Part 50: Ophelia Pregnant with Mystery

As I said at the end of Part 48 [1], I do like that a pregnancy for Ophelia is suggested but not conclusive in Hamlet, and that such mysteries and ambiguities may be something like a presence of God:

"Who's there?" - the play’s opening question, would have been appropriate for the rich man who neglects the beggar Lazarus to whom the Ghost refers [2],
as well as for the baker’s daughter referred to by Ophelia [3].
In both cases, those who neglect the beggar at the door neglect the presence of God.

How do we face the presence of mystery in the beggar, the stranger? In Ophelia?

Did Ophelia miscarry, and in postpartum depression, commit suicide, which Gertrude generously conceals in a story about an “envious sliver” and a death in faith [4]?
Would the Ophelia we come to know in the play have killed herself and an unborn child?
Can we know for certain, or is such a quest for certitude like a form of self-idolatry?

How might we consider the mystery of Ophelia in the context of some other pregnancies about which Shakespeare is more explicit?

In Love's Labour's Lost (1598) Jaquenetta is pregnant by Armado;
in All's Well that Ends Well (1601-05) Helena conceives a child by Bertram;
in Measure for Measure (1604) Juliet is pregnant by Claudio;
in Pericles (1608) Thaisa, pregnant by Pericles, gives birth to Marina;
in The Winter's Tale (1609-11) Hermione, pregnant by King Leontes, gives birth to Perdita.

As Shakespeare is explicit about these pregnancies, some may claim it's unlikely that Ophelia is pregnant.

On the other hand, Ophelia is the only one in this list for whom the mystery of her status is important, and the only one who dies without our knowing for certain.

The play puts us in a position like that of Gertrude: She can suspect the cup is poison, but she can’t know for certain unless she tests it [5].

We can suspect Ophelia may be pregnant, but we can’t know for sure. Choosing an assumption may test *us* as much as it does Ophelia.

Maybe the mystery is the point, not the plucking of its heart [6]?


NOTES: All references to Hamlet (and other Shakespeare plays) are to the Folger Shakespeare Library online versions: https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/hamlet/entire-play/

[1] See Part 48, https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2024/05/part-48-from-marice-hunt-impregnating.html
which is about a few paragraphs from Maurice Hunt, from "Impregnating Ophelia" (658-659).
Neophilologus 89, 641–663 (2005).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-005-5284-0

[2] GHOST: “...a most instant tetter barked about, / Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust / All my smooth body.” 1.5.78-80. “Lazar” means “leper” but comes from the gospel tale of the rich man and Lazarus, because the body of the beggar lazarus was covered in sores, licked by dogs (Luke 16:19-31). See also previous post from 8 January, 2018: “The Ghost of Lazarus Haunts Hamlet”: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-ghost-of-lazarus-haunts-hamlet.html

[3] OPHELIA: “They say the owl was a / baker’s daughter.” 4.5.47-48. See also previous post, Owl & Beggar Lazarus at Baker's Door in Hamlet 4.5 (part 11),” - April 27, 2021
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-begggar-lazarus-at-bakers-door-in.html

[4] 4.7.187-210. See previous post, “Part 34: Why Gertrude personifies the envious sliver of willow (Interlude D.1),” March 06, 2024: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2024/03/part-34-interlude-d1-why-gertrude.html

[5] 5.2.315-319. See also previous post:
Part 36: Gertrude builds a better mousetrap for Claudius (Interlude D.3) - March 19, 2024:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2024/03/part-36-gertrude-builds-better.html

[6] HAMLET: “ you would pluck / out the heart of my mystery…” 3.2.395-396.

IMAGE: Screen grab, fair use, from the excellent and insightful YouTube video, “Playing Ophelia,” Jessica Brown Findlay talks about playing Ophelia in the 2017 Almeida Theatre production of Hamlet, starring Andrew Scott, dir. Robert Icke (video posted by Almeida Theatre):
https://youtu.be/XXPd2gc3zco?si=qgTG51arimFRI_JG


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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
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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.
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