Okay. So we have had our Socratic Seminars and debated whether or not Hamlet and Ophelia were really "an item" or if Hamlet's misogynistic attitude made it impossible for him to truly love a woman. Now it's time to really stir things up...In the article below, the author argues, quite powerfully, that not only were Hamlet and Ophelia a hot couple, but that Ophelia was actually pregnant with Hamlet's child!!!
Your job is to read the article carefully and decide if you agree with the author or not. In either case you must support your stance with excerpts from the article and your own knowledge of the play. Make sure your comments are intellectual and well supported with facts (text). Your comments are due by Sunday, 11/6. (Feeling lucky again, Shaine???) When you are done posting your comment, don't forget to vote on the right side of the blog; there is a poll question there. Just vote once. Enjoy:
Has anyone noticed that Ophelia is pregnant? In all the productions of Hamlet that I've seen, she is interpreted as an innocent girl in love with the doomed Prince. He breaks her heart, and her sanity goes with it. She drowns herself out of madness.
But I think her madness has a point to it. In Ophelia's first scene, her brother Laertes warns her to beware of Hamlet's affection for her:
" For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor,
Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood...
no more."
In other words: the Prince is toying with you. Ophelia demurs ("No more but so?") but appears to submit to her brother's wishes.
Next, Ophelia's father Polonius complains,
"'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late
Given private time to you, and you yourself
Have of your audience been most free and bounteous."
That is, "You've been spending a lot of time alone with this guy." Ophelia, in the time-honored fashion of daughters, claims the relationship is completely innocent: "he hath importun'd me with love / In honorable fashion."
All well and good, but in III:i, Ophelia is set to spy on Hamlet. (Some editors would have Hamlet overhear her father and Polonius asking her to do it. If we suppose a lost stage direction that has Hamlet entering seven lines before he speaks, we can explain why Hamlet suddenly turns on her with such otherwise inexplicable viciousness.) Ophelia listens to his suicidal soliloquy, which he ends by pretending to notice her for the first time:
Nymph, in thy orisons
be all my sins remembered.
Orisons are prayers. If Hamlet has importuned Ophelia in honorable fashion, why should his sins be remembered in her prayers? The implication is that they have sinned together.
Hamlet really lays into her in III:i, ending by telling her, "To a nunnery, go!" In high school they tell you that "nunnery" was slang for a whorehouse, and the rest of his barbed repartee suggests that he thinks she is as dishonored as she is dishonest. He knows she is deceitful from having just heard her agree to spy on him. The best way for him to know she is dishonored is if he has dishonored her.
But it is the mad songs that Ophelia sings in IV:7 that really give away her secret. More than half of her songs are songs of mourning; after all, Hamlet has just killed Ophelia's father. That might be why Ophelia warns, "They say the owl was a baker's daughter. Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be." After all, she is no longer the daughter of the King's chamberlain; she is now only the daughter of a dead old man. But perhaps she knows all too well what she soon may be, for shortly she sings:
Tomorrow is St. Valentine's day
All in the morning betime
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose and donn'd his clothes
and dupp'd the chamber door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
Why is Ophelia singing about a maid seduced by her lover? Aside from the songs of mourning, all her songs are songs of betrayed love. A few lines later, she is singing an even more pointed song:
Quoth she, "Before you tumbled me,
You promis'd me to wed."
He answers:
"So would I ha'done, by yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed."
It is hard to avoid the thought that Hamlet has seduced and abandoned her.
When she returns, she has gathered herbs. "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray you love, remember..." The various herbs have symbolic meanings well-documented in the scholarship, but the only herb she intends for herself is rue: "...there's rue for you, and here's some for me; we may call it herb of grace o'Sundays; O, you must wear your rue with a difference." The symbolic meaning of rue is, of course, regret. Ophelia has much to rue, but the symbolic meaning is not the only one. The herb rue (ruta graveolens, aka Herb-of-Grace) is a powerful abortifacient. My herbiary notes that rue is "Lethally toxic, do not use during pregnancy."
Herbal abortifacients tend to be mild poisons. The idea is that you poison yourself to the point where your body decides it's too sick to support the growing embryo or fetus, and rejects it. If you miscalculate in one direction, continued pregnancy; in the other direction, personal death. Rue, while toxic, would not be used as a poison, since it is not a pleasant way to go. Presumably Shakespeare would have given Ophelia hemlock if she had intended to poison herself.
A girl who has been seduced and abandoned need fear nothing but a broken heart, provided there is no evidence of her shame. But if she is pregnant, then there is no way to hide what she has done, unless she can abort the child, or kill herself. And, indeed, shortly thereafter, Ophelia drowns herself.
The conventional interpretation is that Hamlet has broken her heart and then killed her father. But the play seems to suggest strongly that Hamlet has seduced her, and to hint that she is pregnant as well.
It is not hard to imagine Ophelia falling in love with the romantic Prince, and giving in to his passions. He has promised to marry her, and it is not an impossible promise. The Queen later says (V: 2) "I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife." Ophelia might well have hoped to become Queen when Hamlet ascended the throne, as his uncle Claudius has promised.
Hamlet has been away at Wittenberg long enough for Claudius to murder Hamlet's father and then to marry his mother Gertrude, and then for the news to reach Hamlet. Presumably this would be a few months at least, long enough for Ophelia to know she's pregnant. When he returns, she is hoping he'll do right by her.
But Hamlet rejects her, kills her father, and to destroy all hope, is sent by King Claudius to England to be executed. What will become of the mother of the doomed prince's bastard? There is only one way to preserve her honor, and she takes it.
The point is, the next time someone puts on Hamlet, Ophelia really ought to be showing. Okay?
22 comments:
The author of this article argues that Ophelia is pregnant during the span of the play. He argues that she even hints at this matter in lines such as: "Before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed" and, "Tomorrow is St. Valentines day...And I a maid at your window...Let in that maid, that out a maid never departed more." Indeed these quotes, and others similar, suggest that Ophelia is not the saintliest woman in the play, but rather a woman who was tempted by her prince into premarital intercourse. However, this theme of misogyny is encountered throughout the play ("Frailty thy name is woman."). Hence it is unfair to infer that she is pregnant as a result.
The author argues that Ophelia is solemnly singing about her seduction and betrayal and having her heart broken but this provides no clear evidence that adamantly suggests Ophelia is pregnant.
For instance, the author's strongest argument is that of the rue herb. Here it is argued that "ruta graveolens" is a lethally toxic substance that is known for its use as a powerful abortificiant. Also that if Ophelia wanted to simply commit suicide, Shakespeare would have used hemlock because it is painless. However the author seems to be forgetting a crucial detail. That is, Ophelia is, in addition to feeling extremely depressed, feeling somewhat unholy (Hamlet and her father make her feel kind of like a hoe) as a result of putting her faith and honor in a man who left her and broke her heart. Likewise, she would most likely be looking for some way to cleanse her soul of this sin and being in an irrational state of mind, may have found this in physical suffering therefore preferring the rue to the hemlock.
In other words, the details provided in the play can be interpreted in different ways and they are rather vague when it comes to the matter of Ophelia. However, they do offer firm insight into the character.
The author of this literay criticism argues that in the play Ophelia was pregnant with Hamlet's baby. Hamlet hints on her commiting sin and not being as saintly a most see her to be. When gathering herbs and spreading them around to respect the death of her father and rememberance, Ophelia threw rue which the author identifies as a lethal toxant, used at times for the abortion of a baby. Another reason he felt Ophelia was pregnant, was because Ophelia was starting to lose her mind after the death of her father, and sing things such as "And I a maid at your window. Let in that maid, that out a maid never departed more". He believes that Ophelia was insulting herself for her deeds, and for becoming pregnant.
However I don't think Ophelia was pregnant. The fact that Hamlet was insulting her throughout the play, just added to Hamlet's madness and as James mentioned, the theme of misogyny. Hamlet was heartbroken after Ophelia had been avoiding Hamlet, as she promised her father. He probably felt that his love and feelings for her were betrayed. He basically called her dirty for playing with his feelings, and then at the end leaving him. And perhaps they had fooled around, because Hamlet seems to hint it when he tells her to go to a nunnery. In the play he also talked about how women like her and his mother are manipulative, and uses makeup as a symbol. Women wear it to cover up the truth and give a better outter appearance; to cover up the ugly and deceive men.
After what his mother did, Hamlet felt betrayed by women and had a negative view on them as sinful, manipulative creatures. Shakespeare presents misogyny through Hamlet's insults, and presented women such as Getrude and Ophelia as premiscuous and sinful women.
Ophelia sang those songs, because she was overwhelmed by her father's death, and I felt that that helped in making Ophelia lose her mind. She sang those songs because she started to feel bad about herself after Hamlet rejected his love for her and insulted her by calling her an unfaithful maid. That and losing her father encouraged her to sing about her regrets and sins. Her songs meant that she was seduced by Hamlet, and that she was no longer inoccent. She was just a maid, a maid that commited sin. Also when she was speaking to Hamlet she told him "Before you tumbled me, You promis'd me to wed", which means before they were to have sexual relations, he promised her they'd get married so it wouldn't look so bad to have premarital sex. Obviously, that didn't happen! And now Ophelia regrets it, singing her songs of betrayed love and throwing around rue, which also symbolizes regret.
The author of the criticism had some good points, but i just feel that Ophelia was being portrayed as an olden day whore, under Shakespeare's theme of misogyny. All her actions were made as a result of regret, heartbreak, and depression.
I agree with the article's author. Ophelia stated that her alone time with Hamlet was honorable when accused by her father. However this could easily be a lie; a normal reaction because nobody is ever going to say "Yes, we were getting it in," when asked by a parent if one is being dishonorable.
During Hamlet and Ophelia's argument, Hamlet says "Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered." At this point, Hamlet has not commited any sin such as murder. This alludes to the fact that they both, have in fact, made premarital love. His sin must be the fact that Ophelia has his bastard son.
When Ophelia goes mad, apart from
singing songs of mourning, she sings songs of betrayed love. This continues to allude to the fact that Hamlet has made love to her. She feels betrayed because he rejects her, kills her father (probably the reason for her insanity), and is being sent off to England. She makes this plain obvious by stating "Before you tumbled me, you promis'd me to wed." Shakespeare alludes to this fact later by having Gertrude tell her "I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife."
One last example that aluudes to Ophelia's pregnancy is her attempts of destruction of her young and her own self destruction.
When a woman is pregnant, she typically tries to avoid items that may cause harm to her fetus. So, for example, a pregnant woman avoids people who smoke because second hand smoking could harm the baby. Ophelia, who is trying to get rid of the baby because Hamlet has rejected her, killed her father, and left to England, is a great example of the opposite of this idea. She is handling rue. This herb is said to poisin a pregnant woman to the point where her body cannot support the fetus and ultimately rejects it. This shows us that she wants to kill the baby. Rue is also symbolic of regret. She therefore regrets her lovemaking with Hamlet. Because she is unable to get rid of the baby,and assumes that Hamlet will not support it, Ophelia ultimately kills herself. So, Ophelia should be showing on the next production of Hamlet.
For someone like this author to assume that Ophelia was impregnated with Hamlet's child is a very interesting approach. The author defended his argument very well in that he refers to the certain lines in the play which he believes the theory of Ophelia's pregnancy may be revealed. However, personally i don't agree with the authors assumptions.
He argues that there are several hints and clues to reveal Ophelia's pregnancy. He uses lines such as:
Tomorrow is St. Valentine's day
All in the morning betime
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose and donn'd his clothes
and dupp'd the chamber door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
These lines suggest that Ophelia had sexual relations with Hamlet. I interpret it to be going into Hamlets bedroom "innocent" and leaving "unpure". However, I don’t think this can be used to imply that Ophelia was pregnant. Just because two physically involved people have sexual intercourse does not mean the woman will automatically become impregnated.
Also when Ophelia sings to Hamlet:
"Before you tumbled me,
You promis'd me to wed."
He answers:
"So would I ha'done, by yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed."
Having Ophelia sing these songs of love/seduction and betrayal reveals to us nothing more than that the fact that she has had premarital intercourse with Hamlet and is heartbroken due to the fact that he is now abandoning her. Essentially, this provides no clear indications that firmly suggests Ophelia was pregnant.
I agree with James in saying that the use of the herb “rue” in the play is probably the author’s strongest argument. Rue, also known as ruta graveolens, was used historically to assist in inducing miscarriages. This is the only thing that could have most likely been a indication of pregnancy but it is still pretty hard to just assume it since pregnancy is not mentioned directly in the text. Rue also causes physical pain so this could have been Ophelia’s resort to coping with her depression and insanity caused by her father’s untimely death and having Hamlet break her heart and abandon her in this shameful state.
Overall, I can't completely agree with the authors theory of Ophelia's pregnancy. Critics will argue for forever about the evidence in the play that either suggests or denies the fact that Ophelia was pregnant with Hamlets son. But we will never get an affirmative answer so to make assumptions on extremely vague hints or clues in the text is not 100% convincing.
The author of this article makes somewhat of a convincing argument. Like James said, it is kind of hard to believe that Ophelia really is pregnant; however, the evidence the author throws out there doesn't exclude the possibility of Ophelia having a little bastard bun in the oven.
It's hard to say whether or not Ophelia is pregnant, when one could argue she is. But, another could argue that a recurring theme in the play, or a recurring theme in any play regarding women makes them out to be the Devil, and in this case that's what Ophelia is made out to be. Even with her brother's warning, Ophelia still chose to see Hamlet, which eventually lead to her mental decline. "For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor,
Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood...no more." This hints at Ophelia that she's being used! What does she continue to do? She continues to fool around with Hamlet, also indicating her stupidity, and hinting at women's supposed inferiority to men. Ophelia says, "Before you tumbled me, You promis'd me to wed." Hamlet answers her by saying, "So would I ha'done, by yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed." Hamlet basically says "Haha that sucks for you! You should have never come to my room at late hours of the night." Hamlet's quote in this play indicates Ophelia's inferiority for being a women, and being stupid enough to believe a man's word when all they clearly want is to get in a chick's pants! Ophelia's also made out to seem like the Devil in this scene, because someone who hates women could argue Ophelia tempted him to give in, and that's why she's in the predicament she's in; however Hamlet tempted her, and its because of him that she's in that situation.
Anyway, back to the task at hand, the author argues that the play was in place for a number of months, long enough for Ophelia to know that she was actually pregnant. This part of the author's argument I agree with, because certain things would've had to happen to Ophelia for her to know that she was actually pregnant. But, when Hamlet rejects her, she loses everything, mentally. The author of the article hints at Ophelia's pregnancy by mentioning the herb Ophelia gave to Hamlet. The herb symbolizes her regret for having sleep with Hamlet when they weren't married. Shortly after that happened, Ophelia kills herself. Her death symbolizes that if she was pregnant, she wouldn't have been able to live with the child that was growing inside of her, because it would always be a constant reminder of Ophelia's sins. It seemed like Ophelia's only choice to was to end her life along with the life that Hamlet and she created. Therefore, Ophelia could have been pregnant, and some points in the author's argument could very well lead one to believe so.
To say whether or not Ophelia is really pregnant, is a hard decision to make. The women in this play were made out to be the Devil. One could argue that it was Ophelia's fault for being seduced by Hamlet. However, in the event she was pregnant, she would've already been aware, and would've just wanted support from Hamlet; however, he rejects her, and it leads to her ultimate demise.
Within this article the author argues that Ophellia was pregnant with Hamlet's child. The author supported this argument with questionable lines throughout the book. I believe that some of the points the author brought up didn't actually support his theory. Such as the author pointing out that the Queen had said: "I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife." I don't understand how this defends the author's point when the Queen, as well as everyone else, doesn't know their sins. The Queen said this believing that the reason for her sons madness was his love for Ophellia. The Queen wasn't thinking of how Ophellia might be pregnant when she said this line. The Queen just believed that if Ophellia had married Hamlet, Hamlet would not have gone mad. I also disagree with the author saying "The best way for him to know she is dishonored is if he has dishonored her." At this point I feel like this author is just saying random nonsense in an useless effort to support his point. Earlier in the book Hamlet had told Polonius of how he should make sure that Ophellia stays clean. Hamlet is just being protective of the women he loves. One point the author made which I actually did support was bringing up his theory of rue. The author says: "The idea is that you poison yourself to the point where your body decides it's too sick to support the growing embryo or fetus, and rejects it." When the author brought up rue, I actually began to question if Ophellia was pregnant. Because out of all the herbs she could have with her right now she is carrying the one herb that will kill her baby. I agree that there must be a reason that Shakespeare had Ophellia use rue out of all things. I believe that in the emotional state that Ophellia was in she didn't care too much about her own well being, but I don't believe she is trying to kill the baby. She is quite careless at this point due to the fact that her father has passed and Hamlet doesn't pay her any attention. And as for the author's idea that rue symbolized regret of being pregnant with Hamlet's child, I disagree again. I believe that the rue doesn't stand for the regret of the pregnancy, but for her regret of falling for a man who would not love her back. She was warned repeatedly by both her brother and father to stay away from Hamlet, but she did not listen. And now she is heartbroken, and it is her fault for not listening to her family. The author also brought up the lines: "Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more." and "Before you tumbled me,
You promis'd me to wed.". I do not believe these lines show that Ophellia is pregnant. Yes, Ophellia and Hamlet had sexual intercourse. But I don't think that these lines automatically allow you to assume she is pregnant. This author is taking what Shakespeare wrote and stretching it a bit too far. The author is assuming too much out of these few lines. Hamlet is a hater on women, why in the world would he have a child with Ophellia??? HE DOESN'T LIKE HER! In the conversation between Ophellia and Hamlet in the castle, he told Ophellia that she misunderstood how he felt about her.
I think the author made a great point in bringing up rue. But I believe he assumed too much within the book. I do not believe Ophellia is pregnant.
I agree 100% with James. The author of this article definitely makes a great argument but i am not completely convinced. The author's greatest argument is in Ophelia's song, especially the last two lines "Let in the maid, that out a maid/ Never departed more" These lines to me give me the understanding that Ophelia did in fact get intimate with Hamlet, but that does not mean that she was impregnated.
If Ophelia were in fact pregnant that could be an excellent reason for a suicide attempt. We still have to keep in mind that her father, Polonius, had just been murdered by her supposed love, Hamlet. This to me is an even better reason for going crazy and feeling like her world is coming to an end. Ophelia was also feeling lonely and unwanted, "Before you tumbled me,/ You promis'd me to wed."/He answers:/ "So would I ha'done, by yonder sun,/ An thou hadst not come to my bed." She is feeling abandoned and has no one to talk to, she is also feeling ashamed of giving in to Hamlet's temptations. The two people that tried to warn her of Hamlet's ways are not even around: her father is dead and her brother is away. I honestly feel so bad for Ophelia, she was seduced, and abandoned, there are always other ways to resolve your problems, taking your life is never the solution. Even though it is kind of obvious, this question never came up: Did Ophelia really commit suicide or did she actually drown accidentally? Just a thought..
Although the author of this article may have a good argument, i disagree with him and many others may have totally different views. It all depends on how you interpret the play, we can never be sure as to what was going on in Shakespeare's mind when he wrote this play. All of our questions and theories will never be defined and we will always be left wondering, maybe that is what makes Shakespeare such a great figure in history and why his works have been around so long.
The author of this article suggests that Ophelia was actually pregnant and that is one of the reasons she had gone mad. The author did bring up a few convincing points but I felt a lot of what he said did not prove his theory. However, I believe that they did have sexual intercourse but I don’t think Ophelia was pregnant. Ophelia says “Let in the maid, that out a maid/ Never departed more.” This means that she was a virgin but after she came out if the room, she was not a virgin anymore.
The author’s best argument is the rue, as James and Ferial have said. The author of the article says that the only herb that she actually takes is the rue. Rue, or ruta graveolens, is a powerful herb that is used to abort a fetus. The author also goes on to state that this could not have been a suicide attempt because if Shakespeare wanted it to be a suicide attempt he would use Hemlock because it is a more pleasant way to go. I think that this is the only real evidence that supports the theory that Ophelia was pregnant. There are many things that could’ve have driven her crazy. First, she just found out that her lover killed her own dad and now Hamlet is being sent to England to be executed. She slept with him expecting to get married afterwards but he did not do that. She says “Before you tumbled me, / You promised me to wed. /So would I ha’done by yonder sun,/ And thou hadst not come to my bed.” Now she is definitely having feelings of loneliness and her brother and Father are not there to comfort her so this may have been a reason for her madness and eventual death. Also, she did get advice early on in the play from her brother and father to watch out for Hamlet and that he is only out for her virginity. She could be having feelings of disappointment because she did not listen to her father and now he is dead. The author does make some good points but I do not think Ophelia is pregnant.
While the author of the article strongly supported his argument, I remain unconvinced that Ophelia was pregnant at the time of her death. There are far too many variables in the argument to come up with a definite conclusion, but if Ophelia had been pregnant it would be a major indicator in the development for her madness. Wouldn’t it be out of character for Shakespeare to omit such a pertinent detail? Such a scandalous pregnancy would have attracted great attention to his play as well. Shakespeare does not really shy away from stretching the Victorian norm anyway. The pregnancy would have also added some depth to Ophelia’s character and reveal the true nature of her relationship with Hamlet.
Ophelia’s general nature supports the author’s argument. Her static, submissive character causes her to obey any order given by the men of her family. When her father declares she is unfit to have a genuine relationship with Hamlet she immediately stops seeing him. If Ophelia had been pregnant at this time, it would obviously contribute to her inevitable decline into insanity. Because Polonius and Laertes disprove of Hamlet, marriage at this point would be out of the question. Having children out of wedlock in the Victorian Era is a justifiable motive for suicide. Conversely, was Ophelia’s death even a suicide?
If the songs she had been singing during the scene of her death had been of her own personal experiences, all that reveals is she had premarital sex. Hamlet’s misogyny alone could have been the cause of Ophelia’s lunacy. When his own mother betrayed his father by marrying Claudius, it’s possible that Hamlet lost any faith he had in women. Therefore, Hamlet is brutally cruel to Ophelia; he even denies ever loving her. The denial of her love alone could cause her depression and her eventual death. Almost every aspect of the enigma that is Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship is debatable.
The author of this article is basically arguing that in this journey of Hamlet. This story to me at first i thought was a romance novel.
I think Ophelia being pregnant does not really need much of an importance in the novel. I believe she was and Hamlet did show compassion until the end when he says that "whorehouse" because she lost her maiden head with him she is no good use for him anymore.
Her prayers should remind her of Hamlets sins because his sins led up to his dramatic change to her and other women.
Opehila is singing about a maiden being seduced by her lover because she is using her self as a maid so when she says seduced she means the intercourse they had with each other and after that he was done with that there was no point of keeping her.
The only thing i want to know is did Hamlet cry that his old future wife has died?
The do tell a little about about Ophelia. In this novel it was a little vague of who was the villain and the hero. Until the end when all of them die.
The author of this argument made some great points; However I don't think that Hamlet is her so called "baby daddy."
Ophelia has actually been through a lot. She gave her virginity up to a man who she thought she'd marry, and on top of that that same man killed her father. What is even worst is that Ophelia was warned by both her father and brother to stay away from Hamlet. Her father quotes "Tis told me, he hath very oft of late/Given private time to you, and you yourself/Have of your audience been most free and bounteous." In this, her virginity was already taken and her feelings were already set into place. The author made a great point in saying Ophelia associated herself with a poisonous flower, the rue, this flower also represents regret which is 100% understandable for Ophelia. She not only lost her father, but had her heart broken but the one she (keyword) thought she loved.
"Before you tumbled me,
You promis'd me to wed."
He answers:
"So would I ha'done, by yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed."
The text in my opinion did not in fact give enough detail for us to determine whether or not she is carrying Hamlet's child. I do not think Ophelia killed herself due to pregnancy. I believe she killed herself out of guilt, sadness, and betrayal. Many may disagree; However it all depends on the who is reading the play. Shakespeare creates his writing in a way that keeps options available. One word or paragraph can be read and interpreted different ways.
I'm a little on the fence with this subject. Kudos to the author for strongly presenting his case, but I don't feel he had enough evidence to support it. If Ophelia was indeed pregnant, then Shakespeare would have put more effort into making it a point throughout the play.
"Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered." The author says that in this quote, Hamlet wans Ophelia to remember his sins in her prayers. His sins, according to the author, is the fact that they "sinned" together. But in essence, it could very well be his sins of misogyny; how he treats Ophelia, what he calls her, "To a nunery, go!". His words towards her, his actions, is misogynistic, its a sin. To treat women the way he does, could very well be the reason why Ophelia went crazy, not because she was pregnant.
The author also claims that Ophelia took Rue as an abortificiant: "...there's rue for you, and here's some for me." Rue means regret. Regret is strongly felt by Ophelia because she disregarded Laertes warning about being around Hamlet. She ended up with a broken heart because she didn't listen. That's where the regret comes in, and that's why she gives herself the "ruta graveolens". And if she did take it as an abortifciant, maybe she took as a symbolic source of abortificiant. maybe not as a use to kill her baby, but to kill the foulness of Hamlet stole her maidenhead.
I will not say that this author is wrong because he presents his case strongly, but not with enough convincing evidence. Here I stand with my position that Ophelia, was not pregnant.
Well this was really surprising to see that someone can argue and have a great argument about Ophelia being pregnant. At first when I saw the title I couldn’t believe and was in shock. It was hard to believe that Ophelia could be pregnant. But after reading this article, a literary criticism I could totally agree with the author. The author has a very strong argument that makes everyone think. In the play both Hamlet and Ophelia were lovers and they both seemed to have something with each other. Even though they didn’t specifically say that they had been together it gives us some hints to think that Ophelia had lost her maidenhead to Hamlet. With this happening you could clearly see that anything could have happened and that there is certainly a possibility that Ophelia could have been pregnant. The author of this criticism has very significant support to keep his argument strong. The author also uses some line and some parts of the play to make us think that this is true. When he states these lines in the beginning it gives it all out:
Tomorrow is St. Valentine's day
All in the morning betime
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose and donn'd his clothes
and dupp'd the chamber door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
I think that this says it all. The argument should be strictly based on this because it states clearly states that she lost her virginity after being with Hamlet. I think that during this period of time they did not know how to protect themselves and that why I think that she could have been left pregnant by Hamlet. Ophelia could not say no to Hamlet because she was really in love with him. We know this because she did not listen to her brother or father when they warned her about Hamlet. They knew that something would happen and that something would be leaving her pregnant and not wanting to get married to her. In these lines he tells her that he is not going to marry her:
Quoth she, "Before you tumbled me,
You promis'd me to wed."
He answers:
"So would I ha'done, by yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed."
Now she probably lost all her possibilities to be Hamlet’s wife because she is not pure and not a virgin anymore. She probably thought this was a Cinderella story where Hamlet would be her Prince and do anything for her. Since she was truly into him and after him denying her she decides to commit suicide because it is her only way out. By him insulting her in the play it also shows that he doesn’t want anything else with her because he got what he wanted. I think he acted like a jerk because he knew he left her pregnant. However, she does not want to be dishonored by people for her baby not having a father and be called a “bastard”. She feels that it was her mistake and that she would be the only one to fix it. This was the only option she found or the only answer to her questions. She also demonstrates her sadness in her songs. It seems like she is telling what happened from beginning to end. She was seduced by Hamlet and then betrayed to have her heartbroken. She was probably depressed and this could have been the reason why. But this love she had for him brought her to commit suicide, death, feeling regret and being depressed.
The author of this criticism has convinced me to agree with the belief that Ophelia was pregnant. This allegation helps piece together certain parts of the play that did not completely fit. Such as, the way Hamlet acts towards Ophelia during Act III scene. i. This would also explain why Ophelia became so distraught that she felt the only way out was to take her own life. Seeing as when women are pregnant emotions are heightened. Although we only see Hamlet and Ophelia in a few scenes, there is a sense of hostility that is present which can only suggest that something happened in the past between the two. The critic makes a point that Hamlet hints that he and Ophelia had sinned together, which greatly supports the belief that Ophelia was with child. The part in this criticism that most persuaded me was the use of rue instead of the traditional hemlock. There must have been a solid reason as to why Shakespeare decided to use rue. It seems like much more than a coincidence that rue is lethal during pregnancy. Usually when an author strays from an accepted method, it is to be taken as a clue that they meant to highlight a specific event. Another argument the critic brings up is Ophelia's songs. These songs were laced with a theme of being betrayed. At first we can assume that the betrayal consists of Hamlet murdering her father, but could it have been more? This criticism makes the death of Ophelia even more tragic. Her heartbreak was magnified because the father of her child killed her father. This further explains Ophelia's excessive madness and ultimate decision to end her life.
I agree with the author of this article that Ophelia was pregnant with Hamlet’s child during the play. The author backs up his claims with excerpts directly from the text. The greatest piece of information regarding this is during her madness. She begins to say things such as, “Tomorrow is St. Valentine's day… Let in the maid, that out a maid/ Never departed more.” This is a song of a poor innocent girl being seduced by a man only be tossed out after she has given in. In her madness we could be seeing the inner workings that she hid before out fear. Her next song she sings gives us even more insight to her troubled relationship with Hamlet. "Before you tumbled me,… An thou hadst not come to my bed." This leads directly to the thought that Hamlet had took her virginity and then hung her out to dry. When Ophelia begins collecting the various herbs that also hints at her pregnancy. She picked herbs symbolic of everyone, and her herb was one used as an abortifacient. I believe she intended to use this to have an abortion, and not to commit suicide. In my humble opinion Ophelia was pregnant with Hamlet’s baby, and his deception and murder of her father led to her insanity.
I'm not feeling lucky this time mr. egan, but next time i got you.
The author definitely makes a strong argument here that they had sexual intercourse, but makes a big assumption when he says that Ophelia was pregnant: it's just a possibilty. An important point is when Ophelia in her madness sings: "Tomorrow is St. Valentine's day
All in the morning betime
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose and donn'd his clothes and dupp'd the chamber door; Let in the maid, that out a maid, Never departed more."
Roughly translated into modern english it means that he takes off his clothes and lets her, the virgin in, but she doesn't leave as a virgin. That's really all you need to prove that they had sexual intercourse.
However just because they had sex, doesn't necessarily mean that Ophelia got pregnant. I mean there are some instances where you could assume that she might have been pregnant. Like when Ophelia takes about the rues:"...there's rue for you, and here's some for me; we may call it herb of grace o'Sundays; O, you must wear your rue with a difference." The herb rue (ruta graveolens, aka Herb-of-Grace) is a powerful abortifacient, according to the author. It can also be used to commit suicide, but Shakespeare mentions that if she wanted to commit suicide it would have been more painless to use hemlock instead. Mentioning this makes one assume that she was pregnant, because why else would you need rues then? However its never said if she used the rues or not. So it's just an assumption.
Another big point that can make you assume that Opheilia might be pregnant is this:
Quoth she, "Before you tumbled me,
You promis'd me to wed."
He answers:
"So would I ha'done, by yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed."
Here it doesn't makes sense why you wouldn't want to marry someone just because you had a premartial intercourse with her, unless you found ou that you got her pregnant. This could have been the possible scenario with Hamlet and Ophelia; the reason for Hamlet's rejection of Ophelia. These points makes sence, but there isn't enought solid evidence to prove that Ophelia was actually pregnant, but you never know. In madness there may lay truth.
The author very well supported his claim that Ophelia was pregnant with Hamlet's child. Personally, I find this statement to be valid, yet far-fetched. The author of the article suggests that Ophelia drowned herself not for the obvious reasons such as Prince Hamlet breaking her heart and killing her father, but for getting her pregnant and leaving her.
There are several clues int he novel that suggest Ophelia was pregnant. When Hamlet addresses Ophelia in his suicidal soliloquy, he says, "Nymph, in thy orisons
be all my sins remembered." Since it isn't obvious that he committed any major sins, he must be referring to a secretive sin, such as premarital sex. Other clues are the songs that Ophelia was singing as she drowned herself. The lines, "Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more", suggest that she entered his chamber as a virgin, but did not leave as one. While this does not completely prove that she is pregnant, it gives a pretty strong indication of it.
Ophelia is upset with herself and with Hamlet because she feels that she was just "used" by him for his own personal desires. The lines, "Before you tumbled me,/ You promis'd me to wed." suggest that Prince Hamlet told her that he would marry her before the became sexually engaged. However, the lines, "So would I ha'done, by yonder sun,/ An thou hadst not come to my bed." reveal that since she slept with him, he might have lost all respect for her and looked down upon her as if she were just some random, promiscuous girl.
Also, I feel that the author's explanation of the use of rue in Hamlet is a bit over the top. I don't think Shakespeare intended to use it for that purpose; it just worked out in the end.
Clearly, if Ophelia was upset with herself for becoming pregnant, her only option would be to leave and start a new life or to kill herself, which she ended up doing. Her disappointment in Hamlet for leaving her and killing her father, combined with the devastation of "using" her was just too much for her to handle, as she ends up committing suicide, something that Hamlet has been contemplating throughout the play.
Haha... I like how the article ends
Being that Ophelia was pregnant would make A LOT of sense! I get that she loved Hamlet but, to me it doesn't make sense that she would kill herself JUST because of his rejection. It makes more sense if he rejects her AND a baby "You promis'd me to wed." I mean, if you make a baby with someone you're like pretty much obligated to get married with them or at least stay close to the woman and be a parent to the future baby. But no, Hamlet completely rejected her and left her to be alone and depressed. Saying that he was prego and her baby's daddy just murdered her father would be a reasonable reason for Ophelia to kill herself. Also, while drowning herself she said "here's some for me" and according to the author of the article, rue is a "powerful abortifacient". So she was trying to get rid of the baby but she kind of also wanted to get rid of herself as well because she didn't want anything (baby bump) to remind herself of what could have been. Another thing is that Hamlet doesn't truly love Ophelia and, if I was her, I would've been furious since the guy that got me pregnant just wanted a night of fun. In the end, the moral of this part of the story is to not let guys just get with you, be sure of who you sleep with.
Throughout the play, Shakespeare hints at there being a relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. Whether they actually pursued one another is hard to tell. However, the author of this article makes some valid points which convince me that maybe there was something going on between the two of them.
In the beginning half of the play, after Laertes leaves for Paris, Polonius speaks to Ophelia about her relationship with Hamlet, and the time they've been spending together.
Polonius: Marry, well be thought.
'Tis told me he hath very oft of late
Given private time to you, and you yourself
Have of your audience been most free and bounteous.
If it be so as do 'tis put on me—
And that in way of caution—I must tell you,
You do not understand yourself so clearly
As it behooves my daughter and your honor.
What is between you? Give me up the truth.
Ophelia: He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders
Of his affection to me.
This conversation suggests that Hamlet and Ophelia have been alone together, a number of times. The two of them having sex during that time is not too crazy to assume.
In Hamlet's conversation with Ophelia in the "nunnery scene," her responses to Hamlet indicate that they had sex and now there is tension between the two.
Ophelia: My honored lord, you know right well you did,
And with them, words so sweet of breath composed
As made the things more rich. Their perfume lost,
Take these again, for to the noble mind
Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.
There, my lord.
I am interpreting this to mean that they were in love before, but now they seem to have grown apart. Hamlet questions whether he can trust Ophelia and she feels that he's changed. The things in which Ophelia refers to, I believe is their sexual encounters. When they were in love, it was really special to her. However, after the King's death and the marriage between Gertrude and Claudius, Hamlet's intensifying feelings of misogyny changed his relationship with Ophelia.
I think Ophelia realized she was carrying Hamlet's child, and when Hamlet did not return the same affection she had for him, it made her go mad. When Ophelia is singing songs about death and heartbreak, her insanity is becoming clearer to those around her. In the songs, it talks about a virgin who has been seduced, was given promises of marriage only to be broken. Before, Laertes mentions that Hamlet could never be with her because the state was always his first priority. Maybe, Ophelia's love for him was so strong that she thought giving him her virginity would solidify their love and her hopes of getting married. When that didn't happen and she became pregnant, killing herself was the only way in his she could stop the heartbreak and prevent the world from knowing the truth.
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