Due to Hamlet’s psychological state, he felt confused and betrayed by his mother. His mother marrying his dead father’s brother opened gates to his madness. To Hamlet’s mind, women represent frailty; they are weak and regard them as an embodiment of weakness. He referred to his mother as a morally and spiritually weak woman as her incestuous inconstancy drove her to remarry immediately after her husband’s death and that she committed a sin. The most notable frailty of Gertrude seems to be that, whether by nature or nurture, she cannot exist without men. He recorded saying that Gertrude, “a little month or ere those shoes were old, with which she followed mo poor father’s body” (1.2.147-148). She needs a man as her guide to her perception …show more content…
This represents that Gertrude has married a man who is as inferior to Hamlet’s late father as Hamlet is to the great hero of antiquity, Hercules. This revelation indicates an incestuous marriage and Hamlet thinks that it can have no positive outcome, “It is not, nor it cannot come to good” (1.2.163). Near the ending of this session, Hamlet insisted that next time the discussion should revolve around Ophelia and not his mother as he wants to make sure she receives the eternal love he has for her. Hamlet confirmed that he did love Ophelia when he told her to go to a nunnery. Although it is a harsh statement, he tried to throw everyone else off so he had to make it seem like he never loved her. Throughout his letter he mentioned that everything else around her may not be true but his love is real. Hamlet explained that Ophelia was too naive and if Polonius read the letters, he had to act mad to protect her. Near the end of the session, Hamlet described the scene in the graveyard and how he still proved his love for Ophelia. His behaviour changed from extremely upset to more relaxed and reasoned. Hamlet: When I found out that she was dead, I truly mourned for her. I remember I told Laertes that I loved her and that forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum (Act 5, line 285) Hamlet had no reason to defend his love for Ophelia now that she was dead but he still did and he even told Laertes, “Be buried quick with her and so will I” (Act
Hamlet’s response to death reflects aspects of human nature today. People, then and now, want answers when they lose someone close to them; they want to know what happened to them and why they lost them in the first place. Depending on the loss, the mysteries surrounding a death can vary. This loss of a loved one can be sudden, like in Hamlet’s case, or unexpected, like in Ophelia and Laertes’ case, but the need for answers and justice remains. Moving forward, other aspects of human nature are revealed through looking at Ophelia and Laertes’ responses to death.
Hamlet was deeply in love with the recently departed fair Ophelia, daughter of Polonious, who also sadly is not with us. He loved her much more than he expressed, and it is unfortunate that his inability to express his love for her could have been part of her downfall. Although he treated her scornfully and rudely I know that he loved her more than anyone could imagine. Hamlet, I remember, at the dear Ophelia’s funeral, you told the whole world of your love. “I loved Ophelia. 40 thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love make up my sum,” you said. I cannot help but think that if you had expressed your love for the fair maiden, both her and quite possibly you would still be with us today. He loved his mother, Queen Gertrude. Although he held her in disdain for her hasty marriage to Claudius, who he despised, he still loved her with all his heart
Within the first scene of Hamlet the reader discovers that Gertrude’s husband, the late King Hamlet, has passed and Gertrude has taken a new husband in Old Hamlet’s brother, Claudius. The time passed between the death of Old Hamlet and the marriage of Gertrude was very brief, “but two months
“I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/ could not with all their quantity of love/ make up my sum” (5.1.285-286). Hamlet tells Ophelia that he never did love her, but in all honesty he does still love her. Hamlet is truly insane. When he is talking with Ophelia he is truly mean to her and treats
As the story grows deeper, Hamlet shows us that he really did love Ophelia when Hamlet tells Ophelia that “I did love you once” (3.1.131). Hamlet only confesses that he did indeed loved Ophelia, but only when it goes on to says that Hamlet never loved her (Habib, 23). On the
In Act III scene i, Polonius and the King hide behind Ophelia's curtains and eavesdrop on the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet goes on to scold Ophelia and accuse her of not being chaste "Ha, ha! Are you honest?" ... "Are you fair?" ... "Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be / a breeder of sinners?" Hamlet goes on to say "...This was sometime a paradox, but now / the time gives it proof. I did love you once." Ophelia replies with "Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so." Her heart must have torn in two when Hamlet came back with "You should not have believed me, for virtue / cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish / of it. I loved you not." Hamlet admits that he was deceiving her the whole time. This was likely a major factor in Ophelia's descent into madness and eventually, death. Again, Ophelia is the victim.
Hamlet also jumps into the grave and accuses Laertes of putting on a show of emotion
He therefore had to act mad even when talking to her because he realized his every move was being watched. This is evident when he told her he is not in love with her and that he never loved her. These statements by Hamlet caused him to inadvertently hurt Ophelia to such a great extent that she committed suicide. As a result, Hamlet was forced to permanently sacrifice his true love out of concern for his own safety and his goal.
“Take these again; for to the noble mind, Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind (Act 3 scene 1). Ophelia softly and nobly points out to Hamlet that however fancy and rich a gift may be, it loses any value when the person who gave the gift turns to be one of the false motives and wicked emotion. Like most women, Ophelia values the emotion and thought put into gifts of love, not the materialistic gift itself. Hamlet has been criticized for hundreds of years, enduring virtually every facet of Shakespeare's life and the ties to his play Hamlet. In “Hamlet’s Not Depressed, He’s Grieving.” by O’Rourke, the critic focuses on Hamlet’s reaction to his father’s death and the ghost he see’s, questioning the idea of whether or not Hamlet has literally
Another time Ophelia was important in Hamlet's life was after not seeing Ophelia for a while Hamlet stumbles upon a grave site being dug in the middle of the woods, but at the time he doesn’t know who for. When Hamlet find out that Ophelia is the one that is being put to rest he starts to go crazy again. He says “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers, if you added all their love together, couldn’t match mine. What are you going to do for her?” ( V, I, pg.12. lines 247-249). Hamlet is basically trying to say that even if they don’t believe him he really did love Ophelia. Gertrude responded by saying, “This is pure insanity. He’ll be like this for a little while” (V, I, pg. 12 lines 247-249). When Gertrude says this she basically means that he has gone crazy before that this is normal he will calm down soon. Therefor Ophelia played a huge role in Hamlet’s life without necessarily being there all of the time.
Laertes in Ophelia's grave. Hamlet tells her that he never loved her when she returns his
Hamlet's antic disposition tragically fooled poor Ophelia. She is so devastated between her father's death and Hamlet's betrayal that she takes her own life. Hamlet insists to Ophelia that he never loved her, and that she is a fool for believing him, which shows that he is trying to convince others he has lost his mind. "You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not." (III; i; 116-118) However, while fighting with Laertes during Ophelia's funeral, Hamlet jumps onto her coffin and professes his true love for her. "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/Could not, with all their quantity of love, / Make up my sum." (V; i; 250-253) This shows that despite his earlier statements, Hamlet does love Ophelia, but his antic
Ophelia and Gertrude, two different women who seem to be trapped in the same situation when it comes to Hamlet. Gertrude, Hamlet's mother and the Queen of Denmark is married to Claudius, who is suspected by Hamlet to have killed his father, King Hamlet, who is Claudius's brother. Gertrude ended up in the plot of King Hamlet's death and in the eyes of her son, is a monster and helped with the murder. Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius who is the King's counselor and is later killed in the play and has forbidden his daughter to see Hamlet. She truly loves Hamlet and is devastated when he disowns her and pretends to be mad. Hamlet's treatment towards these two women brings their characters to life and
Hamlet says “I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers/ Could not, with all their quantity of love,/Make up my sum”(263-265). These lines illustrate the intensity and truth of Hamlet’s love for Ophelia, and convinces readers that he had once truly loved her. I like these lines because they hold so much truth, and are a sincere expression of love, yet at the same time are a condescending truth for Laertes. Hamlet utilizes these lines to argue the strength, and superiority of his love for Ophelia compared to Laertes.
Ophelia later relays this meeting to her father, telling him that Hamlet was not properly dressed, "and with a look so piteous in purport as if he had been loosed out of hell to speak of horrors-he comes before me." (2.1.82-84). This scene is directly after Hamlet learns of his father's murder. It seems that Hamlet is looking to Ophelia for help, his feelings were crushed and he needed consolation. I extract the estimation that prince Hamlet adores Ophelia, and that she is one the few loved ones he has left to turn to. I am sure he loves his family, but his father is dead, his mother is unconcerned with his father's death and his uncle is the murderer of his father.