THANK YOU for following my series on Ophelia!

THANK YOU for following my series on Ophelia!

This is the 15th (and longest!) series I have done on my blog;
For a list of the other 14 series, see footnote [1].

In the fourth part of her poem, “Sometimes,” Mary Oliver offers this (often-quoted) stanza:

Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.

I don’t start or end my series thinking that I’m an expert, but rather, a seeker with a hunger to fill gaps in my understanding. It’s good to chip away at a topic a little at a time, like the saying: a long journey is made up of many small steps. I try to pay attention, and am frequently astonished. I’m grateful that a few others follow along as I share questions and reflections. There are always new questions, new perspectives, new angles for considering even very old ideas.

Ophelia is a mystery to me. For some reason (explored in some posts of this series), Gertrude presents Ophelia’s drowning as something other than suicide.

Some are struck with disbelief to think of it as suicide. Some believe Gertrude [2], or Claudius [3], or even Horatio [4.a.,b.] drowned Ophelia. But to insist that it was a murder is, I think, to misunderstand the play.

I think that achieving a clearer understanding of Ophelia requires a clearer understanding of others like Hamlet and Gertrude. People in Elizabethan times feared suicide not only as a sin leading to loss of heaven, but also for the social stigma and economic consequences (seizure of the suicide’s family lands by the crown).

That Gertrude argues strongly against reading Ophelia’s downing as suicide is interesting to me (regardless of the kind of truth or insight it offers) not as a cover up of a murder she may have committed, but as a radical revision of what others assume.

Meanwhile, as I’ve tried to explore in this series, Ophelia has many wonderful lines, and is a stronger, kinder, and wiser character than many give her credit for.

Thank you for following the posts. Every post was a pleasure to explore, and many readers added helpful and insightful comments in a variety of social media forums where I re-shared the blog posts. I learned a lot in the process. I’m very grateful.

To look back through the series and read any entries, use the index, which you’ll find here [5].



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] My 15 series, in reverse chronology:

15 - Ophelia (& Gertrude) (June 2023-Aug. 2024)

14 - Jonah (23 April, 2018, then 16 April - 5 May, 2022 + April 12, 2023)

13 - Hamlet as Boy Jesus in Temple (Jan. 31-May 2, 2023)

12 - “When you are desirous to be blest, I will blessing beg of you” (echoes of Elijah and the widow) -  (Nov. 29 - Dec. 21, 2022)

11 - Hamlet (& Laertes) & the Odyssey (Aug. 4-23, 2022)

10 - Emmaus (May 7, 21, 2018; then May 10, 2022 - May 31, 2022)

9 - Holy Week allusions (April 10-16, 2022)

8 - Religious bias in Hamlet scholarship (Jan. 11-April 10, 2022)

7 - On Love's Labours' Lost (short) - (Oct. 12-Nov. 16, 2021)

6 - Rich man & Lazarus (Feb. 16 -Oct. 12, 2021 plus Jan. 8, 2018)

5 - Jephthah (& Polonius & Young Fortinbras) - (Oct. 6, Nov. 24, 2020 - Feb 9, 2021 + July 23, 2022)

4 - Notes on Asimov on Hamlet (Sept. 22 - Nov. 10, 2020)

3 - Character Arcs: Labors of Gratitude & Regret (Aug. - Dec. 2019)

2 - Who am I to interpret Hamlet? (July 16-Aug. 6, 2019)

1 - Francisco & Bernardo: (April 3-June 24, / Nov 13-20, / Dec. 3-4, 2017; / Jan 1, March 26, 2018)

[2] Grace Tiffany has a lovely Shakespearean sonnet that explores this possibility, which I blogged about previously in this series:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/06/part-2-ophelias-drowning-shrouded-in.html
Also see:
Loberg, Harmonie. “Queen Gertrude: Monarch, Mother, Murderer.” Atenea 24.1 (June 2004): 59-71.

[3] See Harris, Arthur John. “Ophelia’s ‘Nothing’: ‘It is the false steward that stole his master’s daughter.’” Hamlet Studies 19.1-2 (Summer-Winter 1997): 20-46. Harris argues that Claudius, who was so lustful for his brother’s wife, must also have been the “false steward” Ophelia mentions, and also one who uses her sexually and perhaps gets her pregnant (perhaps saving Hamlet from a lack of chastity?). Also see:
Jenkins, Ronald Bradford. “The Case Against the King: The Family of Ophelia vs. His Majesty King Claudius of Denmark.” Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 17.3-4 (Aug. 1996): 206-18;


[4.a.] Many readers have viewed Horatio and Hamlet as gay or bisexual: Besides professing his love for Ophelia in letters or love poems, Hamlet also speaks of his special relationship with Horatio (3.2.56-79).
For one example of a reader who considers Hamlet and Horatio this way, see this web page:
https://love-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.fandom.com/wiki/Hamlet_and_Horatio
Disagreement here:
https://cutpasteprint.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/free-form-fridays-are-hamlet-and-horatio-gay-for-each-other/

Others note that Horatio had messages from Hamlet and had to meet him at the harbor, so Horatio may have been too busy at the harbor to drown Ophelia, or even to know she had drowned.  https://ask.metafilter.com/156201/In-Shakespeares-Hamlet-why-doesnt-Horatio-tell-Hamlet-of-Ophelias-condition

[4.b.] From a review of “Straight Acting” by Will Tosh:
“At Stratford grammar school the boy would have learned the classical languages that allowed him to read Cicero’s canonical De Amicitia (On Friendship), a guide to the passionate intimacies between elite men that, for ancient Romans, and male Elizabethans, represented the apogee of human relationships.” https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jun/21/straight-acting-by-will-tosh-review-out-on-stage
Some of Shakespeare’s sonnets speak to a young man, encouraging him to “copy” himself by getting a wife and having children. In this, it seems the woman is secondary, the love among men primary.

[5] Index for Ophelia series, 2023-2024:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/10/index-of-ophelia-posts-2023-series-and.html


IMAGES:
The collage is made up of images from many of the posts. For image credits, see the original posts.


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

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

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