Year 2005 Paper 1 Question 8a
In what ways can Ophelia be considered a victim? Discuss with close reference to the play Hamlet.
Student's Answer
The play ‘Hamlet’ is filled with tragic figures, but none are quite as tragic as the character of Ophelia. She is used and manipulated by her father, forced to spurn her lover, and later, mocked and insulted by that same lover who then kills her father. She ends up drowning in a stream, alone and insane. She is a victim in every sense of the word, in that all that she suffers is directly or indirectly caused by someone else.
Firstly, Ophelia can be considered a victim in terms of circumstances[N1] . She became embroiled in Hamlet’s plot for revenge through no fault of her own. Her love for Hamlet, innocent in itself, led to her being involved in the other events happening around her. For example, if she hadn’t loved Hamlet, she would not have[N2] reacted so violently to his appearance [N3] the first time he saw her after meeting the ghost. Then, Polonius and the King might not have been alerted to his ‘madness’. Her concern for Hamlet and the knowledge that he murdered her father eventually drove her mad, but none of what happened was her fault in itself.
Ophelia could also be considered a victim of her father’s manipulation[N4] . His orders to her to stop seeing Hamlet are shortly after followed by Hamlet’s ‘madness’. To her mind, the two events are connected, and she feels to blame for Hamlet’s state of mind. Hamlet may indeed be rather unstable, but a large part of his madness is false, ‘put on’ to fool the king into thinking him harmless. Ophelia’s guilt over having caused Hamlet to go mad can be traced back to her father’s meddling. Even his death at the hands of Hamlet, which finally sends Ophelia over the edge, was caused by Polonius’s attempt to overhear Hamlet’s conversation with the Queen.
Hamlet’s plan of revenge also has an innocent victim, that is, Ophelia. If he had not pretended to be mad, affecting Ophelia’s feelings and making her feel guilty, she might not have gone mad and drowned herself. Her love for Hamlet can clearly be seen when she reacts violently to his strange behaviour when he sees her, and later with her replies to his crude and mocking words. This love makes her feel intensely unhappy when Hamlet behaves in such a manner toward her, and these feelings of unhappiness contribute to her madness and death later.
Finally, Ophelia is a victim of the social conditions [N5] of the time. As a woman, she is expected to be subordinate at all times to men, like her brother and father. The way both Laertes and Polonius talk to her, and command her, in the case of Polonius, is proof of this. Polonius can tell her to break off her relationship to her lover, and she has no choice but to obey, because she is subordinate to him. As a result of her ‘inferiority’, she must obey her father’s commands to deceive Hamlet, and only succeeds in arousing Hamlet’s ire instead. As a woman at that time, she must have a male protector, and since Hamlet has rejected her after what she did to him, there is nothing happy left in life for her. This may have been what led to her madness.
Comments
Yr points sound the same... they r mostly about hamlet’s antic disposition....perhaps u might want to consider the following structure and expand on d support, especially d 3rd paragraph
first, she is denied d freedom to be who she wants to be or do. She has to be obedient to her father and brother whether she likes it or not. Remember, she can match Hamlet’s wit too (during d play within the play). So she isn’t exactly dumb and complacent to take orders. Due to this, she is forbidden to be happy by forgoing her lover which makes her heartbroken. She is instructed to deny Hamlet which she obeys obediently which leads to her sadness. (u can quote the scenes in which Polonius eavesdrop on their conversation)
Secondly, she is a victim of Hamlet’s antic disposition to expose the king. She thinks that she is the cause of his madness as she has denied Hamlet a relationship. (dun use d react violently phrase... explain better by quoting if u can) Thus, she feels deeply responsible because she does not have the information of the antic disposition or has reason to belief that it is just an act.
Besides learning that her lover has gone mad because of her, her father, blood father, is killed by her mad lover. So, she may feel that she is also the cause of her father’s death. And when her father dies, does she want her lover, Hamlet to be responsible and have him killed or thrown in the dungeons? But he murdered her father! So, what is she to do? What is she to feel? (u missed this crucial point)
[N1]U put dis as yr thesis statement of this paragraph, doesn’t this apply to d whole essay / play?
[N2]By using ‘if this didn’t happen, it wouldn’t lead to’ kind of writing does not make yr argument strong. Avoid this style.
[N3]Huh? Reacted violently? Anyways, even so, perhaps u want to mention it is bcoz she feels dat she is d cause of his madness? She feels guilty?
[N4]D following support does not support dis statement... u mention on hamlet’s madness rather than polonias' manipulation
[N5]Arguable... other heroines of shakespeare’s r pretty strong characters ... more like she happen to haf men in her life who expects her to be obedient, like her father n brother
