When people think of Will Shakespeare’s Hamlet, they either think of “alas poor Yorick” and some dude with a skull, or Hamlet’s “To be or not to be.” The latter speech is incandescent in the play. But I would argue that the scenes which follow “To be or not to be” would tell you more about the character of Hamlet, not to mention his lover Ophelia, and their relationship.
This scene, where Hamlet tells Ophelia repeatedly “get thee to a nunnery”, is so often grossly misplayed and misunderstood — and yet it is the core of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship, and the core of who they are to some extent.
In the following essay, I’ve broken down this scene for layfolk, so that they can have a chance to enjoy Shakespeare without feeling too intimidated.
Metal More Attractive
There is a great deal in the play itself to support the idea that Hamlet and Ophelia were lovers.
Early in the play, Polonius, Ophelia’s father, accuses her of spending too much time with Hamlet. He uses the word “bounteous” which has sexual connotations, ie, bounty, fertility, etc. He further chastises her, saying she should consider her honor, and then forbidding her from seeing Hamlet. She says she will obey. This line could be read sarcastically, sullenly, or honestly. It little matters. Ophelia keeps her word and obeys her father, which is an integral part of her character: her obedience.
Second, both Ophelia’s father and brother warn her against a dalliance with Hamlet — which strongly suggests to me that something is going on.
Another indicator are love letters Hamlet sent to Ophelia, some of which had some erotic content.
There are other clues. Later in the play, Hamlet asks Ophelia if he can “lie in [her] lap.” Ophelia refuses until he clarifies that he means his head on her lap. He is still sitting next to Ophelia when he comments that it’s “A fair thought — to lie between maid’s legs.”
When she is mad, Ophelia sings about Saint Valentine’s day, an anonymous man, and of promises of marriage. This might be more ambiguous, but when coupled with the rest, seems to indicate Hamlet.
And then there is Hamlet’s declaration “I loved Ophelia,” over her grave, amongst other affirmations of mourning.
All this in addition to the constant tension between the characters.
It’s clear that Hamlet and Ophelia were in some kind of relationship, and it was likely sexual.
Is this a Prologue or . . .?
Before we can arrive at the “get thee to a nunnery” scene, some things must be mentioned for clarification:
1) Hamlet’s father is dead, having been
2) Poisoned by his own brother, Claudius, who recently
3) Married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude.
This marriage took place only two months after Hamlet’s father died, so even without the murder, it was a dodgy union to begin with. Hamlet is distraught by his father’s death, and by the marriage.
Hamlet discovers the truth about his father’s death from his father’s ghost, who tells him he must seek revenge. From then on, Hamlet begins to act strangely.
Some say he is driven mad by the revelation of his father’s death, and others say he is faking it in an attempt to bamboozle his uncle Claudius and exact his revenge. I, for one, believe it is a potent cocktail of bamboozling Claudius and others, but also trying to figure out what the hell he will do. Will he commit revenge? And if so, how? I believe this mostly because Hamlet’s character is a) consistent b) he expresses outstanding lucidity of mind throughout the play.
In Thy Orisons
The “Get thee to a nunnery scene” starts shortly after the famed “To be or not to be” speech, and begins with Hamlet noticing Ophelia. At that moment, Hamlet is unaware that Ophelia has been set as bait by her father and Hamlet’s uncle, both who think Hamlet has been rendered mad by his love for Ophelia. Throughout the scene, Claudius and Polonius spy — and Ophelia knows they are spying.
When Hamlet sees Ophelia, he approaches her, and says:
” . . . Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.”
This is one of the most misused lines in the scene, and often directors and actors opt to make Hamlet’s delivery spiteful or sarcastic. I read one critic who claimed it was a reflection of Hamlet’s misogyny and “mommy issues.”
Hamlet can be read as a misogynistic character, this is true, but about 90 % of the bile he spews about women is directed at his mother, Gertrude, who he is pissed off at for marrying his uncle Claudius.
But what has Ophelia done? To this point, nothing, at least to Hamlet’s knowing.There is no indication he knows she has been set as bait. All he knows is that she is someone he (presumably) loves and trusts. There is no reason for him to demonstrate sarcasm or spite towards her.
Plus, the line itself literally means “pray for me.” While he could be sarcastic about that, asking someone to pray for you speaks of vulnerability, not spite. If anything the lines should be delivered softly, fondly.
There are a few lines where they seem to speak rather sweetly to one another. In the superlative Kenneth Branagh adaptation, Hamlet even goes so far as to embrace and kiss Ophelia before she breaks it off. It’s as though Hamlet is clinging to a person he feels he can trust, in the midst of all the turmoil he is feeling.
And then first metaphorical bomb goes off. Ophelia says:
“My lord, I have remembrances of yours
That I have longèd long to redeliver.
I pray you now receive them.”
Basically: “I have some nice things you gave me, you can have them back now.” It could be tokens of affection, love letters, books . . . all “remembrances” signifies is things someone gave you.
Hamlet denies giving Ophelia these remembrances. He is lying when he says he “never gave [her] aught” (never gave her anything), with all the evidence we have of Hamlet and Ophelia as lovers. Why deny it, then? He is yet unaware of Claudius and Polonius spying, so there is no reason for him to deny it simply to pretend.
Hamlet denies it because he is already overwhelmed, looking for emotional shelter, and is shocked when this person he turns to, this person he trusts and loves, is acting in such a callous way.
Ophelia persists and Hamlet continues his denial, until he finally confronts Ophelia, asking if she is “honest” and “fair”. She asks what he means. He says, basically, that just because you’re beautiful doesn’t mean you’re honest or good. She counters by saying “Isn’t it best to be beautiful and good?” He replies that this is true, but it is easier for beauty to make someone a whore than it is for honesty to be transformed into something beautiful.
And then he drops a significant line.
“I did love you once.”
A few short lines later, he says Ophelia should not have believed it and “I loved you not.”
Why the contradiction? Is it due to his frenzied state of mind, or something else? It’s also notable that Hamlet is the one professing (and unprofesssing) love — not Ophelia.
Again, the fact that Hamlet is overwhelmed is in play, in conjunction with normal human emotions. When he insults Ophelia in the speech about honesty and beauty, effectively alluding to the idea that she is a whore, he has been hurt by her rejection of his remembrances. Hurt, during the time when he most needed someone to confide in.
Hamlet confesses his love in a moment of vulnerability, but then hardens himself against further (and past) rejection by saying he does not love her. Perhaps he’s even changed his mind in that brief timespan, simply because he needs companions he can depend on. Not someone who is refusing his gifts and won’t make a profession of love.
But more than anything I think this refusal of his remembrances, and their love by proxy, makes him all the more confused and caustic, and it hurts him.
He begins the first part of the “get thee to a nunnery speech”, asking Ophelia why she would be a breeder of sinners. The speech has some bile, beginning with the word “breeder” and Hamlet’s insistence that Ophelia “get thee to a nunnery.” This could readily be a dig at her and the fact she had sex with Hamlet, and was therefore not a virgin. The fact she is not a virgin is confirmed when she is buried later in the play. The priest says she was
” . . . allowed her virgin crants,
Her maiden strewments . . .”
Implying she was not a maid when buried. Hamlet’s dig at her sexuality is one way to say “you’re a whore” again because he is mad at her.
But then there is what happens next.
The Play’s the Thing
Hamlet is urging Ophelia “Go thy ways to a nunnery” when he suddenly asks a question.
“Where’s your father?”
This question seems bizarre and completely out of context.
But remember, Claudius and Polonius, Hamlet’s uncle and Ophelia’s father, are watching what goes on between Hamlet and Ophelia.
When Hamlet asks that question, it’s because something has made him aware he and Ophelia are being watched. “Where’s your father?” is literal. He’s almost asking if Polonius is nearby.
Ophelia says at home, and it is obvious she is lying to the audience. It is also obvious she is lying to Hamlet. He knows he is being watched now, and we can tell. He says the doors of Polonius’ home should be shut, so he would “play the fool but in’s his own house”.
He is indicating, very clearly, that he knows Polonius is not in his own house, but playing a fool outside of it.
But deeper than this, Hamlet has now realized Ophelia’s betrayal. He knows she is bait, or at least colluding.
This must cut him to the marrow, and yet all he says to her is “Farewell.”
It seems like he might leave, but then Ophelia utters the line that “sets” Hamlet off.
You Make Yourselves Another
“O, help him you sweet heavens!” Ophelia cries.
Does she mean it? Or is she performing for her father and Claudius?
The urgency with which the line was spoken (!) suggests to me that she did mean it, and it was not performance, but actual concern for Hamlet and his well-being.
But Hamlet will have none of it. He has caught her colluding with her father (and Claudius, but it’s unclear if Hamlet knows this). She has returned his gifts. His father was murdered and his mind is in turmoil.
He snaps.
In any context what he says to Ophelia in the “get thee to a nunnery” scene would be abusive. The words are meant to be. But he is not just speaking to her. He is speaking to Polonius (and possibly Claudius).
In many versions he yells and intimidates her. In the Branagh version, the director made the choice to have Hamlet physically drag and shove Ophelia around. It’s a violent, ugly scene. The violence of that staging remains true to the text and shows us the frenzy Hamlet is in, and how upset he is by his father’s murder, by being spied on, and by Ophelia’s betrayal.
One notable sequence of lines demonstrate the multiple reasons behind his paroxysm.
“I have heard of your paintings too, well enough.
God has given you one face and you make yourselves
another.”
On the surface he is saying this to Ophelia, because she is a woman and wears make-up. But since Hamlet knows he is being spied on, this line has an additional connotation. He is speaking to those who are spying on him as well as Ophelia. He’s saying, in a nutshell, “y’all are two-faced.”
Sweets to the Sweet
Hamlet concludes his speech with a few choice words to Ophelia: “To a nunnery, go.”
There’s a firmness and finality in those lines. Hamlet is done with Ophelia, and will not make the mistake of trusting her as he did before.
Then he leaves. Ophelia is left alone for a moment. What is her state of mind after this encounter?
She mourns for Hamlet. She believes he is mad, and so she mourns for him and his overthrown mind.
This says so much about Ophelia. While Hamlet used crude and abusive language on her, her response is to mourn for him. She genuinely seems to care about him, though, I would venture that she felt afraid of him after this. And, after this, Hamlet treats her with derision up until he comes upon her gravesite and says he loved her.
And it might be that Ophelia’s madness is not just because Hamlet (mistakenly) killed her father. It might also be entwined in the fact that she loved Hamlet, and her honest compassion for him, in conjunction with her father’s death, made her mad when the man she loved went and killed her father. It’s almost as though Ophelia’s sweet nature cannot comprehend what happened, that someone she cared for would do such a thing.
Additionally, it’s possible Ophelia may be pregnant. Hamlet alludes as much to Polonius when he says:
“Conception is a blessing. But as your daughter may conceive, friend, look to’t.”
If we imagine this scenario — Ophelia’s only parent slain by the man she loves, and whose child she carries — she is trapped. She has nowhere to go, no-one to turn to. The recipe for madness is potent and only makes sense for Ophelia.
Still, Ophelia is duplicitous in her attempts to deceive Hamlet. She is obeying her father — being a good girl — but this duplicitousness, which I imagine she was terrible at, adds so much to her character as well. She is more than just the sweet, good girl gone mad. Sometimes she’s a bad girl (and, I imagine, with Hamlet, very bad).
Ultimately, the relationship ends with this scene, between Hamlet’s frightening verbal (and possibly physical) abuse and Ophelia’s betrayal. But you can see clearly the core of each character through their choices: Hamlet, impetuous and brazen, Ophelia sweet natured and obedient. Their contrast makes an interesting relationship in and of itself, and it’s too bad ol’ Bill isn’t around to write the prequel.
If you’re curious about seeing the scene, you can watch the Kenneth Branagh version here. The password is hamlet.
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J.S. Kuiken earned his MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. In 2013, he was a Lambda Literary Fellow. He’s published in Bosie Magazine, |tap|, Cactus Heart, and others. You can find his work at jskuiken.com
