Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Analyzing Hamlet: Sixteen and Pregnant Within Shakespearean Literature

            At a first glance, one might accidentally overlook certain parts of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. However, some of those parts are, in fact, very important hints which create a question that Shakespeare never answered. Is Ophelia pregnant with Hamlet’s child? Upon further analysis of the play itself, it does seem probable that she could be showing. The character of Ophelia exemplifies how easy it could have been for her to get involved with the prince in the first place; her innocence and immaturity would only bring about negative effects such as pre-marital sex and pregnancy. The fact that Ophelia commits suicide speaks loudly in regards to the above question and the method she chose, even more so. In act four scene five, Ophelia distributes flowers to all of the court, but she also leaves some for herself. “There’s rue / for you. And here’s some for me” (IV.v.193 – 8). She does not keep the herb simply for kicks; it will later serve a specific purpose. The songs that Ophelia sings in act four scene five also prove to hint at her pregnancy. “…all of her songs are songs of betrayed love” (Epstein). They are not just random songs. Lastly, Ophelia is definitely having sexual relations with Hamlet and thus a bastard child could easily be conceived. In prelude to these grounds, one can rightly assume that Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is, in fact, pregnant.
            Ophelia’s personality is a huge indicator as to why she is even presented with the opportunity to become pregnant in the first place.
Like many coming of age girls, Ophelia was thus simply the possessor of an easily influenced mind. This having of such a mind would have made it easy for us to believe in possible relations that could have been going on between Hamlet and Ophelia. (Soon)
Due to her age, when it comes to the concept of love she is very naïve. Not having the ability to access a situation, such as the one between herself and Hamlet could prove disastrous later on. “It is not hard to imagine Ophelia falling in love with the romantic Prince, and giving in to his passions” (Epstein). What a dream it would be for a girl to have a prince as her companion, however, in the case of Ophelia this dream is on a one way road to Hell. Considering the status of Hamlet’s family in society compared to the status of Ophelia’s family in society, marriage between the two of them is not an option.
There is an almost unnatural manner in the way she is told of this advice to keep her ‘chaste treasure’ and to ‘weigh what loss’ her ‘honor may sustain’. The lengthy discourse that is harped on the innocent girl is more a statement of Ophelia being in danger of becoming natural with her instincts rather than Hamlet forcing himself on her. (Soon)
Polonius and Laertes chide Ophelia for sustaining a relationship with the prince. The two of them believe it is her, mainly because of her age, not Hamlet who really is initiating the physical love between the two of them. They are aware of what is at stake which includes Ophelia’s virginity and the possibility of conceiving a child all before wedlock. Yet, there is even another take on what really causes Ophelia to behave the way in which she is behaving. “…Ophelia’s presence contrasts directly with predominant images of filth and decay…her flowering innocence is but a product of the filth and fear of her society…” (Soon). Denmark is impure and a girl, such as Ophelia, who is the product of innocence, can easily be transformed into an example of filth and decay. The people of Denmark and the country itself must be blamed for her pregnancy. According to Peter J. Seng, “…the critics who are so concerned to salvage her innocence tend frequently to forget that it was not Hamlet alone who sullied it. Ophelia’s father and brother have had their share in the spoliation of her mind’s purity and her child-like trust.” Once more, this quote further supports the argument of how it is those who surround Ophelia that corrupt her and in some ways “pressure” her into pregnancy.
            Ophelia causes many new questions to arise, by choosing to drown herself out of all the other possible ways of suicide. “Namely, when Ophelia commits suicide specifically by drowning herself, I think that many in an Elizabethan audience would take this as a clear suggestion that she was pregnant” (Lady 7). It was believed that if a pregnant woman sought to kill herself, she would do so by drowning (Lady 7). Additionally, those who became pregnant before marriage were looked down upon in Elizabethan Society. Ophelia does not want to feel that shame.
A girl who has been seduced and abandoned need fear nothing but a broken heart, provided there is no evidence of her shame. But if she is pregnant, then there is no way to hide what she has done, unless she can abort the child or kill herself. And, indeed…Ophelia drowns herself. (Epstein)
Since she has already heard her father and brother’s warning to stay away from Hamlet and to not, in any way, involve herself with him she knows that if they uncover her pregnancy she would face punishment. This could include disownment or even death. The only way out for Ophelia is suicide.
            There is, perhaps, one other way for Ophelia to keep people from finding out about her pregnancy that does not involve killing herself. The herb Rue could easily do the trick. “…rue…is a powerful abortifacient. The idea is that you poison yourself to the point where your body decides it’s too sick to support the growing embryo or fetus, and rejects it” (Epstein). In act four scene five, Ophelia hands out different breeds of flowers to the court, “…but the only herb she intends for herself is rue…” (Epstein). All of these flowers have different symbolic meanings. “The symbolic meaning of rue is, of course, regret” (Epstein). Ophelia could regret many things. However, one regret sticks out more than the others and that would be her affection for Hamlet, which in turn ties in with the fact that Rue is used in cases of abortion. Ophelia uses the Rue to abort the child that is created by her affection for Hamlet. Also, Ophelia’s madness is another implication that she does, indeed, utilize this herb. “…if these herbal medicines were not taken correctly, they would cause madness” (Soon). Ophelia is not necessarily acting mad because of the death of her father, but rather because she has recently been under the influence of the Rue.
            Although it is not explicitly stated, some of the songs Ophelia recites in act four scene five are clearly referring to Hamlet’s behavior toward her in regards to the sexual relations once kept between the two of them. Up to this point in Hamlet, the reader already has a considerable amount of evidence that could allow he or she to infer that Ophelia is pregnant. However, “…it is the mad songs that Ophelia sings…that really give away her secret” (Epstein). Her secret would be that she is carrying a child.
Quoth she, ‘Before you tumbled me,
You promised me to wed.’
He answers,
‘So would I’a done, by yonder sun,
And thou hadst not come to my bed.’ (IV.v.64 – 8)
The preceding excerpt from one of the songs is implying the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet. The woman in this song blames the man for having sex with her before marriage. Yet, the man says he would not have done so if she had not come to his bed in the first place. This is precisely what happened between the prince and Ophelia and thus explains her pregnancy. Adi Soon the author of The Sexual Ophelia is in accord with this analysis saying, “…she blames him for promising to marry her before they had sex…and not keeping that promise” (Soon). The woman in the following song enters the man’s room a virgin but leaves it as the opposite.
Then up he rose, and donned his clothes,
And dupped the chamber door,
Let in the maid that out a maid
Never departed more. (IV.v.54 – 7)
Again, the man and woman show another correlation between Hamlet and Ophelia. Why else would Ophelia be singing these songs anyways? She wants everyone in the court to know what really happened sexually between herself and Hamlet. The best way for her to do so is through the use of songs.
            In act three scene two, Hamlet asks Ophelia if he can lay his head upon her lap. “Lady, shall I lie in your lap” (III.ii.107 – 8)? Upon further research this is not some random thing that Hamlet does. “A good way to show the physical intimacy and trust which a couple have is to rest one’s head on the other’s lap” (“Lap Pillow”). By lying in someone’s lap, you are visually portraying the affection you have for that person. “Usually, the man does the resting while the woman provides the lap, not only because of anatomical reasons but because the lap owner is typically of a nurturing nature more associated with femininity” (“Lap Pillow”). The fact that Hamlet is the person resting and Ophelia is the person he is resting on further validates the previous quote.
            Polonius scolds Ophelia for being so loose with her mind and body around Hamlet. “Tis told me hath very oft of late / Given private time to you, and you yourself / Have of your audience been most free and bounteous” (I.iii.97 – 9). He warns her of the consequences that are attached to her involvement with the prince. In act one scene three, he gives her advice both on his behalf and on her behalf.
Think yourself a baby
That you have ta’en these tenders for true pay
Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly
Or - not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,
Running it thus - you’ll tender me a fool. (I.iii.111 – 5)
Polonius does not want to be considered a fool for raising a daughter who could not stay pure until marriage. In addition, he does not want his daughter to present him with a bastard grandchild. According to Philip Weller the author of Shakespeare Navigators and Peter J. Seng the author of “Songs in Hamlet”, the word “fool” also meant a term of endearment for a baby during the Elizabethan Era.
            The way Hamlet treats Ophelia allows one to access the fact that there is sexual relations between the two of them and that she is carrying a child. A major part in the play where this can be seen is in act three scene one when Hamlet asks that all his sins be remembered in Ophelia’s prayers. “Nymph, in thy orisons / Be all my sins remembered” (III.i.96 – 7). They have had pre-marital sex and from that they have also possibly conceived a child. “If Hamlet has importuned Ophelia in honorable fashion, why should his sins be remembered in her prayers? The implication is that they have sinned together” (Epstein). They have committed indecent acts in private and those acts were looked down upon in Elizabethan Society. Also, Hamlet tells Ophelia, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why woulds’t thou be a breeder of sinners” (III.i.130 – 1)? The word nunnery is slang for a house of ill repute or in simpler terms a whorehouse. Hamlet obviously knows something about Ophelia that the reader does not. Perhaps, he knows it because he helped her commit the sin. “There needs no implication here…there is a strong sexual connotation that cannot be denied. Perhaps on another level, we can regard Ophelia’s alleged relations with Hamlet as sinful, therefore needing a nunnery as a place to ask for confession” (Soon). One can now reasonably assume that the chances of sexual relations occurring between Hamlet and Ophelia are high and the chances of a pregnant Ophelia are even higher.
            In conclusion, it is easy to see how Ophelia takes on the persona of not only an unmarried woman, but an unmarried woman who is pregnant. Accordingly, the previous can be seen through her actions and character, suicidal events, the flower Rue, miscellaneous songs, and sexual relations between her and the prince. Whether or not Shakespeare intended for the reader to view Ophelia in this manner is unknown. Nonetheless, many people still take these hints to be vivid suggestions that he did intend for it, and therefore they also take Ophelia to be a very round and glowing adolescent caught in the midst of a very troubled situation.
Works Cited
Epstein, Alex. “By The Way, Ophelia Is Pregnant.” craftyscreenwriting.com. n.d. Web. 08 March 2008.
Lady, Lee. Thoughts on Hamlet. University of Hawaii, Jan. 2002. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.
“Lap Pillow.” tvtropes.org. Television Tropes and Idioms, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.
MacCary, W. Thomas. Hamlet: A Guide to the Play. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. Questia. Web. 10 March 2011.
“Plants used as Abortifacients and Emmenagogues by Spanish New Mexicans.” Pubmed.com. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Seng, Peter J. “Songs in Hamlet.” Ed. Cyrus Hoy. Norton Critical Edition of Hamlet. New York: Norton, 1992. 217-23. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Trans. Alan Durband. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., 1986. Print.
Soon, Adi. The Sexual Ophelia. Geocities. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
Weller, Philip. Shakespeare Navigators. Eastern Washington University, Web. 28 Feb. 2011.

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