Part 5: Ophelia Drowning in Conflicting Authorities

When Ophelia says, “ “I do not know, my lord, what I should think” (1.3.113), people in Early Modern England would have assumed that, at least in part, she may have felt torn between apparently contradictory biblical injunctions.

In Act 1, scene 3, Ophelia has her first brief lines, spoken to her long-winded brother Laertes and her even more long-winded father, Polonius.

She says that Hamlet has made her “almost all the holy vows of heaven” [1]: She could be the next queen of Denmark.

Laertes suspects Hamlet may be tempted to use and abandon her, needing to marry someone else to secure a treaty [2]. But the play gives no evidence of treaty-marriages, or that Hamlet would take love lightly: He wants to return to university in Wittenberg, while Laertes wants to return to France where his father suspects he will be “drabbing” (whoring), and where Ophelia suspects he will be a hypocrite for not heeding his own strict advice.

Ophelia’s father similarly suspects bad intentions on Hamlet’s part [3]. As key advisor to the king, doesn’t that make him a valid authority? Or is it just his job to be suspicious?

HONOR THY FATHER
In Shakespeare’s time, the English church would cite the Bible’s 5th commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother” [4].

BE SUBJECT TO HIGHER POWERS
But Claudius in 1.2 said that Hamlet is next in line to the throne after him. The church in Shakespeare’s time repeatedly stressed duty to obey political authorities,[5] citing key Bible passages:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers: for there is no power but of God: and the powers that be, are ordained of God.
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist, shall receive to themselves condemnation. - Rom 13:1-2

If Hamlet becomes king after Claudius, isn’t he a sort of “higher power”? Perhaps Ophelia feels she may have a greater obligation to obey Hamlet than to obey her father?

WRITTEN ON THE HEART
Ophelia wanted to believe Hamlet’s love tokens [6]. The Christian tradition had long taught that God’s law is written on human hearts [7] and on consciences [8]. If Ophelia doesn’t listen to her heart, will she go mad like King Lear, rejecting the daughter nearest his heart, Cordelia? (See Stanley Cavell, “The Avoidance of Love: A Reading of King Lear,” also cited by Carol Thomas Neely in “Documents in Madness”). What of her strong feelings for Hamlet?

SET THE WORD ITSELF AGAINST THE WORD
Ophelia is torn between her heart and conflicting familial, political, and biblical authorities.
(Hamlet is similarly torn; Ophelia is a foil for him in these and other ways.)

After Shakespeare’s Richard II is deposed and imprisoned, he ponders various scripture passages that seem to contradict, saying

…thoughts of things divine, are intermixed
With scruples, and do set the word itself
Against the word…” [9]

Such contradictions can confuse: Ophelia tells her father,
“I do not know, my lord, what I should think” (1.3.113).

Hamlet ponders, "To be or not to be" (3.1.64). He doesn’t yet know what he should think.

Ophelia has not yet fallen in the brook, but her confusion in 1.3 already foreshadows her drowning.

NOTES:

[1] 1.3.123. All references to Hamlet are to the Folger Shakespeare Library online version: https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/hamlet/entire-play/

[2] 1.3.20-32

[3] 1.3.99-144

[4] Ex 20:12 (Geneva 1599):
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged upon the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

[5] In Shakespeare’s time, it was nearly unthinkable for a woman to have refused an offer of marriage from a king or prince.

[6] 3.1.126, 170

[7] Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (Geneva 1599):
11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, is not hid from thee, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it us, and cause us to hear it, that we may do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it us, and cause us to hear it, that we may do it?
14 But the word is very near unto thee: even in thy mouth, and in thine heart, for to do it.

2 Cor 3:2-3 (Geneva 1599):
2 Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, which is understood and read of all men,
3 In that ye are manifest, to be the Epistle of Christ, ministered by us, and written, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.

[8] Rom 2:14-16 (Geneva 1599):
14 For when the Gentiles which have not the Law, do by nature the things contained in the Law, they having not the Law, are a Law unto themselves,
15 Which show the effect of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts accusing one another, or excusing.)
16 At the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel.

[9] 5.5.12-14. All references to Richard II are to the Folger Shakespeare Library online version: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/richard-ii/read/5/5/


IMAGES:
Left: "Laertes and Ophelia" by William Gorman Wills, circa 1880, public domain via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Gorman_Wills-Ophelia_and_Laertes.jpg
Right: "Laertes bids farewell to his sister Ophelia," from 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare, illustration by W. G. Simmonds, edition published by Hodder und Stoughton in 1915. Public domain via https://www.meisterdrucke.us/kunstwerke/1200w/W_G_Simmonds_-_Laertes_bids_farewell_to_his_sister_Ophelia_from_Hamlet_by_William_Shakespeare_e_-_%28MeisterDrucke-205912%29.jpg


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INDEX OF OPHELIA POSTS:
My 2023 series on Ophelia, and earlier Ophelia posts:

https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/10/index-of-ophelia-posts-2023-series-and.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YOU CAN SUPPORT ME on a one-time "tip" basis on Ko-Fi:
https://ko-fi.com/pauladrianfried

IF YOU WOULD PREFER to support me on a REGULAR basis,
you may do so on Ko-Fi, or here on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/PaulAdrianFried
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.

Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):

https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html

I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider FOLLOWING.
To find the FOLLOW button, go to the home page: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/
see the = drop-down menu with three lines in the upper left.
From there you can click FOLLOW and see options.