Elaine Showalters Representing Ophelia :: GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Hamlet

Elaine Showalters Representing Ophelia Elaine Showalter defines Ophelia in many typical ways in her try on Representing Ophelia Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism. She discusses her significance in reference to how she reveals Hamlets characteristics. Showalter touches upon the idea that Ophelias character is one(a) that is symbolic of the psychiatric theories of Freud. Showalter also attri onlyes the characterization of Ophelia to not only the audience, but also to the actress that tricks the part. Never does she suggest that Ophelia could be just that, Ophelia. Her entire oblige is devoted to individual version of the play in its entirety, focusing in the main on Ophelia. Showalter presents her own ideas by bringing together the ideas of many others practically(prenominal) as Jacques Lacan, Susan Mountfort, Ellen Terry, and more. Showalter provides suffice evidence in addressing each railway line, but in doing so, she never takes into account t he possibilities of Shakespeares reasoning. In the discussion of Ophelias character, her ferocity is almost eer at the center of controversy. Showalter recognizes and explains many interpretations of her madness. Ophelias madness is, by some, attributed to a certain outcome of erotomania (225). This term erotomania was what the Elizabethans referred to as female love-melancholy. Yet another interpretation is that of the Romantic Ophelia, in which she is referred to as a young girl passionately and visibly driven to picturesque madness (228). Later, it is explained what is meant by this definition when Showalter writes almost how people viewed Ophelia as a woman who felt too much and somehow allowed these feelings to overcome her. This face of action would drive a mortal to madness, just as Ophelia is driven into her madness. This conclusion would seem to suggest that her madness stemmed from some sort of erotic passion between herself and Hamlet. This is the type of interpre tation that is given to the audience in many movie versioesult of erotomania. Elaine Showalter creates an argument that is predominantly based on the idea that Ophelias madness is one that comes from her female love-melancholy. Showalter cites many actresses, critics, doctors, and such that completely support this idea, and have actually convey this idea to others in many ways. If it is not true that Hamlet and Ophelia had inner encounters, then this interpretation of the character and its effect on the entire play can be understood on a completely polar level.