Why ophelia goes mad

Throughout Shakespeare's Hamlet the theme of mental illness is very prevalent. Ophelia's descent into madness is caused by her being forced to question what love is and her uncertainty about it , Hamlets mistreatment of Ophelia, and her father's death. All three combined push her off the edge and into a spiral of madness leading to. There was an order most did not interfere with; however, some did. To stay in control, the men in Hamlet taught Ophelia to fear her every day, natural. William Shakespeares play Hamlet plays a very interesting and important role in the elaboration of the plot.

In the beginning, she starts off in a healthy state of mind, in love with her boyfriend Hamlet, yet controlled by her father in regard to their relationship. During the play she encounters several troubling experiences involving Hamlet which cause her to become distressed. Near the end, the death of her father leaves Ophelia mentally unstable and in a state of madness that eventually leads her.

Hamlet: The Cause of Ophelia's Insanity Shakespeare, through his intricate uses of symbolism and dramatic irony, arranges a brilliantly detailed account of how Hamlet's mental upheaval served as the driving force of Ophelia's swelling insanity and imminent suicide. He floods the early acts with an impending sense of confusion within Ophelia, for her feelings toward hamlet greatly contrast those of her brother and father.

Ophelia begins to willingly take heed of her family's. Hamlet: Driven by Madness? The plot of Hamlet follows a strain of madness that begins when Claudius murders King Hamlet and ends with the tragic deaths of almost every main character of the play. Whereas in other various revenge tragedies the protagonists are unequivocally insane. In Hamlet both Hamlet and Ophelia are able to speak freely behind the mask of their madness.

Hamlet and Ophelia are also both children of controlling parents, and they are forced to do things they do not want to do. By the end of the play, Ophelia has drowned, potentially an act of suicide, or just a symbol of the madness she has fallen in to. What makes Ophelia go through such a rapid change? Perhaps you already have an answer, but here are a few theories on the topic that I found to be really intriguing:.

This is a pretty obvious theory and a commonly held one by many critics. Surely there is no clean-cut answer, there never is, but the idea that Ophelia is more heart-broken over the loss of her father or more heart-broken over the loss of Hamlet tells you a great deal about her character and what she values. Then again, for her not to be deeply affected by the loss of her father is equally unlikely. This is perhaps the most intriguing theory on Ophelia I have ever read. Benji recently sent me this fascinating site that talks about how there are clear signs in the text that Ophelia has lost her maidenhood to Hamlet and is pregnant.

The article specifically references songs that Ophelia sings, the way Laertes talks to her before leaving for school, and the fact that Ophelia keeps rue , the abortive flower, for herself. Ophelia is torn between her affection for Hamlet and her duty to her father, Polonius. Dane talks about how Ophelia is used as a pawn, specifically by Polonius, as the men of the court deal with Hamlet and his mental situation.

Because Ophelia is manipulated by her own father and brother without a thought to her own emotions, she begins to lose a sense of self-hood that is imperative in retaining sanity. Ophelia cannot trust her beloved father or her lover, Hamlet, because they are all simply using her against each other.

By this logic, of course she went insane. While Cliff Notes is not a good source to have an entire character analysis based on, it certainly sparked an idea in my head that helped me read the text from a different angle.

Neely spends a large portion of her article on how Ophelia is represented verbally in the script and how this represents the fragmentary, borrowed nature of her character. The abortive flower I think is the most fascinating part. I am definitely intrigued by that. And from everything I have read, everything Epstein says in that post is accurate. Yesterday you and I talked about how it might be possible that Ophelia is feigning madness herself since there is the parallel debate over whether Hamlet is feigning madness.

You pointed out that the symbolism behind her distribution of the flowers and plants suggests that she is still in control of her senses, but something that occurred to me later was this—does madness mean a complete loss of control? The argument that she is not actually insane because she is able to draw keen observations and conclusions about the motives and actions of others, to me, implies that madness or insanity always equals a complete psychotic breakdown.

That seems much too simplistic. To me, it seems that Ophelia is functioning somewhere along these lines. Now I will apply that to the play.

It would make anybody plunge into a depression—in fact, that would not be an unhealthy response, depending on the duration of the episode. Suppose that Ophelia mopes about for a while, brooding on the recent events, figuring it would be better to die than to live in such a terrible, chaotic world. The point where she would begin to regain her energy is exactly when she dies.

That is very sad. I appreciate the psychological testimony on this. As for which of these reasons is most compelling, I would have to say a combination of all of the above, except 3. For such an intelligent, beautiful young woman to suddenly lose control of all her senses, I think it would take a plethora of causes, several being contradictory.

However, the assertion that she is pregnant, while certainly drawing on evidence from the text, is a stretch.

However I have several problems with it. Were this the truth of the matter, I have difficulty seeing the character as anything more than a monster, a base, damned monster, and finally, what do we care for his ultimate end? As we see in V. To abandon both her and her unborn child and yet to love her so is a hefty contradiction. This love, I think, is not one that could leap to adulterate actions. This again could point to the theme of ruinous revenge. Horatio is a character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.

Horatio's origins are unknown, although he was present on the battlefield when Hamlet's father defeated Fortinbras the king of Norway , and attended Wittenberg University with Prince Hamlet. Role in the play In the next act, Gertrude tells Claudius of Polonius' murder, convinced that Hamlet is truly mad. She drinks a cup of poison intended for Hamlet by the King, against the King's wishes, and dies, shouting in agony as she falls: "No, no, the drink,—O my dear Hamlet —The drink, the drink!

King Claudius. King Claudius is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. He is the brother to King Hamlet , second husband to Gertrude and uncle and later stepfather to Prince Hamlet. Why does Ophelia go mad in Hamlet? Category: events and attractions historic site and landmark tours. Answer and Explanation: Ophelia goes mad in Hamlet because her father, Polonius, was murdered by Hamlet.

His death alone would have been a tragedy; the fact that it occurred. Does Hamlet sleep with his mother? How does Hamlet react to Ophelia's death?

What scene in Hamlet does Ophelia go crazy? Analysis: Act IV, scenes v—vi. What is Ophelia's story? How does Hamlet end? Who Killed Hamlet? Why does Hamlet kill Polonius?

How many acts are there in Hamlet? How did Hamlet get rid of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? What happened in Act 5 of Hamlet? What has the gravedigger heard about Hamlet? Why does Hamlet act crazy in the play? Who is Fortinbras in Hamlet?