"It would cost you a groaning to take off
mine edge."
He sees her now as demure bait, the hypocrite, the wanton at heart - it is the tragic end to a once beautiful and always honourable love. And thus, through a chain of misconceptions, due to nothing worse than the narrowness of vision and over-readiness to comply with her father's commands, Ophelia blackens her own character in her lover's eyes. But can she somehow be excused? How must she have felt?
VI DEJECTED AND WRETCHED
In order to explain Ophelia's behaviour and her feelings towards Hamlet we need to understand her nature. Professor Bradley in his book "Shakespearean Tragedy"* gave an explanation of her behaviour and emotions towards Hamlet throughout the play. According to him, Ophelia is quite young and inexperienced, simple and unselfish, unable to understand or help Hamlet. She has lost her mother and has only a father and a brother to take care of her. She relies upon them solely. So we can understand when she obeys her father and repels Hamlet - her father advised her to do so. Also Ophelia knows she is much below her suitor in station. Why did she join in a plot to win Hamlet's secret from him? Bradley points to Ophelia's own view of things: she knows he is transformed and sad; her heart tells her that her unkindness is a chief cause and her only goal is to help Hamlet. She turns to her father and accepts to play a part, hoping to restore him with kindness -
Queen: ". . . I hope your virtues
Will bring him to his wanted way again
Ophel: Madam, I wish it may."
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