(no subject)
So I've decided I'm going to post all my English essays that I have access to from this year on LiveJournal. For other people to reference, for your own enjoyment, whatever. So I'll do them one at a time (I'll put them under cuts, but your flist will still hate me).
I will do my best to post Works Cited's with them. . .
Also, I will only be posting FINAL DRAFTS of papers. It makes no sense to give you the cruddy stuff.
Finally, if it has a title, it will be the LJ-cut. If it does not have a title, I will give some other sort of description -- the work being talked about plus "Untitled" or "Response," or whatever.
Without further ado, I thought we'd continue with some Hamlet...
The impact of a parent on a child’s life is incredibly significant. Myriads of works, including plays such as Oedipus Rex, show how the relationship children have with their parents shapes them as individuals, including how they act with the opposite sex. Herein lies the problem with Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Because of how she is treated by her father, and because of the apparent lack of a mother-figure in Ophelia’s life, her actions are not that of a well-developed person.
Throughout Hamlet, Ophelia’s mother does not have a role, nor is she mentioned by the other characters, even in passing. Had she only left the picture recently, she certainly would have been mentioned more often - therefore, the audience can assume Ophelia essentially grew up without a mother. This can have extreme consequences on the child. In this case, Ophelia suffers from severe and intense emotions, as well as from a sort of apathy when it comes to being manipulated. The importance of a mother for a daughter is obvious and the absence is devastating. “‘There's a sense of missing the role model, of not having someone to give you guidance on how to be a woman in today's society’” (Doheny). Because Ophelia was unable to study her mother dealing with various aspects of live, Ophelia is now lost as to how to deal with her own troubles.
Particularly, Ophelia struggles in dealing with Hamlet and their relationship, as well as men in general. With Hamlet, her troubles begin shortly after he sees his father’s ghost. He comes to her, his clothes disheveled, and begins to caress her face (Hamlet II.ii. 87-112). Rather than dealing with it herself, and being, probably, knowledgeable of the question of Hamlet’s sanity and attributing his strange actions to it, she instead goes to Polonius. Were Ophelia a better developed woman, she would have been able to handle the situation without his assistance, especially at her age. The era in which Hamlet takes place is not an excuse for her weakness. Macbeth, which takes place years before, features Lady Macbeth, whose power and self-confidence is not marred or hindered. amHamH Compared to Lady Macbeth, Ophelia is incredibly weak and dependent. This is due to not having a mother figure in her life.
Ophelia’s relationship with her father can also be attributed to not having a mother. Her dependence on him, as well as her brother, Laertes, is extreme. The two give her advice on how to deal with Hamlet - advice which seems unwanted (Macbeth I.iii.). Not only does she believe she cannot make her own decisions, but it gives the two of the men a sort of power over her. Once again, this is likely due to the fact that Ophelia was not brought up with a mother. Even worse, Ophelia allows herself to be really manipulated by Polonius and Claudius. She very easily gives Polonius a letter which she received from Hamlet. “This, in obedience, hath my daughter shown me” (Hamlet II.ii. 133). Later, Ophelia is a sort of decoy to discover the source of Hamlet’s craze (Hamlet III.i. 48-55). Both of these are examples of Ophelia being manipulated by the men around her. Because she has apparently grown up with only men, she has been oppressed by them her whole life and is therefore submissive to their requests, no matter what their intentions.
Furthermore, because Ophelia cannot deal with her own male relations, her relations with other male characters, especially Hamlet, are tainted. “The relationship between Ophelia and her father creates problems on many levels, the first of which rests on Ophelia's inability as a woman to directly relate to a male role model” (Brown). Any relationship forged by Ophelia, especially with another male, would not be a real or healthy one, either. She is too dependent on characters such as her father, directing her as to what she should do, and therefore cannot act independently of him. It would not be surprising if she expected her companion to also rule her in this way.
While Ophelia is one of Shakespeare’s most famous female characters, her fame is not necessarily for good reasons. Her pathetic and weak nature, however, are not her fault. Ophelia’s faults are merely a result of a motherless childhood as well as the relationship she holds with her father. She could never expect to be a well- or fully-developed person based on her upbringing, and this is evident in her actions and general submissiveness, in addition to her weepy disposition.
Works Cited
Brown, Heather. "Gender and Identity in Hamlet: A Modern Interpretation of Ophelia." Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. A Private Comprehensive Liberal Arts College. Westminster. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.
Doheny, Kathleen. "Help for Motherless Daughters." Women's Health Center: Information on Women's Wellness, Nutrition, Fitness, Intimate Questions, and Weight Loss. WebMD. Web. 16 Apr. 2010.
Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh. Castle Rock Entertainment, 1996. DVD.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. New York: Washington Square/Pocket, 1992. Print.
I will do my best to post Works Cited's with them. . .
Also, I will only be posting FINAL DRAFTS of papers. It makes no sense to give you the cruddy stuff.
Finally, if it has a title, it will be the LJ-cut. If it does not have a title, I will give some other sort of description -- the work being talked about plus "Untitled" or "Response," or whatever.
Without further ado, I thought we'd continue with some Hamlet...
The impact of a parent on a child’s life is incredibly significant. Myriads of works, including plays such as Oedipus Rex, show how the relationship children have with their parents shapes them as individuals, including how they act with the opposite sex. Herein lies the problem with Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Because of how she is treated by her father, and because of the apparent lack of a mother-figure in Ophelia’s life, her actions are not that of a well-developed person.
Throughout Hamlet, Ophelia’s mother does not have a role, nor is she mentioned by the other characters, even in passing. Had she only left the picture recently, she certainly would have been mentioned more often - therefore, the audience can assume Ophelia essentially grew up without a mother. This can have extreme consequences on the child. In this case, Ophelia suffers from severe and intense emotions, as well as from a sort of apathy when it comes to being manipulated. The importance of a mother for a daughter is obvious and the absence is devastating. “‘There's a sense of missing the role model, of not having someone to give you guidance on how to be a woman in today's society’” (Doheny). Because Ophelia was unable to study her mother dealing with various aspects of live, Ophelia is now lost as to how to deal with her own troubles.
Particularly, Ophelia struggles in dealing with Hamlet and their relationship, as well as men in general. With Hamlet, her troubles begin shortly after he sees his father’s ghost. He comes to her, his clothes disheveled, and begins to caress her face (Hamlet II.ii. 87-112). Rather than dealing with it herself, and being, probably, knowledgeable of the question of Hamlet’s sanity and attributing his strange actions to it, she instead goes to Polonius. Were Ophelia a better developed woman, she would have been able to handle the situation without his assistance, especially at her age. The era in which Hamlet takes place is not an excuse for her weakness. Macbeth, which takes place years before, features Lady Macbeth, whose power and self-confidence is not marred or hindered. amHamH Compared to Lady Macbeth, Ophelia is incredibly weak and dependent. This is due to not having a mother figure in her life.
Ophelia’s relationship with her father can also be attributed to not having a mother. Her dependence on him, as well as her brother, Laertes, is extreme. The two give her advice on how to deal with Hamlet - advice which seems unwanted (Macbeth I.iii.). Not only does she believe she cannot make her own decisions, but it gives the two of the men a sort of power over her. Once again, this is likely due to the fact that Ophelia was not brought up with a mother. Even worse, Ophelia allows herself to be really manipulated by Polonius and Claudius. She very easily gives Polonius a letter which she received from Hamlet. “This, in obedience, hath my daughter shown me” (Hamlet II.ii. 133). Later, Ophelia is a sort of decoy to discover the source of Hamlet’s craze (Hamlet III.i. 48-55). Both of these are examples of Ophelia being manipulated by the men around her. Because she has apparently grown up with only men, she has been oppressed by them her whole life and is therefore submissive to their requests, no matter what their intentions.
Furthermore, because Ophelia cannot deal with her own male relations, her relations with other male characters, especially Hamlet, are tainted. “The relationship between Ophelia and her father creates problems on many levels, the first of which rests on Ophelia's inability as a woman to directly relate to a male role model” (Brown). Any relationship forged by Ophelia, especially with another male, would not be a real or healthy one, either. She is too dependent on characters such as her father, directing her as to what she should do, and therefore cannot act independently of him. It would not be surprising if she expected her companion to also rule her in this way.
While Ophelia is one of Shakespeare’s most famous female characters, her fame is not necessarily for good reasons. Her pathetic and weak nature, however, are not her fault. Ophelia’s faults are merely a result of a motherless childhood as well as the relationship she holds with her father. She could never expect to be a well- or fully-developed person based on her upbringing, and this is evident in her actions and general submissiveness, in addition to her weepy disposition.
Works Cited
Brown, Heather. "Gender and Identity in Hamlet: A Modern Interpretation of Ophelia." Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. A Private Comprehensive Liberal Arts College. Westminster. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.
Doheny, Kathleen. "Help for Motherless Daughters." Women's Health Center: Information on Women's Wellness, Nutrition, Fitness, Intimate Questions, and Weight Loss. WebMD. Web. 16 Apr. 2010.
Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh. Castle Rock Entertainment, 1996. DVD.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. New York: Washington Square/Pocket, 1992. Print.