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Role Of Ophelia In Hamlet

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Role Of Ophelia In Hamlet
You don't have to be a feminist to know that Ophelia is little more than a plaything and a tool of the men around her. Hamlet may well have loved her and treated her well once, but by the time he has the burden of revenge on him, he treats her rather badly. Now, of course, he does so because he knows that she's followed her father's orders and has rejected his love. Further, Hamlet knows that Ophelia is being used by her father and the King to spy on him.

Nonetheless, from a feminist's point of view, that's the point: Ophelia suffers because she is used as a mere pawn in male intrigue and power struggles. In the end, the pressure of such a situation is far more than she can bear, and so, rendered powerless by men, Ophelia goes mad and drowns
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