Anya Ciccone
Brotherly Love: Ophelia and Sexual Fear in “Hamlet”
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the character of Ophelia makes a quiet debut in Act I Scene III, saying only eighteen of the 135 lines in the scene; however, in their respective speeches both her brother, Laertes, and her father, Polonius, are able to communicate all we have to know about Ophelia for the rest of the play. Both her father and her brother show deep concern over Ophelia’s budding relationship with Hamlet, and, although they are concerned for different reasons, neither man is hesitant to aggressively express their worries to Ophelia. Laertes’ speech to Ophelia, telling her to be virtuous regardless of what Hamlet may say to her, moves from a warning to a virtual threat through the use of the word ‘fear.’ The word ‘fear’ is mentioned at four pivotal moments in Laertes’ speech to his sister; three of these times it is used in the imperative. The first use is directly addressed to Ophelia:
Perhaps he loves you now,
And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch
The virtue of his will, but you must fear,
His greatness weighed, his will is not his own.
...For on his own choice depends
The safety and health of this whole state (I.iii.14-20)
Laertes also effectively uses the word “safety,” making it clear that Ophelia’s safety may be
sacrificed on behalf of the state. It is clear that Laertes’ concern is for his sister alone, although it is not made clear what exactly Ophelia should fear, or how much her own safety is at risk. The obscure consequence of Laertes’ threat lies not in the definition of the word itself (‘fear, v.: To inspire with fear, to frighten’ (OED 2nd ed.) ) but instead with the verb’s first uses. The very first uses of the verb “fear” were attached to a biblical context, either to show respect for god or as a threat of divine retribution (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. “Fear,” 1). It is very possible that the unspoken result of Ophelia not “fearing” her brother will be God’s punishment.
The next time the word ‘fear’ is used sheds more light on the character of Laertes, hisrelationship with Ophelia, and their roles in the play.
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmastered importunity.
Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister (I.iii.29-32)
Here, the key word of the speech, “fear,” is placed next to one of the key words of the play,
“sister.” Up until this scene, the only context the audience has heard the word “sister” in has
been when Claudius refers to Gertrude as both his sister and wife in Act I Scene II, and the very mention of the word brings to mind Hamlet’s distress at his mother’s “incestuous” relationship with his uncle. By commanding Ophelia to “fear it,” Laertes is exercising his familial power/ concern over her; by calling her “my dear sister” immediately afterwards, Laertes reminds the audience, somewhat disconcertingly, that he is protecting her chastity for himself. This would not be the only way in which Laertes is Hamlet’s rival: From the very first time that we meet him Laertes is a competitor to Hamlet (in Act II Scene III Claudius gives his first and immediate attention to Laertes, and then Hamlet). The comparison of Ophelia and Laertes to Gertrude and Claudius, tinged with incest, sheds new light on Hamlet’s famous lines later in the play, uttered in Ophelia’s grave: “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand Brothers/ Could not with all their quantity of love/ Make up my sum” (V.ii.258-260). In this statement, Hamlet’s proclamation of love to Ophelia could also have undertones of the intense feelings he has for his own mother.
The third and last time the word ‘fear’ is used in Laertes’ speech is a disturbing
foreshadow of the events to come:
The canker galls the infants of the spring
Too oft before their buttons be disclosed
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent.
Be wary, then, best safety lies in fear. (I.iii.38-42)
In his speech to her, Laertes again stresses Ophelia’s safety, and the fear of her losing herchastity. This fear and repression of sexuality that Laertes frightens into her will be the causeOphelia’s downfall. The next time Laertes compares his sister to a rose (here under the threat ofa plant-eating worm) Ophelia has gone mad. When Laertes returns from Paris to see her in a crazed state, he calls her a “rose of May” (IV.v.157). She does not forget his threat from before his departure in her mad state either, and lists flowers and herbs, notably omitting her own flower, the rose from which Hamlet, the canker, might feed off of.