Dover Wilson, that Hamlet has a right to direct his anger to Ophelia.
because even though many critics "in their sy! mpathy with Ophelia.
they have forgotten that it is not Hamlet who has 'repelled' her, but.
she him" (Wilson 159). It is possible that Wilson does not see the.
potential harm to Ophelia should she disobey her authority figures.
(i.e. her father and her king). Furthermore, Ophelia cannot know "that.
Hamlet's attitude toward her reflects his disillusionment in his mother.
. . to her, Hamlet's inconstancy can only mean deceitfulness or.
madness" (Lidz 158). She is undeniably caught in a trap that has been.
layed, in part, but her lover whom she does love and idealize. Her.
shock is genuine when Hamlet demands "get thee to a nunnery" (line.
120). The connotations of the dual meaning of "nunnery" is enough in.
and of itself to make her run estranged from her once sweet prince, and.
it is the beginning or her sanity's unraveling as well. Hamlet's.
melancholy permits him the flexibility of character to convey.
manic-depressive actions while Ophelia's is much more overwhelming and.
painful. "Shakespeare is ambiguous about the reality of Hamlet's.
insanity and depicts him as on the border, fluctuating between sanity.
and madness" (Lidz 156). Hamlet mourns for his father, but it is the.
bitterness and ill-will that he harbors towards his mother for her.
hasty marriage to his uncle that is his most reoccurring occupation.
His thoughts of Ophelia are secondary at best. When it happens that.
Hamlet accidentally slays Polonius, he does not appear to be thinking.
of the potential effect of his actions on Ophelia. Hamlet has sealed.
her fate, and along with the "vacillations in [his] attitude and.
behavior toward her could not but be extremely unsettling to the very.
young woman who idolized [him]" she does not have much in the way that.
is positive for her (Lidz 157). Throughout the entire murder scene in.
Act 3, Scene 4, Hamlet does not remark about the damage he has done.