Different Deceptions in 3.1 of Hamlet
In 3.1 of Hamlet, Prince Hamlet is upset that Ophelia is lying to him about her feelings and their relationship. He accuses her of deception and teasing his emotions. His attacks cause her to accept his madness and to feel sorrow for his condition.
After his soliloquy, Hamlet notices Ophelia’s presence and warmly greets her. The two immediately begin to argue as Ophelia tries to return the love letters and gifts that Hamlet has given her. Ophelia’s forceful approach causes Hamlet to feel attacked. Her actions are furthered by calling him unkind (3.1. 103). She says that his gifts have been stripped of any true meaning of love, seen in the phrase “…their perfume lost.” (3.1. 101). Ophelia offends Hamlet by her gesture to return the gifts. She also provokes Hamlet by acknowledging her appreciation of the gifts made “…with them of so sweet breath…” (3.1. 100), only to later describe them as worthless or “poor” (3.1. 103). Hamlet is further upset by Ophelia’s hypocrisy about honesty. She tells Hamlet that she was “…made to believe so” (3.1. 117) about his love and that she was “deceived” (3.1. 121). Her complaints are ironic since Ophelia is acting before him when she lies to Hamlet by calling him cruel for this deception of his love. Her complete lack of sympathy infuriates Hamlet, since she is the one who is obviously cruel and deceptive. Hamlet is heartbroken by this accusation and quickly begins to guilt Ophelia by presenting himself as a sinner with so many offences that he should not be alive (3.1. 124-125). At the end of his speech, Hamlet quickly asks, “…Where’s your father?” (3.1. 130). While this may signify that he is aware of Polonius’ presence, it is true that he has realized that Ophelia has been instructed by her father to perform this argument. Once Hamlet accuses her father of manipulating her, she no longer pays attention to him, asking for a “…heavenly power…” (3.1. 141) to restore him. Her plea signifies her acceptance of Hamlet’s madness, but also acts as a way for her to avoid Hamlet’s questioning which only irritates him more. At the moment when she should confess what her true motives are, she instead avoids the question. Her avoidance disappoints Hamlet, as he sees that she is unable to be herself in front of others.
While it is not overtly recognized in the text, Hamlet may also be upset with Ophelia’s rejection due to his stature. As the prince of Denmark, Hamlet may have expected her to accept his offer merely based on his social status. It is known that Ophelia is aware of his nobility due to the speech made by Laertes in 1.3, and her constant referral to Hamlet as a lord or lordship (3.1. 92, 95, 99, 106, 108, 111, 117, 131). While Hamlet did truly love Ophelia, it is possible that he was aware of his social elevation. His knowledge can be seen in his constant belittling of his own stature. When Hamlet states that he is “…proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck…” (3.1. 125-126), he may be referring to the many opportunities that he has to take power. The sentence can be interpreted that he is a proud and strong individual who has multiple actions that he can perform. Hamlet’s pride can be contrasted with his constant referral to himself as a lower class citizen. His depiction of himself as a “sinner” (3.1. 123) and an “…arrant knave…” (3.1. 129), along with his advice that Ophelia should instead choose a “fool” (3.1. 138) to marry, as an alternate or opposite of his position, all create a sarcastic impression of his figure.
Ophelia’s duplicity angers Hamlet, making him believe that she is not honest with him. Once she has accused Hamlet of deceiving her, he quickly turns her language back upon her and questions her honesty, “Ha, ha? Are you honest?” (3.1. 105) His accusation sets the entire mood for the following scene. Hamlet questions Ophelia’s integrity to Hamlet, and herself. Ophelia’s betrayal to Hamlet of returning his tokens of affection causes him to feel like a fool. Hamlet criticizes Ophelia for leading him on by questioning her honesty and her beauty, accusing her of using her beauty to manipulate him. He scolds her for allowing her honesty to interact with her beauty (3.1 109-110). Hamlet believes beauty to be more powerful than honesty (3.1. 113-115), which describes Hamlet’s position of honest love compared to Ophelia’s deceitful good looks. Hamlet’s accusation of Ophelia’s outwards appearance versus her internal honesty is later laid upon her when Hamlet accuses her of dancing, strutting and lying to avoid admitting to her “wantonness” (3.1. 145). Hamlet also criticizes her need to create, act and perform in front of others with regards to her physical appearance. He judges her need for the use of “paintings” (3.1. 142), or make-up, and even accuses her of defying God by covering up her natural face. These attacks on her physical appearance are paired with Hamlet’s attack on her emotions and her character. Hamlet is mean to her as she tries to give back his gifts by first denying that they are even his, “…I never gave you aught” (3.1. 98), and then by saying that he did love her once (3.1. 116), and then moments later that he never loved her at all (3.1. 119-120). The proximity of these two statements can be seen as Hamlet pretending his madness, but also as a deliberate attack against Ophelia. These attacks toward her continue as he questions her purity and virtue. Hamlet tells Ophelia to “Get thee to a nunnery…” (3.1. 122), so that Ophelia should take up a vow of celibacy to prevent hurting any other man. His command can also be meant to tell Ophelia to go to a brothel where her deceitful and impure qualities belong . Hamlet repeats this command three more times before he leaves. Hamlet scolds Ophelia by telling her that even if she marries and is as “…chaste as ice, as pure as snow…” (3.1. 136), she still will not escape “calumny,” (3.1. 137) meaning that no matter how pure she tries to be she will never be without disgrace. Hamlet finishes his verbal assault with directing her to a nunnery (3.1. 148), ending the conversation and reinforcing his disgust with her and her character.
Hamlet lashes out at shows his disgust with her actions causing Ophelia to react this by first trying to reason with Hamlet. Her reasoning results only in her acceptance of his madness and her guilt. Throughout the conversation Ophelia is purposely trying to avoid Hamlet’s questioning, which he realizes from her anxiousness and her constant brevity. None of Ophelia’s lines in this argument are longer than one sentence. This could be a sign of her guilt as she knowingly misuses Hamlet for Polonius and Claudius’ gain. Her avoidance also reveals her true emotions to Hamlet and the audience. It would be expected that if Ophelia truly did not love Hamlet and did not care for him, she would not stand there and accept this verbal abuse without putting up a fight, regardless of his social position over her. Her passive nature also creates a sense that she is merely wasting time and not acting without any true purpose.
While Hamlet is calmly before her, she forwardly tells him that she cannot accept his gifts due to their lack on sentiment. Ophelia tries to reason with Hamlet by telling him that she did believe his intentions were honest from the start and that she did believe he loved her, but as Hamlet becomes frustrated with her equivocation, she becomes more and more defensive. Her passivity takes full control at this point as she accepts his madness. At the beginning of the conversation, she seems to be lost in either his madness or wit when he questions her about her honesty and fairness (3.1. 105-112), but inevitably she makes up her mind, persuaded by Polonius and Claudius. From the point of her acceptance, Ophelia can do nothing to stop Hamlet’s malice and instead chooses to blame his cruelty on his madness instead of his character. Her belief that his madness causes his cruelty arises when she states, “O what a noble mind is here o’erthrown!” (3.1. 149). By using the word “o’erthrown,” it is clear that she believes that Hamlet is helpless. She prays to the heavens to restore hamlet, in a merciful way, showing how she still cares for him. Ophelia also tries to comfort herself, by describing Hamlet before his madness developed. By describing him as having a gentleman’s charm, a soldier’s strength and a scholar’s wit through the passage, “The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s eye, tongue, sword” (3.1. 150), she relieves herself as the cause of his cruelty. Although she has removed herself from the cause of his madness, she still feels remorse for treating Hamlet so poorly, after she enjoyed his loving advances. Her enjoyment is seen when she says she “…sucked the honey of his music vows” (3.1. 155-156). The use of the word sucked implies her enjoyment and appreciation for his advances, expressed through the phrase “music vows.” Once Claudius and Polonius arrive, Ophelia is saddened by the encounter, as she now believes Hamlet to be mad. The phrase “blasted with ecstasy…” (3.1. 159) refers to Hamlet’s descent, represented by “blasted,” into madness, which is symbolized with “ecstasy.” Ophelia does not speak again for the remainder of the scene, most likely from shock at what has arisen.
In the third act of Hamlet, Ophelia pretends to be disinterested with Hamlet as she follows instructions given to her by father. Due to Hamlet’s disgust with Ophelia’s deceit and her evasion of confrontation with him, Hamlet scolds her, resulting in Ophelia’s acceptance of his madness and her remorse for the way she has treated him.
WORKS CITED
1. Hamlet. The Norton Shakespeare. 1st ed.. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. 1090-1145.
After his soliloquy, Hamlet notices Ophelia’s presence and warmly greets her. The two immediately begin to argue as Ophelia tries to return the love letters and gifts that Hamlet has given her. Ophelia’s forceful approach causes Hamlet to feel attacked. Her actions are furthered by calling him unkind (3.1. 103). She says that his gifts have been stripped of any true meaning of love, seen in the phrase “…their perfume lost.” (3.1. 101). Ophelia offends Hamlet by her gesture to return the gifts. She also provokes Hamlet by acknowledging her appreciation of the gifts made “…with them of so sweet breath…” (3.1. 100), only to later describe them as worthless or “poor” (3.1. 103). Hamlet is further upset by Ophelia’s hypocrisy about honesty. She tells Hamlet that she was “…made to believe so” (3.1. 117) about his love and that she was “deceived” (3.1. 121). Her complaints are ironic since Ophelia is acting before him when she lies to Hamlet by calling him cruel for this deception of his love. Her complete lack of sympathy infuriates Hamlet, since she is the one who is obviously cruel and deceptive. Hamlet is heartbroken by this accusation and quickly begins to guilt Ophelia by presenting himself as a sinner with so many offences that he should not be alive (3.1. 124-125). At the end of his speech, Hamlet quickly asks, “…Where’s your father?” (3.1. 130). While this may signify that he is aware of Polonius’ presence, it is true that he has realized that Ophelia has been instructed by her father to perform this argument. Once Hamlet accuses her father of manipulating her, she no longer pays attention to him, asking for a “…heavenly power…” (3.1. 141) to restore him. Her plea signifies her acceptance of Hamlet’s madness, but also acts as a way for her to avoid Hamlet’s questioning which only irritates him more. At the moment when she should confess what her true motives are, she instead avoids the question. Her avoidance disappoints Hamlet, as he sees that she is unable to be herself in front of others.
While it is not overtly recognized in the text, Hamlet may also be upset with Ophelia’s rejection due to his stature. As the prince of Denmark, Hamlet may have expected her to accept his offer merely based on his social status. It is known that Ophelia is aware of his nobility due to the speech made by Laertes in 1.3, and her constant referral to Hamlet as a lord or lordship (3.1. 92, 95, 99, 106, 108, 111, 117, 131). While Hamlet did truly love Ophelia, it is possible that he was aware of his social elevation. His knowledge can be seen in his constant belittling of his own stature. When Hamlet states that he is “…proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck…” (3.1. 125-126), he may be referring to the many opportunities that he has to take power. The sentence can be interpreted that he is a proud and strong individual who has multiple actions that he can perform. Hamlet’s pride can be contrasted with his constant referral to himself as a lower class citizen. His depiction of himself as a “sinner” (3.1. 123) and an “…arrant knave…” (3.1. 129), along with his advice that Ophelia should instead choose a “fool” (3.1. 138) to marry, as an alternate or opposite of his position, all create a sarcastic impression of his figure.
Ophelia’s duplicity angers Hamlet, making him believe that she is not honest with him. Once she has accused Hamlet of deceiving her, he quickly turns her language back upon her and questions her honesty, “Ha, ha? Are you honest?” (3.1. 105) His accusation sets the entire mood for the following scene. Hamlet questions Ophelia’s integrity to Hamlet, and herself. Ophelia’s betrayal to Hamlet of returning his tokens of affection causes him to feel like a fool. Hamlet criticizes Ophelia for leading him on by questioning her honesty and her beauty, accusing her of using her beauty to manipulate him. He scolds her for allowing her honesty to interact with her beauty (3.1 109-110). Hamlet believes beauty to be more powerful than honesty (3.1. 113-115), which describes Hamlet’s position of honest love compared to Ophelia’s deceitful good looks. Hamlet’s accusation of Ophelia’s outwards appearance versus her internal honesty is later laid upon her when Hamlet accuses her of dancing, strutting and lying to avoid admitting to her “wantonness” (3.1. 145). Hamlet also criticizes her need to create, act and perform in front of others with regards to her physical appearance. He judges her need for the use of “paintings” (3.1. 142), or make-up, and even accuses her of defying God by covering up her natural face. These attacks on her physical appearance are paired with Hamlet’s attack on her emotions and her character. Hamlet is mean to her as she tries to give back his gifts by first denying that they are even his, “…I never gave you aught” (3.1. 98), and then by saying that he did love her once (3.1. 116), and then moments later that he never loved her at all (3.1. 119-120). The proximity of these two statements can be seen as Hamlet pretending his madness, but also as a deliberate attack against Ophelia. These attacks toward her continue as he questions her purity and virtue. Hamlet tells Ophelia to “Get thee to a nunnery…” (3.1. 122), so that Ophelia should take up a vow of celibacy to prevent hurting any other man. His command can also be meant to tell Ophelia to go to a brothel where her deceitful and impure qualities belong . Hamlet repeats this command three more times before he leaves. Hamlet scolds Ophelia by telling her that even if she marries and is as “…chaste as ice, as pure as snow…” (3.1. 136), she still will not escape “calumny,” (3.1. 137) meaning that no matter how pure she tries to be she will never be without disgrace. Hamlet finishes his verbal assault with directing her to a nunnery (3.1. 148), ending the conversation and reinforcing his disgust with her and her character.
Hamlet lashes out at shows his disgust with her actions causing Ophelia to react this by first trying to reason with Hamlet. Her reasoning results only in her acceptance of his madness and her guilt. Throughout the conversation Ophelia is purposely trying to avoid Hamlet’s questioning, which he realizes from her anxiousness and her constant brevity. None of Ophelia’s lines in this argument are longer than one sentence. This could be a sign of her guilt as she knowingly misuses Hamlet for Polonius and Claudius’ gain. Her avoidance also reveals her true emotions to Hamlet and the audience. It would be expected that if Ophelia truly did not love Hamlet and did not care for him, she would not stand there and accept this verbal abuse without putting up a fight, regardless of his social position over her. Her passive nature also creates a sense that she is merely wasting time and not acting without any true purpose.
While Hamlet is calmly before her, she forwardly tells him that she cannot accept his gifts due to their lack on sentiment. Ophelia tries to reason with Hamlet by telling him that she did believe his intentions were honest from the start and that she did believe he loved her, but as Hamlet becomes frustrated with her equivocation, she becomes more and more defensive. Her passivity takes full control at this point as she accepts his madness. At the beginning of the conversation, she seems to be lost in either his madness or wit when he questions her about her honesty and fairness (3.1. 105-112), but inevitably she makes up her mind, persuaded by Polonius and Claudius. From the point of her acceptance, Ophelia can do nothing to stop Hamlet’s malice and instead chooses to blame his cruelty on his madness instead of his character. Her belief that his madness causes his cruelty arises when she states, “O what a noble mind is here o’erthrown!” (3.1. 149). By using the word “o’erthrown,” it is clear that she believes that Hamlet is helpless. She prays to the heavens to restore hamlet, in a merciful way, showing how she still cares for him. Ophelia also tries to comfort herself, by describing Hamlet before his madness developed. By describing him as having a gentleman’s charm, a soldier’s strength and a scholar’s wit through the passage, “The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s eye, tongue, sword” (3.1. 150), she relieves herself as the cause of his cruelty. Although she has removed herself from the cause of his madness, she still feels remorse for treating Hamlet so poorly, after she enjoyed his loving advances. Her enjoyment is seen when she says she “…sucked the honey of his music vows” (3.1. 155-156). The use of the word sucked implies her enjoyment and appreciation for his advances, expressed through the phrase “music vows.” Once Claudius and Polonius arrive, Ophelia is saddened by the encounter, as she now believes Hamlet to be mad. The phrase “blasted with ecstasy…” (3.1. 159) refers to Hamlet’s descent, represented by “blasted,” into madness, which is symbolized with “ecstasy.” Ophelia does not speak again for the remainder of the scene, most likely from shock at what has arisen.
In the third act of Hamlet, Ophelia pretends to be disinterested with Hamlet as she follows instructions given to her by father. Due to Hamlet’s disgust with Ophelia’s deceit and her evasion of confrontation with him, Hamlet scolds her, resulting in Ophelia’s acceptance of his madness and her remorse for the way she has treated him.
WORKS CITED
1. Hamlet. The Norton Shakespeare. 1st ed.. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. 1090-1145.
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