Kyron Richard Professor Anderson Core 102 22 Oct 2012 Shes Not that Innocent: Ophelia in Hamlet Wo en are

!orthless" In Sha#espeares Hamlet$ there are only t!o fe ale characters$ and %oth end &p as pa!ns in the sche es of the do ineerin' ale characters" (herefore$ in III"i"

!hen Poloni&s and Cla&di&s secretly spy on a pri)ate con)ersation %et!een *a let and Ophelia$ her presence see s to %e another instance of en &sin' !o en" +&rther ore$ the a)era'e reader

of the play is del&ded into thin#in' that Ophelia plays no role in this$ or any other$ sche e in the play" Often she is isinterpreted as a fra'ile 'irl !hose only intentions are to o%ey her father"

(his interpretation of Ophelia$ ho!e)er$ is na,)e at %est" I contend that Ophelia has her o!n oti)ations for %ein' in)ol)ed in the sche es of her father and the #in'" (his is not to say that she is not ori'inally !o&nd into the deception %y en$ %&t she does her part and does it !ell ale)olent atte pt a'ainst *a let

%eca&se she too &lti ately !ants to incri inate *a let" (his

is cr&cial to the interpretation of the play and forces &s to consider the circ& stances !hich !o&ld oti)ate her to s&ch actions$ specifically the nat&re of her relationship !ith *a let

relationship %efore the e)ents of the play" Altho&'h Ophelias %etrayal is not portrayed &ntil III"i$ Sha#espeare 'i)es &s a %rief %ac#'ro&nd of *a let and Ophelias relationship$ and$ ore i portantly$ an e-planation as to

!hy she helps Cla&di&s and Poloni&s later in III"i" Ophelia first appears in I"iii"$ a scene !here her o)er%earin' father and !atchdo' %rother$ Poloni&s and .aertes$ ad)ise her to stay a!ay fro *a let" Ophelias nai)et/ in this scene is stri#in' to her father and %rother$ !ho %oth %elie)e that

Richard 2 *a lets affections are 0tender 1he2rself yo&ll tender erely affectations" At one point Poloni&s tells Ophelia that$ she &st

ore dearly 3 or 4not to crac# the !ind of the poor phrase$ 3 R&nnin' it th&s5 ands her to act !ith ore reser)e$ lest he:and

e a fool6 4I"iii"10781095" *e co

s&%se;&ently %oth of the :sho&ld lose the honor and respect of the co&rt" Ophelia$ !ho is often a pa!n in his sche es$ is easily infl&enced %y e)en these !ords" A different interpretation of the father8da&'hter interaction in this scene is that Ophelia does not ta#e Poloni&s serio&sly at all" Poloni&s is one of the fe! characters in the play that is &sed for co ic relief$ partially %eca&se his )er%ose and pedantic tease. *is diatri%e to .aertes earlier in the scene !as$ li#e the anner are perfect traits to

a<ority of his speech$ lon'8

!inded and &lti ately &seless" (he ad)ice he 'a)e co&ld %e interpreted as &seless to his son$ li#e!ise$ his scoldin' of Ophelia co&ld %e )ie!ed as s&ch" (e-t&ally this latter interpretation is reflected !hen Ophelia says to .aertes that his ad)ice 01t2is in y e ory loc#ed$ 3 And yo&

yo&rself shall #eep the #ey of it$6 4I"iii"9=8975$ !hile she offers no s&ch confir ation to Poloni&s" (his is contradicted$ ho!e)er$ %y the fact that !hen Poloni&s ;&estions Ophelia a%o&t her relationship !ith *a let$ and !hether she %elie)es his affections to %e tr&e she does confess: 0I do not #no!$ y lord$ !hat I sho&ld thin#"6 4I"iii"10>5" While Poloni&s is not a credi%le character

in the play$ he is still Ophelias father and %oth he and .aertes hold a 'reat deal of infl&ence o)er her" (herefore it is pro%a%le that she co&ld %e con)inced that *a let !as not in)ested in her relationship %y these t!o" +&rther ore$ %ased on Poloni&s ad)ice she co&ld lose all respecta%ility and possi%ly r&in her fa ilys na e" (his fact is confir ed !hen ?ertr&de says in III"i that she hopes Ophelias 0)irt&es 3 Will %rin' hi 1*a let2 to his !onted !ay a'ain$ 3 (o

%oth yo&r honors6 4III"i"@08@>5" ?ertr&des diction confir s the idea Poloni&s presented in the earlier act$ that Ophelias honor is threatened %y her interactions !ith *a let" At this point

Richard > Ophelia is not only concerned !ith !hether *a lets affections are tr&e$ %&t also ho! she can #eep her respecta%ility" +inally$ in III"i" Ophelia is offered the opport&nity to find o&t *a lets tr&e feelin's for her$ and ta#e action %ased on those senti ents" (he this scene as si ply another a<ority of the literary co &nity interprets

o ent !here Ophelia is )icti iAed %y her father and the #in'" It is

tr&e that Poloni&s and Cla&di&s do co pel her to participate in the sche e$ %&t as I ha)e sho!n Ophelia certainly has her o!n oti)ations as !ell" +&rther ore$ so e of her actions in this

scene are far too deli%erate and crafty to %e those of so eone not at least sli'htly co plicit in the sche e to spy &pon *a let" Altho&'h Poloni&s 'i)es her a %oo# to read fro $ Ophelia !as carryin' the e entos *a let 'a)e her$ and this is the first thin' she chooses to address in their

interaction" *ere Ophelia is atte ptin' to find o&t *a lets intentions$ atte ptin' to find o&t if he does tr&ly lo)e her" Bnfort&nately$ *a let:possi%ly a!are of their secret a&dience: contin&ally contradicts hi self$ for in one o ent he proclai s$ 0I did lo)e yo& once6

4III"i"11=5$ and in the ne-t he says 0I lo)ed yo& not6 4III"i"11C5" At this point in the scene Ophelia cannot %e s&re if *a lets intentions are tr&e and therefore she &st to protect her honor$ so ethin' that has %een ;&estioned %y %oth her fa ily

and the ;&een herself" After *a lets conf&sin' and contradictory state ents a%o&t his lo)e for her$ he as#s 01!2heres yo&r fatherD6 4III"i"1>05$ to !hich Ophelia replies !ith a lie$ sayin' that he is at ho e" (his directly contradicts the interpretation that Ophelia is not co plicit in the sche e$ and erely %ein' forced to decei)e *a let %y Poloni&s" If that !as the case$ then she

!o&ld not %&rden herself %y lyin' to *a let to contin&e the charade" (he decepti)e !ords$ ho!e)er$ roll ri'ht off of her ton'&e and she contin&es to d&pe the prince" Additionally$ after *a let cries 01f2are!ell6 4III"i"1>>5$ for the first ti e in this scene:and ost li#ely a#es a

Richard @ otion to e-it the sta'e:Ophelia follo!s hi $ cryin' 0O$ help hi $ yo& s!eet hea)ensE6 4III"i"1>@5" She p&lls hi %ac# to her$ enticin' hi into a#in' ore rash e-cla ations$ possi%ly

in the hopes that he !ill re)eal

ore infor ation to Cla&di&s and Poloni&s that !ill lead to his

do!nfall" Or do !hat she !anted in the first place$ confess his tr&e feelin's to!ards her and their relationship" *a let contin&es to atte pt to lea)e$ %&t Ophelias !ords press hi to stay and

contin&e to dole o&t ca&stic ins&lts and threats$ e)ent&ally threatenin' Cla&di&s life %efore he finally lea)es" (he idea that Ophelia !illin'ly p&lls these confessions o&t of hi is often re<ected$

ho!e)er$ !ith consideration of earlier e)ents in addition to the dialo'&e !ithin the scene it is clear that she has %eco e co plicit in the sche e" *er cries and atte pts at e''in' the prince on are not <&st the la ents of a faithf&l si'nificant other" Ophelia is not si ply concerned !ith *a lets !ell8%ein'" If she !ere$ !hy !o&ld she contin&e to interact !ith hi $ !hen those interactions si ply res&lt in ore rash e-cla ations fro the distressed princeD Additionally$

!hy !o&ld she do so !ith the #no!led'e that Cla&di&s and Poloni&s are !atchin'D (here is e)idence to s&pport this clai $ ho!e)er" In her ostensi%ly pri)ate solilo;&y after her altercation !ith *a let she e-clai s 0O$ !oe is e 3 ( ha)e seen !hat I ha)e seen$ see !hat I see6 ad and tort&red *a let has %eco e

4III"i"17081715" She lon's not to #no!$ and see$ <&st ho! since their last

eetin' shortly %efore II"i" *er short speech her is co pellin' and saddenin'$ and

is stron' e)idence that she is not co plicit in the sche e si ply %eca&se she is attached to *a let$ despite the fact that he e-plicitly ;&estions their )ery relationship" Blti ately it is e)idence that s&pports the !ell8%ein'" ore accepta%le idea that Ophelia is only concerned !ith *a lets

Richard = Altho&'h Sha#espeare s all$ Ophelia is far fro ay %e a iso'ynist$ it is clear that !hile the part she plays is

!orthless" Rather she is ca&'ht in a str&''le for honor$ re e %rance$ ale do inated !orld$ %&t in a #in'do that is o)er!ro&'ht

and reco'nition in a not only in a

!ith chaos" As a !o an she is already considered insi'nificant$ and is treated so %y her o!n fa ily" Poloni&s refers to her in pri)ate con)ersations !ith the #in' and ;&een as one !o&ld refer to an ani al$ and %oth he and .aertes atte pt to con)ince her that the an she has had stron'

attach ents to for a si'nificant a o&nt of ti e feels nothin' for her" Bnfort&nately$ this is e-actly !hat oti)ates her to conspire a'ainst *a let" She has s&ch little i portance that a ean social s&icide"

scandal and loss of honor$ that %oth Poloni&s and ?ertr&de refer to$ !o&ld +or this reason she

&st protect her honor and find o&t !hether or not *a lets intentions a#e hi the foc&s of the sche in' en" *er actions are

to!ard her are tr&e$ or$ if they are not$ c&rio&s in that they While she see !ere ay ha)e

a#e &s consider !hat she and *a let did to'ether that !as so dishonora%le" ade herself a)aila%le too often and easily as Poloni&s states$ this does not

ca&se eno&'h for Ophelia to %etray her lo)er" (he idea that the Ftenders that they shared ore than e entos and )o!s$ that they had a physical$ possi%ly se-&al$ relationship is the &st appreciate a%o&t Ophelia$

scandalo&s idea that is hinted at %y this interpretation" What !e

ho!e)er$ is that she does not acti)ely choose to %etray *a let" Poloni&s and Cla&di&s plant the idea into her head and !hen *a let does not 'i)e her a clear ans!er as to !hether he lo)es her$ and !hether their relationship eant anythin'$ she &st resort to desperate eas&res" Ophelia

%e'ins as a 'irl !ho lo)ed a %oy$ %&t %eco es a 'irl !ho !ill do anythin' to protect her honor"