The Character of Ophelia Essay -- William Shakespeare Tragedies Essays

The Character of Ophelia In Shakespeare’s tragedies, the characters all have flaws that eventually lead to their undoing. In the play Hamlet, the character of Ophelia is ultimately killed by her flaw. It is apparent that Ophelia is an obedient person but, upon closer inspection, the audience can see that she is not merely obedient. Ophelia’s thoughts and actions go beyond obedience to show that she is a weak and entirely dependent character. Nothing that she says or does is a representation of herself but mostly that of her father. Ophelia’s cruel actions towards Hamlet, which go against her feelings for him, demonstrate her obedience to her father. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia tells her father that she likes Hamlet but her later actions sacrifice these personal feelings under the order of her father. She does as her father says regardless of how it could affect her own life. In particular, Ophelia agrees not to see Hamlet anymore after the request from her father: â€Å"I shall obey, my lord...†(act 1, scene 4). Ophelia’s actions show that Polonius has complete control over her because she sacrifices her personal feelings to please him. Ophelia’s obedience goes deeper than her trying to please her father and shows what a weak character she is. When Hamlet harasses her and tells her to go to a nunnery where she can no longer harm anyone, she does not try to defend herself. Instead, she just feels sorry for herself. Ophelia could not su...