Ophelia 🌺

• Who presented the psychoanalytic seminar on Hamlet in Paris in 1939?

  Jacques Lacan
• What does Lacan refer to Ophelia as in his seminar?

  "The object Ophelia," the object of Hamlet’s male desire
• How does Lacan interpret the etymology of Ophelia?

  He asserts it is "O-phallus," linking her to the phallus as a transcendental signifier
• What is the primary criticism of Ophelia's role in Shakespeare's play according to many critics?

  She is often seen as an insignificant minor character
• What does Annette Kolodny suggest about the viewer's attention towards Ophelia?

  It is an imposition to ask the viewer to attend to Ophelia’s sufferings
• What issues does feminist criticism bring to the foreground regarding Ophelia?

  • Cultural links between femininity and female sexuality
  • Insanity and representation
  • Ophelia's role in the ongoing theoretical debate
• How is Ophelia represented in literature and popular culture?

  She is frequently illustrated and cited
• What does Handel's naming of Ophelia suggest about her representation?

  It substitutes an ideological view of femininity for a personal one
• What does Lacan mean when he calls Ophelia a "document in madness"?

  She represents the textual archetype of woman as madness or madness as woman
• What is Carol Neely's perspective on representing Ophelia?

  We should represent Ophelia as a lawyer represents a client
• What does Lee Edwards conclude about reconstructing Ophelia's biography from the text?

  It is impossible to reconstruct her biography from the text
• How does French feminist theory view the representation of the feminine in patriarchal discourse?

  It escapes representation as madness, incoherence, fluidity, or silence
• What does Ophelia say in the Mousetrap scene that reflects her lack of thought?

  "I think nothing, my lord"
• What does Hamlet imply by saying "nothing" in relation to Ophelia?

  He refers to female genitalia in Elizabethan slang
• How does Ophelia's madness relate to her speech according to Gertrude?

  Gertrude says that "Her speech is nothing," indicating a lack of substance
• What does Ophelia's story symbolize in the context of female sexuality?

  It becomes the story of the zero, the empty circle of mystery
• What are the conventions of female insanity as depicted in Ophelia's character?

  • Dressed in white, symbolizing purity
  • Uses extravagant metaphors and lyrical free associations
  • Engages in bawdy songs and verbal license
  • Ends her life by drowning
• How does Ophelia's appearance contrast with Hamlet's in the play?

  Ophelia dresses in white, while Hamlet wears solemn black
• What do Ophelia's flowers symbolize in the context of her character?

  They suggest both innocent blossoming and whorish contamination
• What does the disordered hair of a woman indicate in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama?

  It suggests madness or the victim of a rape
• How does Gaston Bachelard connect women, water, and death in his discussion of the "Ophelia complex"?

  Drowning becomes the truly feminine death, symbolizing beautiful immersion
• What are the responsibilities of feminist criticism towards Ophelia?

  • To represent her story accurately
  • To reclaim her from marginalization
  • To analyze her representation in cultural contexts
• What does the stage direction of a woman entering with dishevelled hair indicate in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama?

  It indicates that she might be mad or a victim of rape.
• How does Ophelia's behavior reflect her status as a woman in the play?

  Her bawdy songs and verbal license are her only form of self-assertion.
• What does drowning symbolize in relation to femininity in the text?

  Drowning symbolizes female fluidity and a beautiful immersion in the feminine element.
• What is the "Ophelia complex" as discussed by Gaston Bachelard?

  It traces the symbolic connection between women, water, and death.
• How is Ophelia's madness clinically categorized in the text?

  It is characterized as female love-melancholy or erotomania.
• How was Ophelia's madness perceived on stage from 1660 to the early 18th century?

  It was presented as the predictable outcome of erotomania.
• Who was Susan Mountfort and what is significant about her portrayal of Ophelia?

  She was an actress who went mad after her lover's betrayal and famously portrayed Ophelia.
• What stereotype of female love melancholy emerged in the 18th century?

  It was sentimentalized, minimizing the force of female sexuality.
• How did the romantic response to madness differ from the Augustan response?

  The romantic response embraced the figure of the madwoman, while the Augustan response denied it.
• Who was Harriet Smithson and what impact did she have on the portrayal of Ophelia?

  She was an Irish actress whose performance of Ophelia influenced international acting styles.
• What was the audience's reaction to Harriet Smithson's performance of Ophelia?

  They were stunned and found it to depict real passions.
• How did the romantic Ophelia differ from the romantic Hamlet according to Coleridge?

  Ophelia feels too much, while Hamlet thinks too much.
• How did Delacroix's lithographs contribute to the representation of Ophelia?

  They showed a strong romantic interest in female sexuality and insanity.
• What did Dr. John Charles Bucknill say about Ophelia in relation to mental health?

  He noted that Ophelia is a type of case commonly seen in mental health practice.
• How did the iconography of the romantic Ophelia influence real women in asylums?

  It defined a style for mad young women seeking to express their distress.
• What was the role of photography in the representation of women in asylums during the Victorian era?

  It imposed the costume and gestures of Ophelia upon female patients.
• What connection is made between Ophelia and female fluidity in the text?

  Ophelia's drowning symbolizes the feminine quality of fluidity.
• How does the text discuss the societal implications of Ophelia's madness?

  It reflects the perception of female madness as part of female nature.