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Writing task: Why Ophelia is not insane yet influenced by culture - Coggle…
Writing task: Why Ophelia is not insane yet influenced by culture
Love:
Hamlet(Supposed Boyfriend)
Hamlet proposes love towards Ophelia yet she is not sure to trust his advances. Her love towards Hamlet is undecidedly caused by his 'pretence' of madness. This ultimately confuses Ophelia. The cherry on the cake was when Hamlet murders Polonius which could have caused hatred towards Hamlet. Ophelia truly loves her father and this must have caused hate towards Hamlet. Yet there is still a sliver of love in her heart towards Hamlet so she becomes restless and confused about why she still loves Hamlet after what she has done.
Effects:
Confusion
Self-pity
Divided Loyalties
Polonius(Father)
Ophelia truly loves Polonius and swears to not go near Hamlet. This shows the trust and love towards her father yet it is slightly undermined since Ophelia is still attracted towards Hamlet and is evident through the play. This eventually confuses her which again emphasizes on her supposed insanity.
Laertes(Brother)
Ophelia dearly loves Laertes and believes him entirely yet areas in the text suggests that Ophelia does not duly trust Laertes.
When Laertes asks Ophelia to not stay near Hamlet: Ophelia says to practice what he preaches. This shows there is an arguing and slightly untruthful nature between them
Effects:
Annoyance
Doubtfulness
Culture:
Grieving
A typical child(mostly a daughter grieves sadly while the boy leads or acquires revenge) therefore it is said that the daughter is supposed to grieve. To grieve is to be anguished about her father's death yet he was killed by Hamlet. Since Ophelia cares and duly love Hamlet, she can't quite come to hate him. Ophelia could have taken this action to undermine her love towards deceased Polonius. Hence causing anguish and splitting loyalties.
Effects:
Undecisiveness
Confusion
Anguish
Being a Widow
Widows in the Shakespearean era were typically mysterious, grieving while maintaining a deathly appearance. Dressed in black and speaking in riddles. This stereotype would have pushed Ophelia to believe to put up the pretence herself. When the stereotype mixed with other complex emotions create the unbeknownst facade of madness yet it is confusion and divided loyalties to the extreme.
Language analysis and understanding typically use up the lower love of the Brain which is called the Temporal Lobe. Anger is created in the Amygdala( The middle section of the brain), the Hypothalamus and the Pituitary Gland which is also located in the Temporal lobe. The Pituitary Gland produces stress hormones such as Cortisol, Adrenaline and Noradrenaline. Therefore, Ophelia's complex language is related to her dire anger and utter sadness. This cannot be branded as madness or any substitute for Insanity.
Effects:
Stereotypes: Expectations
Confusion
Betrayal
Hamlet
Effects:
Anger
Sadness
Confusion
Self-Pity
Imagine this: You mind your own business. Going along with your life in peace and happiness and suddenly the prince sends you love letters. Then, your brother and father suddenly explain to stay away from Hamlet. Yet a sliver of love still exists in her heart. Then, Hamlet scolds her and shames her in public. She still hangs on and attempts numerous advances towards Hamlet yet he refuses. Then, the supposed love of her life kills her dear FATHER.
It is a true surprise that Ophelia maintained her regal composure for so long and only lost it when Hamlet killed her father. The immense pain and the rollercoaster ride she must be going through would be shell-shocking. Some time needs to be given for her to attain an awareness around her
Undecided nature
Hamlet
After Hamlet officially 'hates' Ophelia, she starts to become undecided and frantic since her advances are more and more desperate. Yet her true love for Hamlet is still persistent throughout the play. In the end, she does not know to sympathize or be sad due to his
severe
rejections.
Effects:
Inner conflicts
Agony
Confusion
Laertes and Polonious
After having clear love for Hamlet, when Laertes and Polonius warn Ophelia to not be with Hamlet. This creates inner conflicts and unsated problems which contributes to her absentminded and undecided nature in the end.