Frailty

Each of the times that I have had the opportunity to read Hamlet, the character of Ophelia has always managed to strike a raw nerve. For several reasons this lady has always appeared to be, in my eyes, a dependent and easily manipulated woman; because of this, I have continued to despise her. But if this is indeed the reaction that Shakespeare intended to provoke, what reason did he have for doing it? Ophelia is …

…about women throughout the play. By making her into a weak, subservient woman, he makes her strikingly similar in character to the Queen. The emotional reaction that is induced by the actions and temperament of his two female characters serves, in my opinion, to explain why Hamlet acts the way he does around them, justifies his philosophy on women, and also offers another clue to aid in unraveling the madness that seems to consume him.