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OPHELIA CHARACTER STUDY, 'Ophelia has played a major role in the…
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'Ophelia has played a major role in the theoretical construction of female insanity' - Elaine Showalter
There is an equilibrium of pressure between the duty of a lover, and the duty of a daughter - both stem from a need for male satisfaction, and her feelings are never taken into consideration
Shakespeare effectively creates dramatic tension for Ophelia's character through her clear desperation to please others.
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Her suicide, while it is a moment for herself, it is driven by external circumstances of male characters
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Her madness the only form of grand expression within the play, but it is governed by the manipulation of others
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Apprehensive as she conducts the plan of Claudius and Polonius - rather afraid of Hamlet's erratic behaviour
Emotional, bg. music adds to tension - Hamlet handles her roughly by her wrists, calls to the heavens on the floor
Cries and falls on the floor, with her reflection shown to the audience
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'If she refuses Polonius, she risks social ostracism and grave insult to the man who capriciously controls her future' - Lily Campbell
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CONTEXTUAL NOTES
Shakespeare often wrote his characters for only men to perform. There would have been no insight into the real personal pressures of women, further diminishing Ophelia's significance to the play towards audiences
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