Ophelia Character Analysis

The Hamlet play portrays Hamlet the protagonist as having the love of his life be Ophelia, Hamlet’s one true love. Even though Hamlet does not show it at all times Hamlet loves Ophelia. Ophelia is often judged as a woman who cannot make up her mind because she loved Hamlet back and forth until Hamlet’s demise. Hamlet’s death was the hardest thing Ophelia had to go through in her life since Hamlet was her true love.

Hamlet always takes advantage of Ophelias love for him, while he is courting other girls behind her back Hamlet still tells her that she is his one and only sweet lady. Hamlet does not show any affection towards Ophelia except when Hamlet is telling Gertrude that he will get married after his father’s death which shows that Hamlet’s love for Ophelia is mostly based on convenience because Hamlet’s father did not allow him to get married yet, this adds an interesting aspect because if Hamlet’s father would have allowed it Hamlet would be with another girl other than Ophelia.

Hamlet cold-heartedness towards Ophelia can be seen when Hamlet is trying to get his mother to give up her maidenhood for Hamlet as Hamlet says “Give me that Maid which never hath been wooed, / Which ne’er consent, nor ne’er deny’d what I would suitor. // I will have her”. Hamlet’s cold words do not even show a little bit of affection and love since he clearly states that he wants this girl and the reason why Hamlet wants Ophelia so bad is because she has always given Hamlet attention, unlike other girls who didn’t pay enough attention.

Hamlet’s true self comes forward through this scene where we see him upset with Ophelia because Hamlet thinks she is betraying him for Polonius. Hamlet’s words are “I did love you once” which shows that Hamlet has no affection for Ophelia anymore. Hamlet is trying to reason with Ophelia saying that he never loved her but then Hamlet changes his mind and says that maybe it was lust, not true love putting Ophelia in a position where Hamlet does not know what he feels for Ophelia making her feel confused about Hamlet’s feelings towards her.

The main thing which drives Hamlet crazy is the fact that his mother Claudius marries so fast, Hamlet’s father dies only 2 months after marrying Gertrude making us wonder if Hamlet is the right king of Denmark Hamlet is just too emotional with everything that has to do with his father, Hamlets fights with Ophelia could also be because Hamlet cannot face the fact that he might have killed his father.

Hamlet sees Ophelias death in a way where Hamlet does not really care about what is happening he thinks “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray you love, remember: and there is pansies; that’s for thoughts” making it seem like Hamlet’s sadness towards Ophelia’s death was only caused by her death opening up the possibility of somebody replacing her.

The most significant turning point which makes Hamlet go insane is when Polonius dies Hamlet does not really care about the death of Hamlet’s father or Hamlets mothers remarriage, Hamlet even goes as far as to say that he is glad those people are gone; Hamlet does not really care about what happens but when Polonius dies Hamlet gets upset and starts acting like a mad man. Hamlet’s actions towards Ophelia could be because she was the only one who gave Hamlet attention and lovemaking Hamlet feel lonely.

The other reason why Hamlet acts like this might be because Gertrude married Claudius too quickly after the death of his father making him feel uncomfortable with everyone around him and wanting to escape from them which makes us wonder if this was actually a mental illness Hamlet was suffering from or Hamlet acting out because of the death of his father. Hamlet’s feelings towards Ophelia are mostly based on convenience because Hamlet does not show any real affection toward her except when Hamlet is talking about marrying her which would have been Hamlet’s plan if his father allowed him to get married.

Hamlet sees the only person who has ever loved him as a betrayer and makes Hamlets misery even worse than it already is making Hamlets relationship with Ophelia seem like a very toxic one where both people involved just bring pain to each other and feel nothing else for each other besides dislike and hatred which could be why Hamlets actions towards Ophelia were so cold throughout the play.

Hamlet’s death is tragic but Hamlet does not really care about it causing Hamlet’s death to be even more tragic because Hamlet was voluntarily dying which makes Hamlet’s death seem pointless. The reason why Hamlet acts the way he does towards Ophelia might be because of the fact that Hamlet never knew his father or got enough love from his mother, Hamlet’s feelings for Ophelia are mostly based on convenience since she was the only one who gave Hamlet attention making him feel wanted and loved.

There also might be some mental illness going on with Hamlet due to the fact that Hamlet’s father’s ghost came and spoke to him and said “Remember me” which made Hamlet go mad and start acting like a mad man which makes us start to wonder if Hamlet was actually mentally ill or Hamlet just started acting this way because he is sick of Claudius being the king and Hamlets mother marrying him so quickly after Hamlet’s father died.

Hamlets main relationship throughout the play starts with Ophelia and end on her dead body Hamlet’s relationships with everyone else in the play only made his life worse and drove him more insane than before, Hamlet goes as far as accusing his best friend of betraying him when he went through everything alone without any comfort from anyone Hamlet even says that “Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? making it seems like Hamlet’s feelings towards Ophelia are mostly based on the fact that Hamlet is lonely and does not know what to do now that he has no father or mother Hamlet even says “I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum” which makes Hamlet’s feelings seem like a very toxic relationship since Hamlet just wanted someone to love and feel wanted and needed by somebody.

Hamlet sees Ophelia as a betrayer which makes Hamlets misery worse than it already was, Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia seemed to be more based on convenience because Hamlet never had anyone who actually cared about him except for his mother, this also seems like a very toxic relationship making it so both people involved do nothing but cause pain to each other. Hamlet’s death is a very tragic one because Hamlet wanted to die for a full year and Hamlet was just a willing victim in his own death making Hamlet’s death pointless.

The reason why Hamlet acted the way he did towards Ophelia might have been because of Gertrude’s quick marriage after Hamlet’s father died which made Hamlet feel very alone and betrayed, there could also be some mental illness going on with Hamlet since Hamlet’s father appeared to him and said “Remember me” which sent Hamlet off the deep end causing him to look like a mad man this could be why Hamlet’s feelings towards Ophelia were so cold throughout the play.

Leave a Comment