Laertes' Fear & Hypocrisy, 1.3: (Part 5) Labors of Gratitude and Regret in Hamlet
This is the latest installment in a multi-part series examining how characters interact in Hamlet, offering opportunities, gifts, planting seeds for future inspiration, or for changes of heart & mind. It follows ideas from Lewis Hyde (“The Labor of Gratitude,” a chapter in his book, The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property ). For more notes on the series and an index of previous posts in this series, see the end of this post. [L: Julia Stiles as Ophelia, and Liev Schreiber as Laertes in Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet (2000), which starred Ethan Hawke as the prince. R: Michael Maloney as Laertes, and Kate Winslet as Ophelia in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996).] Overview/Introduction Lewis Hyde’s idea of transformative gifts and labors of gratitude includes the understanding that gifts, however small or subtle, can sometimes change us, or change our course of direction. If we receive and are grateful for a gift, we sometimes labor to become like the gift or giver. ...