Ophelia

For other uses, see (disambiguation)}}}.

Ophelia is a female character from Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, daughter to Polonius, sister to Laertes, and love interest of Hamlet. She is a loyal and dutiful daughter, who obeys her father's instruction to "lock herself from [Hamlet's] resort". There is a theory, however, that Ophelia may have been physically intimate with Hamlet at some point in the past.

When Hamlet apparently goes mad, Polonius believes that his lovesickness for Ophelia is the cause. He arranges, and secretly observes, a meeting between the two lovers, in order to test his theory. Hamlet, realizing that Ophelia is confederate in her father's plot and generally upset with women, makes many cruel and humiliating remarks to her.

Now truly convinced that Hamlet is mad, Ophelia comments sadly: "O, what a noble mind here is o'erthrown." She loved Hamlet, and he rejected her. Furthermore, Polonius is later brutally murdered by Hamlet himself. This is too much for Ophelia; she loses her sanity, and falls into a stream while collecting flowers. She drowns without attempting to save herself. Some say this lends credence to a theory that alleges she was carrying Hamlet's child as drowning one's self was supposedly a common way for unwed mothers in that era to commit suicide. Before her death, Ophelia sings snatches of bawdy songs and refers to common wildflowers that each had significance in folklore ("rosemary, that's for remembrance").

Ophelia's death is described in detail by Hamlet's mother Gertrude in a famous soliloquy. It is never explained who witnessed her death.

Ophelia in art and literature

John William Waterhouse's painting Ophelia (1894)

French poet Arthur Rimbaud wrote the poem 'Ophélie' about her. She was a favorite subject of Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite artists such as John William Waterhouse and John Everett Millais. Millais's painting Ophelia was part of the original Tate Gallery collection and is the most popular postcard sold at the Tate Britain in London. It depicts her in a weedy brook holding flowers, singing, while her heavy, soaking clothes slowly draw her under to drown.
Mary Pipher alluded to Ophelia in the title of her nonfiction book [[Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls]]. The book puts forth the thesis that modern American teenage girls are victimized, lost, and unsure of themselves, like Ophelia.
Bob Dylan refers to her in "Desolation Row" on his album, "Highway 61 Revisited." In his song "Memphis Skyline" from the Pre-Raphaelite-esque album "Want Two" Rufus Wainwright pays tribute to Jeff Buckley and how his version of Leonard Cohen's "Halelujah" sounded like "mad Ophelia." In music, Ophelia is also referanced by Natalie Merchant in her song, 'Ophelia' on the album of the same title.
The Grateful Dead incorporate Shakespeare's words in their song Althea: "Yours may be the fate of Ophelia / Sleepin' and perchance, to dream."
In the recent popular Capcom [[Onimusha: Dawn Of Dreams]], Ophelia, however, was depicted as the demonic priestess of the genma/demon's legion, one of the core member of Genma Triumvirate, she taking the guise of Lady Yodo/Cha-Cha, wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, by possessing into her body.
Dying Like Ophelia is an award winning six-minute drama about a woman who wants to die in a manner resembling Millais's painting. It was based on an excerpt of the play, Lion In The Streets, by Judith Thompson.
Uranus's secondmost innner moon was also named after Ophelia after being discovered by Voyager 2 in 1986 , and is one of the smallest moons in the solar system (with a diameter of only 16 km).
Ambulance Ltd has a song called Ophelia.
Emilie Autumn has a song called Opheliac.
Indigo Girls have an album called Swamp Ophelia
Lord Vampyr has a song called The Ophelia's Ghost

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