Friday, July 24, 2015

In "Hamlet," why does Hamlet become to angry with Ophelia in Act 3, Scene 1?

Hamlet is unjustly transferring his mother's guilt onto Ophelia, presuming she is unchaste simply because that is (according to the role model of his mother) the nature of the weaker sex. In psychology, this kind of presumption based solely on one's own experience is called "supposition of the similitude."

It is Polonius' duty as a father to look after his daughter's comings and goings, and Hamlet thinks he should be paying closer attention to his daughter's whereabouts (since surely she must be up to no good!) Hamlet shows contempt for Ophelia because she inaccessible to him (and therefore eventually available to the next courtier which comes along).  By complying to her father's demands of keeping her distance from Hamlet, Ophelia seems to be rejecting his love and giving reason to her father. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the main function of the fool in "King Lear"? What is the secondly function?

The fool as a character is confusing, but part of this is the difference between the 1600s and today, as well as the difference in place. If...