Incapable of Her Own Distress: Setting in Hamlet

Perhaps nowhere does setting become more crucial to a text, especially one intended for acting, than when it is absent. As Queen Gertrude rushes to deliver the disasterous news of Ophelia’s demise in the later portion of Act IV, scene vii, we see demonstrated the importance of place in the queen’s ability to imbue a somber symbolism to each of Ophelia’s actions that otherwise could not be relayed by vision alone. Laertes, too, dismisses the action itself as central to the relation of the story by first responding “Where?” in line 164 rather than “how?” or “why?” One might argue that by locating the event Laertes hopes to find fault outside of sister, a cause within the environment rather than the self. This directly contrasts with much of what Shakespeare’s main conflicts in Hamlet concern;  namely, the plots, deception, and internal emotions of the characters lead to conflict rather than, say, the looming foreign army. In this way, too, Ophelia’s death physically and symbolically separates her from the rest of the court because she escapes public scrutiny (or at least her awareness of it) and suffers the least violence (even the queen is fully aware of her demise in the moment and so undergoes psychological trauma knowing she cannot live to protect her beloved son).  

In terms of the description of Ophelia’s death itself, the depiction of the scene does more to portray Ophelia’s grief than her actual words or deeds. Consider the “willow grow[ing] askant by the brook/That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;” this figure, known to be “weeping” in folklore, observes its own sad state in the still water as though like mirror in much the same way Ophelia reflects the sadness around herself (165-166). Indeed, the word “hoary” heralds the imagery of winter despite the numerous flowering garlands Ophelia creates, and this theme continues as the queen mentions that the “cold maids” call long purples “dead men’s fingers” (170). In the same way that Ophelia in life has attempted to surround herself with goodness through the industry of her own heart yet finds herself surrounded by death, so, too, does the surrounding serve to reinforce this tragedy. Gertrude goes on to personify the very world that leads to Ophelia’s drowning by blaming an “envious sliver” for breaking and causing Ophelia’s descent into the “weeping brook”(172, 174). In this way Ophelia escapes the fault of her action through the surroundings and is even pitied by nature rather than face the consequences of a suicide. While Hamlet is fraught with arguments and implications about gender expectations, one should also note that Ophelia is able to do what Hamlet has only talked about: escape the oppression of the courts and die free. In this way we may take her physical journey and separation as one of spiritual symbolism as well.

Shakespeare carefully toys with the idea of nature vs nurture within Hamlet, the titular character feeling physically trapped and then even mentally and emotionally bound to Denmark when able to escape, yet despite his own logical arguments unable to overcome the restraints he so desperately loathes. Reasonably, then, Ophelia’s “tragedy” demonstrates not the power of the mind in combating the environment and restraints of responsibility directly, but in complete disregard of the strict laws and edicts of nature. Hamlet and the other characters of the court, Ophelia shows us clearly, has always had the freedom to walk away from the miserable complexities of revenge and manipulation. The choice is not whether “to be or not to be,” but how, and perhaps more importantly, where.