Ophelia's Farewell Analysis

Ophelia was a modern day good girl gone bad. She obeyed her father, Polonius, and brother, Laertes’ wishes to stay away from Prince Hamlet while trying to fight for her love for Hamlet and being herself. Throughout the entire play Ophelia is used as pawn in a game of revenge between Hamlet, Polonius, and King Claudius. Polonius and Laertes forbid Ophelia from seeing Hamlet because they believe that he is only using her for sex, yet Polonius uses her to seek information from Hamlet as though she were his personal spy. Although Hamlet loves Ophelia and genuinely cares for her, he sees the danger he and the royal court pose on her. Hamlet wants to get her away from the corruption while putting on an act for King Claudius to prove that he is really mad, and in that attempt, acts as though Ophelia means nothing to him. He treats her in the same manner he treats his mother and all women for that matter. Hamlet sees all women as ignorant and deceitful. Despite Ophelia’s ability to see through Hamlet’s charade, there is still a sense of pain in the words he speaks to her. “Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell...To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell.” (Act 3.1) This had to have been the largest insult to Ophelia ever spoken, but was not meant in that
She would break away from the way her father and brother saw her, as a “bride of God. A novice Carmelite,” just enough to speak her mind (Merchant, Ophelia, 1-2). Ophelia wanted nothing more than to be “a sweet heart to the nation” with “curvaceous thoighs” and “vivacious eyes.” (Merchant, Ophelia, 9-12). The men and corruption in her life led her to be “a cyclone,” “a goddamned hurricane,” as she “lay wasted and in vain,” that is, until she released herself; her mind “went wondering…all alone” (Merchant, Ophelia,