The Fate of Ophelia: Background Knowledge for Swifties
In the lead up to the release of ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, here’s what you need to know about Hamlet’s tragic heroine, Ophelia.
Ophelia by John Everett Millais
The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift
Here’s what happens in the play:
Ophelia is interested in a romantic relationship with Hamlet, but is forbidden from courting him by her brother, Laertes, and father, Polonius. Laertes rightly says that Hamlet has to choose a wife for a political alliance, not for love. He thinks Ophelia would be setting herself up for disappointment and opening herself to accusations of being too promiscuous if a relationship with Hamlet didn’t work out.
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LAERTES:
Maybe he loves you
And he’s being honest;
But be careful,
He has a responsibility to his people
because he is a prince:
unlike regular people, he doesn’t get a choice of who to marry;
because he must make the choice
that benefits his country;
~~~
Consider the damage to your reputation
if you get too close to him,
fall in love, or lose your virginity
in an unofficial relationship.
Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister;
Original
LAERTES:
Perhaps he loves you now,
And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch
The virtue of his will; but you must fear,
His greatness weigh’d, his will is not his own;
For he himself is subject to his birth:
He may not, as unvalu’d persons do,
Carve for himself; for on his choice depends
The sanctity and health of this whole state;
~~~
Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmaster’d importunity.
Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister;
Polonius, Ophelia’s father, is more harsh and skeptical of Hamlet’s true intent. Ophelia is enchanted by Hamlet’s stories and affections, but Polonius knows that Hamlet can turn around and reject Ophelia at any time.
During this scene Ophelia learns of her powerlessness. In a world dominated by men who seek to use, control and protect her, Ophelia has no agency. Rather than winning the heart of the prince being a triumph of her personality and charisma, she is scolded for being emotional and unwise. Her only choice is to obey her father and wait until a suitable husband is arranged for her. Taylor might use this moment of powerlessness to mirror the gender inequity in the music industry and business in general similar to her song ‘The Man’.
In the middle of the play Ophelia engages in a confusing courtship as Hamlet potentially loses his mind. Hamlet’s madness is the central mystery of the play. In Act 1 Scene 5, Hamlet says he might put on a strange act and seem deranged so that he will be underestimated by the enemies who have infiltrated his court. As a result, for the rest of the play it’s impossible to tell which actions are performative and which are genuine. Not only is this confusing for Hamlet’s political enemies and allies, but of course, Ophelia and her father only become more worried about Hamlet’s romantic intentions.
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HAMLET:
This is a contradiction, but it has been proven. I loved you once.
OPHELIA:
Yes, you made me think that you loved me.
HAMLET:
You should not have believed me; I wasn’t being honest then but I’m being honest now. I didn’t love you.
OPHELIA:
Then you have deceived me.
HAMLET:
Go to a nunnery. Why would you marry a sinful man? I am honest an average amount; I have many faults. I am proud, revengeful, ambitious, and have more sinful ideas than I could ever act out. All men are human and imperfect. We are all liars, believe none of us. Go to a nunnery. Where’s your father?
Original
HAMLET:
This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once.
OPHELIA:
Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
HAMLET:
You should not have believed me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not.
OPHELIA:
I was the more deceived.
HAMLET:
Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest; but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves all, believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. Where’s your father?
In this scene, Ophelia returns Hamlet’s letters to him as a means of testing their relationship. Hamlet denies sending them, then remembers sending them; admits that he loved Ophelia, then claims he never loved her and merely deceived her. Famously he tells her to go to a nunnery, but it’s unclear whether he says this to insult her for her promiscuity or to protect her from being forced to marry someone she doesn’t love or who isn’t worthy of her. Ultimately, Ophelia, her father, and the king decide that Hamlet has lost the plot, permanently.
The end for Ophelia comes swiftly after Hamlet mistakenly murders her father. Now mad with grief in a way that parallels Hamlet’s own madness, she likely takes her own life by leaping into a river. Before she does that, however, she puts on a fantastic show, handing out flowers, singing, and performing her love and grief. Ophelia dies, as in the famous painting, surrounded by her flowers.
‘The Life of a Showgirl’ depicts Taylor Swift, almost drowned in her performance costume . Perhaps we’ll see her draw associations with Ophelia’s grief-maddened performance. Taylor was seen almost crying during some of her performances on the Eras Tour and some sad songs like ‘Bigger Than the Whole Sky’ and ‘loml’ came out around this time. Perhaps we’ll see some insights into managing grief on-stage.
No matter what connection to Ophelia Swift ends up creating we know ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ will be a hit. If you’re a Swiftie like us, let us know what your favourite song from ‘The Life of a Showgirl‘ is!
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