Growing up without a mother, Ophelia has been influenced by male figures her entire life. Her love, my dear friend Hamlet, turned on her suggesting she go to a "nunnery' and questioning her "honesty" (3.1.107.118). It is ironic that in this instance, Hamlet as seen as the one that is insane but as events progress, Ophelia becomes deranged as well. Some believe that this verbal attack coupled with the death of her father Polonious, produced "a shock to her gentle nature" with regards to the men she relied upon throughout her life (Seng 220). The only male she has left to rely upon is her brother Laertes, but instead of being there for his sister, he is concerned with the duty of finding the man who killed his father and "[cutting] his throat" (4.7.124). I agree that without this foundation, Ophelia has no one left to turn to resulting in her madness.
Because of the compounding of all of these events within such a short period of time, Ophelia descends into a state of mental anguish where she continually asks herself how "she could have been so mistaken in Hamlet" (Seng 221). This came after the many warnings from both Laertes and Polonious that she would "lose [her] heart, or [her] chaste treasure open to his unmast'red importunity" (1.3.31-32). Although I consider Hamlet a friend, his actions and decisions in pursuit of revenge have clouded his judgement making him toxic to those around him. It is not Ophelia's fault, however, because without this dangerous task thrust upon him, I believe he and Ophelia could have been very happy together.
Unfortunately, this is not the case and I anticipated that Hamlet's "antic disposition" would soon backfire; as a result, Ophelia now lies a hollow shell of her previous self (1.5.172). To both Ophelia and Hamlet, "Denmark is a prison" (2.2.231). However, the key difference is that Hamlet still has a mission, an objective, to complete inspiring his actions and giving him purpose. Ophelia, on the other hand, is "all alone at Elsinore" and has no one left (Seng 218). I do not know what actions to take to aid poor Ophelia. I fear that she is too far gone to bring back from the mental prison in which she resides.
These alarming facts have me questioning the actions of Hamlet. The secrecy with which he kept his mission from me initially has now turned into a distrust of everyone around him, even his beloved. As he continues down this path, I fear that he will find revenge, but destroy himself and everything he once stood for in the process.
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