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Song Analysis: Ophelia's Identity

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Ophelia’s identity not only as a woman but a person centered on the men in her life. The very beginning of the scene, explains the reason for Ophelia going mad, as she has just lost her father and cannot help speaking about him. On the other hand, from the feminist point of view, after losing her father, Ophelia feels liberated and is able to express herself. Her first conversation with the Queen shows her inner change from a shy and naive girl to a more sarcastic and braver self. Her song about the baker’s daughter depicts her doubts about the conventional role of a woman in a society; her next songs are the reflection of her treatment by Hamlet and her disappointment with love. In her final speech, each flower has a meaning, and while giving them to the people around. …show more content…
After her father’s death, Ophelia is at the crossroads of her feelings and options, and her madness only emphasizes this ambiguous condition of her position in the court and in her own family with her father dead Ophelia’s madness can be interpreted as a kind of a protective mask that allows her to say what she thinks and underline what she considers important and useful. The final speech with Ophelia handing out flowers with a symbolic message behind them proves best of all that Ophelia is more intelligent and sensible than the majority of people present. Violets mentioned at the end of Ophelia’s monologue mean faithfulness as if she didn’t want to forget her father and everything connected with his death, since she is certain that he did what he thought the best for her, but she couldn’t be the daughter he wanted to

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