Question

Hamlet is dealing with his grief and rage about his father, mother, and uncle/step-father. How, do you suppose, might Ophelia's obedience to her father's command affect him?

Answer 1

Ophelia's obedience to her father might deepen Hamlet's feelings of betrayal and mistrust, compounding his essential emotion of disillusionment with his mother and women in general, and catalyzing the play's other emotional and political turmoils.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ophelia's obedience to her father may have a profound impact on Hamlet for several reasons. Primarily, her actions could be perceived as betrayal by Hamlet, who is already struggling with his mother's quick remarriage and his uncle's usurpation of the throne. Hamlet's turmoil is deeply rooted in his relationships with the women in his life – his mother's actions cause him significant distress, making him question the loyalty and virtue of women in general.

Consequently, Ophelia's compliance with Polonius's wishes, distancing herself from Hamlet, would likely only exacerbate his feelings of mistrust and disillusionment.

Ophelia's behavior's inflames the essential emotion of the play, the feeling of a son towards a guilty mother, and compounds the problem of Hamlet's inaction and indecisiveness, all set against the dramatic struggle for power and revenge. Ophelia's madness and her feminine role are often juxtaposed with Hamlet's melancholic indecision, and her tragic end serves as a foil to his own narrative arc.