beliefs, using Ophelia for personal gain, and belittling her own opinions, Polonius and Laertes are inherently misogynistic. This patronizing behaviour is the foundation of Ophelia’s identity, and is the first part of the progress in which Ophelia is taken advantage in a patriarchal society by the misogynistic men in her life. Through the progress of Ophelia completely turning into an object of desire, essentially a vessel for men to impart their wishes upon and use at their will, Shakespeare is embodying the true misogyny of his time.
In the beginning of the play, Hamlet and Ophelia seem to be very much in love, however, Ophelia, acting on advice from her family, cuts herself off from Hamlet. As a result, Hamlet’s behaviour towards her changes drastically. When Hamlet acts mad to subtly investigate whether Claudius is guilty of murdering his father without arousing suspicion, Polonius infers that it was Ophelia’s rejected love that caused Hamlet’s insanity. Polonius arranges an opportunity for he and Claudius to eavesdrop on a discussion between the youth, in which they use Ophelia as bait. During this encounter Hamlet is aggressive and harsh to Ophelia as he questions her honesty, or chastity, saying that it should not be corrupted by her beauty, as that is what causes men to make sinners of the women by having intercourse. Hamlet tells Ophelia, “Get thee to a nunnery, why wouldst thou be a Breeder of sinners?” (I,iii). He verbally attacks Ophelia, saying that she, and all women, are sexual temptresses who turn men into monsters. In Shakespeare’s time, a nunnery could mean a religious convent or a brothel, thus Hamlet is either shaming Ophelia for her sexual promiscuity or telling her to cease all sexual relations as nuns were obligated to do. Hamlet’s attack on womanhood in general could be caused by his frustration towards his mother for marrying his uncle immediately after his father’s death, which results in his criticism of her inability to control her sexual urges. The insensitive and severe way that Hamlet treats Ophelia is significant because Hamlet uses Ophelia as a receptacle in while he pours out all his anger at his mother and all women in general. After this, during the scene in which there is a play within the play, Hamlet sits next to Ophelia and makes crude, sexual innuendos. Hamlet lances accusations of the corruption and sexual immorality of women at Ophelia, using her as a vessel in which he can channel his frustration and misogynistic views. This signifies a progression in Ophelia’s transition to fully submit to the overbearing and entitled men in her life. In the Elizabethan patriarchal society, many women were often faced with consequences for speaking out of turn and disobeying orders, no matter their own opinions and feelings. Shakespeare’s misogynistic society is reflected in the way that Hamlet affronts Ophelia cruelly, while Ophelia simply endures this treatment, likely believing that there is no other option in her situation. However it is this lack of resistance that contributes to her final transition into truly losing herself and her identity in fully becoming a passive object of desire, that men take advantage of.
Lastly, as a result of Ophelia’s gradual submission and surrendering of her will to overpowering men, she cannot distinguish herself individually from the desires of the men in her life. This engrains a lack of resilience in Ophelia and when her father, Polonius, dies, she does not have the ability to cope with her grief, and thus goes completely mad. Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, remarks on Ophelia’s madness and her deep sorrow caused by both her father dying and Hamlet’s harsh treatment. Claudius says to Gertrude, “O, this is the poison of deep grief…/ First her father slain/ Next, your son gone…/ Poor Ophelia, divided from herself and her fair judgement,” (IV, v). Ophelia has been separated from her sanity, which is likely caused by the combination of the loss of her father, the man who has defined her all her existence, and the cruelty of her lover, Hamlet. Ophelia, by being used as a passive object of desire her entire life, is now ill-equipped to deal with the disastrous turn of events. It is inevitable when she eventually succumbs to death as well, drowning in a river and doing nothing to stop herself from being dragged to the depths by her heavy gowns, thus proving that she is as passive in death as she was in life. Ophelia is given a Christian burial, as per the King’s orders, however, because her death is rumoured to be a suicide and taking one’s life is a sin in the Catholic religion, the ceremonial rituals are not entirely performed. As the rumours of the circumstances of Ophelia’s death circulate, many of the townspeople and religious leaders in the community are disgusted, showing that even in death Ophelia is treated just as badly as she was in life. In this final part of Ophelia’s transition to fully becoming a simple object of desire, destined to be used by ambitious men, it is apparent that Ophelia’s strength and life’s structure are truly dependent on this imposition of dominance. Ultimately, her madness and suicide are the consequence of her lack of resilience and strength of character that come from constantly being told her role and purpose in the patriarchal society, that Shakespeare lived in and drew inspiration from in his works of literature.
In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses Ophelia, a female secondary character, to portray the theme that overpowering men opress and use women to achieve their own personal goals, which reflects their own misogyny and can lead to a lack of substance and resiliency within the women. Ophelia is initially introduced as a vessel for her family’s desires, is then cruelly mistreated by Hamlet, as he uses her to attack womanhood in general and lastly Ophelia’s suicide and madness resulting from a lack of strength of identity when the men that once controlled her are gone. In this process of Ophelia surrendering to becoming a passive object, influenced and guided by men’s desires, Shakespeare highlights how misogynistic views dominated English society and the degrading effect this can have on the women. Hamlet believes that women turn the men into sinful monsters, however, perhaps it is simply the men’s own villainous traits that are amplified when they are given power over another person. Thus it is in these circumstances that one’s own true empathy, humanity and kindness or lack thereof can be revealed.