The Restoration of Honour and Certainty when Dependent upon Others

“Ways in which individuals attempt to restore honour and certainty”

 

Often times, individuals place great emphasis and importance on the affection of others, out of which an unsatiated desire for said affection is effectively created. As a result, one lives their life according to their counterparts pursuit of honour, the respect with which one regards themselves based on their own perception and the influence of others, and certainty, the ability to dictate one’s life in accordance with their personal morals and standards, not their own. Consequently, one is seen to lack, and therefore aims to redeem, their personal sense of honour and certainty, as evident through the character of Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. As both the neglected love interest of a mad Hamlet, and the submissive daughter of Polonius, Ophelia’s obedience creates two juxtaposing realities for her to live in – due to the fact that she lived through the expectations of two conflicting worlds, Ophelia lost her sense of honour and certainty to her obedience to the expectations of the men in her life. Consequently, her sense of honour was dependent on how her male influences perceive her – the only way in which she is able to restore a sense of certainty and honour in herself  is through acting in accordance with her own personal and moral standards. Evidence of Ophelia’s attempts to restore honour and certainty within herself can be seen through the motivations for her actions before and during her madness and suicide. When one lives a life of reliance on others, they inherently retain no sense of honour and certainty in their identity –  attempts to restore honour and certainty within themselves are often only recognized when the most extreme acts of  personal urgency are taken, as seen through Ophelia’s suicide. Therefore, the restoration of one’s honour and certainty is only achieved once said individual acts according to their own personal agendas, and further projects this restoration onto others.

 

The dominance of one individual over another often occurs due to the overbearing belief of the controlling individual that they are the protector of the submissive, as seen through Act 1.3 in which Laertes and Polonius seek to eliminate the threat of corruption from Ophelia. This threat, what they believe to be an unloving Hamlet, is the first indication of Ophelia’s submissiveness and dependency on the men in her life. Through this discourse, Ophelia speaks rarely, except to affirm and recognize her father and brother’s status in their relationship – their needs and opinions take precedence over hers, no consideration is given to the fact that she does love Hamlet. Polonius and Laertes are only cognizant of the influence they have over Ophelia, as she responds  ‘Tis in my memory locked,/And you yourself shall keep the key of it,” (1.3, 22 ), without regard to how she truly feels in relation to Hamlet. In essence, Ophelia is submitting her actions, her thought, and her will to her dependency upon others – the men are the sole influences that determine who and what she is to become, and her actions accordingly.  Moreover, in conjunction with the men in her life, their pursuit of honour and certainty impacted Ophelia’s sense of honour and certainty – she, as evidenced through the quote, willingly  became what they needed her to be in order for the achievement of their pursuit and maintenance of their honour and certainty in relation to her. Ophelia was unable to dictate the terms by which she lived- she is torn between her love for Hamlet, the empty promise of marriage, and her devotion to her brother and father who believed that loving Hamlet will only lead to her downfall. As a result, Ophelia’s certainty is degraded due to the fact that she no longer is able to dictate her life as per her own moral standards. Her obedient nature has overcome her, she lacks her own identity. Consequently, when one’s sense of honour is dependent upon how others perceive said individual, as seen through Ophelia’s dependence upon the affection of the men in her life, their sense of certainty also deteriorates. Reliance on others, coupled with infallible obedience, ultimately causes the loss of one’s sense of honour and certainty, although it is through the recognition of this that one may be able to restore said honour and certainty within themselves.

 

Through conflicts between one’s obedience and their true, suppressed feelings, an individual is faced with the reality of their lacking honour and certainty as a result of their obedience to others.This is showcased through Ophelia’s own madness, in which her devotion to the two conflicting realities she faces breaks down to expose her true emotion, most notably through her interactions after her father’s death, murdered by her lover Hamlet. Acting as a conflict of interest for Ophelia, Polonius’s murder allows her to recognize the lacking certainty and honour in her identity as exemplified through her madness, in which she tells Laertes, “There’s a rosemary, that’s for remembrance: pray, /love, remember: and there is pansies, that’s for thoughts…/I would give you some violets, but they /died when my father  died…” (4.4, 184 – 192). Through the use of flowers, Ophelia’s attempt to restore honour and certainty are evident –  it is one of the few instances in which her speech and actions are not influenced by anyone but herself. Moreover, the symbolic use of flowers, and what each represents, is indicative of the ways in which her honour and certainty have been deprived. Rosemary, “for remembrance,” implies not just the memory of her father, but also, through its use in both funeral wreaths and bridal bouquets, Ophelia’s stifled love with Hamlet. Pansies, as Ophelia states, are for thoughts – that which she “locked away” and gave “the key” to the men in her life. Furthermore, the use of fennel, representative of false flattery, conveys Ophelia’s relationships, as well as relates to the use of columbine – the flower of ingratitude. In her final line, Ophelia references violets, associated with early death, perhaps indicating not only her father’s, but also her own immature death. Through this recognition of her personal lacking of honour and certainty, Ophelia descends into a state of madness due to her lack of self-determination, overshadowed by the expectations of her uncommitted lover and her family – her personal sense of honour and certainty in her life are lost due to the inability to maintain her own values while still being obedient to both her family and Hamlet. However, through madness as a result the realization of her lost sense of personal honour and certainty, Ophelia begins to act for herself, choosing to pursue Hamlet rather than obeying her now deceased father and  her brother.  It can therefore be determined that one, when faced with inner turmoil as a result of the obedience that one displays to others, often yields to their true emotions in the form of “madness,” or displays of passion, as a form of recognition of this loss.  

 

Once obedient individuals have recognized their lost sense of honour and certainty, attempts of restoration are possible, though only if one makes it known where their true moral and internal standards and feelings lay, as exemplified through Gertrude’s retelling of Ophelia’s suicide after her madness, “When down her weedy trophies and herself/Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide,/And mermaid-like a while they bore her up,/Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds/As one incapable of her own distress,/Or like a creature native and indued/Unto that element. But long it could not be/Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,/Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay/To muddy death.” (4.6, 111-112) Hamlet, in his own state of “madness” will not accept Ophelia’s love, leading to her death – through acquiescing to her suppressed emotions, Ophelia is able to act according to her own morals and standards, through which she attempts to restore honour and certainty in her life the only manner in which she can make her personal interests known – through death.  Through retelling the drowning, Gertrude displays Ophelia’s beautiful innocence, her submissiveness to others and the environment surrounding Ophelia – her death is symbolically pure as she died by water, but also in that it cleansed her. Ophelia’s duties and obedience towards others were no longer present, she was able to create a setting in which her actions aligned with her honour and certainty, while simultaneously allowing  those impacted by it, such as Hamlet and Laertes, to affirm their love for her and restore said lost honour  – they did so through affirming their love and recognizing her unfaltering devotion to them. Ophelia was seen as an asset to those she was devoted to until her death in which the realization of her humanity and conflicting needs were made apparent. Therefore, it was through her drowning that Ophelia chose to restore her personal sense of honour, the respect with which one regards themselves based on their own perception and the influence of others, and certainty, the ability to dictate one’s life in accordance with their personal morals and standards, by showcasing where her true loyalties lay. Hence, individuals who have lived a life of compliance and seek to restore their honour and certainty must first recognize this within themselves, and then further project this newly found sense of self onto others by any means – without the recognition of the worth and honour of such individuals by those who used them, all attempts to restore honour and certainty are futile.

 

If one places a large emphasis on the needs of those they love, they live through their obedience and passivity to said loved ones. In doing so, individuals lose their honour,  the respect derived from self and external perceptions, and sense of certainty, the ability to dictate one’s life in accordance with their personal standards,  in regards their identity and  the relationships they are in, as exemplified through the character of Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet.Ophelia’s responses to the uncertainty of identity and lack of honour in her life develops as a result of her dependence on men, and their pursuit of honour and certainty. Due to the fact that she was such a passive and obedient woman, she fueled the affection and expectations two conflicting environments – that of  her family as well as Hamlet, while not upholding any expectations of herself, losing her sense of honour and certainty in her relations. Being both sexualized and and seen as the epitome of purity created two contradictory worlds for Ophelia to live in, effectively diminishing her own sense of honour. It was through her death, the fact that she consciously did not resist the drowning, that Ophelia was able to restore a honour and certainty within her life, as she died on her own terms, and chose to, indirectly, declare her love for Hamlet. It can therefore be determined that one, when in pursuit of the restoration of their honour and certainty, must be prepared to forego inhibiting factors or qualities, regardless of their importance to said individual, to any extent – failure to do so will result in either the failed restoration of one’s honour and certainty or the redemption only by means of death.

 

 

*It won’t allow me to indent the paragraphs, I am not sure why.

Bibliography:

“Ophelia: Character Perspective (Alysha, Yasmeen, Shyla) – Hunni AP.” Aphunniblog.Edublogs.Org, 2017, https://aphunniblog.edublogs.org/2017/11/19/ophelia-character-perspective-alysha-yasmeen-shyla/.

“Study Flowers In Ophelia’s Garland To Learn Folk Beliefs, Shakespeare.” Sfgate, 2017, http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/Study-flowers-in-Ophelia-s-garland-to-learn-folk-2542041.php.