|
Does Hamlet actually love Ophelia? Or did he at one time love her? No one can give these questions a definite answer because
we simply don’t know. It seems that throughout the play the attitudes that Hamlet has about Ophelia change dramatically.
So I am going to give this my best shot and see if I can come up with anything.
The first that we hear about Ophelia’s and Hamlet’s relationship occurs in Act 1 Scene 3 when Polonius questions
her about their relationship. Ophelia replies that Hamlet claims to love her. But this is only coming from Ophelia so you
can never be sure if it is the truth.
The next time we hear about them is in Act II Scene 1 when Ophelia describes the encounter she had with Hamlet. According
to her, Hamlet was a mess in attire and he looked blank. Hamlet went up to her, grabbed her wrists and stared at her breathing
deeply. This can be shown as a sign that Hamlet is madly in love with her; but since this is just Ophelia’s description
on what happened, it is possible she made it more dramatic.
A plan is concocted by Polonius to see if Hamlet is indeed in love with Ophelia and that is the reason for his current state
of insanity. Ophelia returns the tokens of love that Hamlet gave to her, but Hamlet refuses them. He tells her that he never
loved her and he tells her to get to a nunnery. Personally, I see this as a warning to Ophelia that she should get some place
safe. I believe that Hamlet does love her enough that he does not want any harm to come to her and that by telling her that
he doesn’t love her it will put distance between them and away from harm.
And this is where things get confusing. In Act V Scene 1, just before Hamlet’s play, “The Mousetrap,” begins,
Hamlet moves over next to Ophelia claiming that this metal is more attractive. Hamlet asks if he could place his head in her
lap and then makes a pun asking if she thought he meant “country matters?” This highly sexual tensed moment offers
the suggestion that Hamlet does indeed love Ophelia. Or this could have been a sidetrack from his excitement for his plan
to catch the guilt of the King. But whatever the reason was, it does show that Hamlet does have feelings for Ophelia still.
The final scene that we hear about Hamlet’s love for Ophelia is in Act V Scene 1; the Gravedigger scene. This scene
offers the most proof that Hamlet did love Ophelia. Once Hamlet finds out that the funeral is for Ophelia, he lunges out at
Laertes and tells him “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up
my sum.” This is a very strong comment for Hamlet to say and it shows that he did, in fact, have feelings for Ophelia.
It does not prove that these feelings were love, but it does show he liked her in some sense.
So what do I think? It is my strong belief that Hamlet does love Ophelia. Even though he yells at her in III:I, he tells
her to get to a nunnery. He wants her to get some place safe where she would not get hurt. I believe that the outrage he shows
Ophelia is actually a cover up so that Ophelia wouldn’t get involved in his outrageous fortune. And what really convinced
me is the gravedigger scene in where Hamlet publicly proclaims his love for Ophelia. That’s my thoughts and I’m
sticking to it.
|
