The Mad Ophelia - A Metaphor of Denmark’s Corruption

								
                                                                                              Peng	
  1


Julia Ziyue Peng

Mrs

IB World Literature 20

Friday, March 23, 2012

                     The Mad Ophelia: A Metaphor of Denmark’s Corruption

       Throughout her entire life, Ophelia has never discovered her true self. Socially

constructed, motherless, and surrounded by a dominant male presence, she has been

continuously shaped and molded to fit the desires of others and never herself. Despite this,

Ophelia’s knack for observing and understanding human nature rivals that of Hamlet: Hamlet’s

hesitance to avenge his father’s murder traces back to the same reason Ophelia speaks riddles in

her insanity. Both lovers, through one way or another, bring out the consequences of the

corruption that is at the core of Denmark. By portraying Ophelia as a character who tries to

rediscover virtue and escape the manipulation of the male characters around her through

madness and death, Shakespeare successfully parallels her to the rottenness of Denmark, which

in turn manifests and foreshadows the ultimate tragedy and loss of human potential.

       Ophelia is constantly confused by the conflicting external demands she faces, to the point

where she finally breaks and fights back in a state of mental delusion. Her father, who she loves

and wishes to please, does not see her beyond an object to be used and abused, a disposable

daughter he can discard to gain Claudius’ approval. He first tells her to stay away from Hamlet

and to “not believe his vows, for they are brokers” (1.3 126). However, he then quickly sacrifices

her to Claudius to find out whether “if’t it be the affliction of his love or no / that thus he suffers

for” (3.1 36-7). Her brother Laertes sees her as a chaste angel whom he attempts to teach to fear
	
                                                                                            Peng	
  2


any other male: “Fear it, Ophelia” (1.3 33). Finally, Claudius sees her as bait to be used for

Hamlet. After handing her over to Hamlet, Claudius and Polonius discuss Hamlet’s mental state

for “seventeen lines before her father remembers to notice her”, and after that, “no line exists to

suggest that either moves to comfort or help her” (Dane). Irregardless of how Hamlet sees her, it

is clear that Ophelia must live up to the standards set out for her by the males around her. In fact,

her mind has been so disoriented that she finally states to Hamlet that “[she] think[s]

nothing” (3.2 118). In fact, her life has been a never-ending series of commands, that in order to

find who she truly is, she has to resort to madness to deal with her haphazard emotions.

       The unconscious revolt Ophelia goes through effectively exposes the crucial flaw within

Denmark’s political system, leading to not only her tragic death, but also the tragedy of

Denmark. There are only two beings that Hamlet tries persistently to save: Ophelia and

Denmark. He loves Ophelia, but he sees her being manipulated by Claudius and Polonius, much

like how he loves Denmark, but sees it being manipulated by the same people. In the days before

her death, Ophelia’s words in her madness bring out the worst in humans, qualities that some

would have preferred to stay unsaid. She hands out imaginary flowers to seemingly no one,

“rosemary, that’s for remembrance”, “pansies, that’s for thoughts”, “fennel … columbines … rue

… daisy” (4.5 173-184). However, upon closer inspection, it is evident that each flower is

symbolic to a different character. For example, columbines are representative of cuckoldry, a

term ascribed to Claudius. Daisies represent infidelity, a term ascribed to Gertrude. Fennel is to

Hamlet for his deceit, pansies to Horatio for his thoughts, and rosemary to Laertes for his

remembrance. The only flower no one receives is the violet, which is symbolic to nonexistent,

“wither’d” loyalty (1.3 181). It is of the utmost importance to realize impact of the absence of
	
                                                                                            Peng	
  3


loyalty in Ophelia’s life, because it is also absent in Denmark. To be clear, loyalty is not the same

as honour in that one does not have to be loyal to claim they are acting to uphold honour. The

“unshaped” truth in Ophelia’s deranged analysis can move “hearers to collection … and both the

words to fit their own thoughts” (4.5 8-10). Her thoughts are dangerous, and should remain

repressed like she was her whole life.

       The manner in which Ophelia dies as described by Gertrude is metaphorical to the

revenge plot that dominates the play. While mad, Ophelia goes to the brook to weave flowers,

“clamboring to hang” on the branch overlooking the water. The perilous state of Denmark at the

play’s commencement involve external tensions with Norway. Just like how Ophelia does not see

the danger of the water that will become her deathbed, Claudius does not see the external threat

of Fortinbras. The time when the “envious silver broke” and Ophelia falls into the water parallels

with when Claudius kills Hamlet Sr, throwing Denmark into chaos. At this point, Ophelia has a

high chance of drowning without support, and Denmark has a high chance of falling without a

strong leader. All is not lost, however, because Ophelia’s clothes “bore her up like a mermaid”,

temporarily saving her; the only factor holding Denmark together at this point is a lust for

revenge by the main characters. Yet at this point in time, Ophelia, instead of focusing on getting

out of the water, blissfully sings “snatches of old lauds”. The dramatic tension is paralleled to

how Hamlet and Claudius are chasing the past, intent on fixing it with the pretense of honour,

while Fortinbras plans his invasion. Perhaps the most important line Gertrude says while

delivering the devastating story is that Ophelia is “incapable of her own distress”. In other words,

Ophelia is still not aware of the distress she is in, as she does not see her imminent death.

Eventually, her “garments, heavy with drink, pulled [her] from her melodious lay to her muddy
	
                                                                                               Peng	
  4


death”. It is critical to note the very garments that once “bore her up” that now drag her down

(4.7 166-184). This fact in itself is characteristic to the plot of a tragedy: how in the end, the

characters are killed by their own devices, that the “arrows” they shot in fact “revert” back to

their bow and “not where they have aim’d them” (4.7 21-4). In essence, the tragedy plot is most

upheld by Ophelia while she is insane, and further emphasized in her death. By drawing the

connection between Ophelia and Denmark, Shakespeare is able to foreshadow the consequent

doom of Denmark. As Ranjini Philips points out, “In her madness, Ophelia mimics the

corruption of the state of Denmark” (Dane). Ophelia was driven to madness and eventually death

by the pressures of the male presence around her, and Denmark was driven to her downfall by

the same people whose manipulation at the state’s very core destabilized it enough for Fortinbras

to intervene and start anew.

       Ophelia may not play as major a role as Hamlet or Claudius, but without her the very

cohesion of plot disintegrates. Sometimes portrayed as naive and shallow, Ophelia is anything

but. She herself is a walking symbol of Denmark’s destruction at the hands of a few. Her death

was the most unnecessary out of all the deaths in the play, and that sorrow is conveyed to the

reader, which also relays the tragic ending that results in an astronomical loss of potential.
	
                                                                                   Peng	
  5


                                       Works Cited

Dane, Gabrielle. “Reading Ophelia’s Madness.” Minnesota: Pegasus Press. N. pag. Whohill.

       Web. 21 March 2012.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Toronto: Canadian School Book Exchange, 1998. Print.