![]() ![]() ![]() According to the critic Lee Edwards, "we can imagine Hamlet’s story without Ophelia, but Ophelia literally has no story without Hamlet" (36). It is impossible to reconstruct Ophelia's biography from the text. She appears in only five of the play's 20 scenes, and her tragedy is subordinated to that of Hamlet. ![]() Shakespeare gives us very little information from which to imagine a past for Ophelia. "Ophelia" by John Everett Millais (1851-2) is in the public domain, but is located at Tate London Here Elaine Showalter discusses Ophelia's madness as a particularly female malady, showing how from Shakespeare's day to our own, Ophelia has been used both to reflect and to challenge evolving ideas about female psychology and sexuality. The character of Ophelia has fascinated directors, actresses, writers, and painters since she first appeared on stage. ![]()
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