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Hamlet's Treatment of Ophelia in the Nunnery SceneAuthor(s): Taraknath SenReviewed work(s):Source: The Modern Language Review, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Apr., 1940), pp. 145-152Published by: Modern Humanities Research AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3717323 .

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VOLUMEXXXV APRIL, 1940 NUMBER 2

HAMLET'S TREATMENT OF OPHELIA IN THENUNNERY SCENEI

HAMLET'S treatment of Ophelia in the Nunnery scene formed thesubject of a thoughtful contribution by Miss Helen L. Gardner in theissue of the ModernLanguageReview dated July 1938. The subject is onethat has provoked much discussion. Dr Dover Wilson would motivateHamlet's sudden fury against Ophelia by positing an earlier entry forhim in Act II, sc. ii, and thus making him overhear Polonius's schemeabout 'loosing his daughter to him'. According to this interpretation,Hamlet would be aware of the presence of spies behind the arras in theNunnery scene and be deliberately talking at them; his fury againstOphelia personally would be the result of his knowledge that she was adecoy.1 Miss Gardnervery ably shows how such an interpretation goesagainst the usual Shakespearean technique in the matter of overhearing.She thinks that it is quite in consonance with 'the whole rhythm of theplay' that Hamlet's fury against Ophelia should be unmotivated; for thewhole play turns on the incalculability of Hamlet's behaviour and isconsequently full of violent emotional contrasts, abrupt explosions offeeling and 'sudden absolute alterations of tension'.It is the object of this paper to show that Hamlet's treatment ofOphelia in the Nunnery scene is quite understandable psychologically,without calling for such mechanical motivation as suggested by DrDover Wilson. Nor is it necessary to assume that Hamlet's treatment ofOphelia is unmotivated because the rhythm of the play demands it tobe so.

Let us see first in what state of mind Hamlet confronts Ophelia in theNunnery scene.II

To Hamlet's fine, sensitive nature there comes a tremendous shock-the shock of a father's murderby the hands of his own brother and of theadulterous marriage of a mother with the murdererhimself. That shockbears Hamlet down. As is the way with introspective natures, Hamlet'spersonal problem becomes for him also the problem of life. In his very1 Dover Wilson, WhatHappens in 'Hamlet' (Cambridge, 1935), pp. 101-14, 125-36.

APRIL, 1940OLUME XXV NUMBER

M. L. R. XXXV 10

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146 Hamlet's Treatmentof Ophelia in the Nunnery Scenefirst soliloquy, the contemplation of 'the o'erhasty marriage' of hismother leads on to morbidgeneralizations: 'Frailty, thy name is woman! '1and again: How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitableSeem to me all the uses of this world!Fie on't! 0 fie! 'tis an unweededgardenThat growsto seed; things rank and gross in naturePossess it merely.

The contradictions of life prove too much for the young prince. Heknows what a piece of work is a man, but he also gets to know that onemay smile, and smile, and be a damned villain. He is so conscious of thebeauties of creation, but he also gets to experience it as a pestilent con-gregation of vapours. He is unable to reconcile these incongruities; andthis inability unmakes the man.And this tragedy of Hamlet is intensified by his loneliness. People inhis situation are in real need of that spiritual sympathy that alleviates'soul-torment'. In a somewhat analogous situation, Prospero is able toaccept life with all its contradictions, which Hamlet cannot. It is apossibility worth considering how much of this is due to the fact thatProspero has a daughter like Miranda. Hamlet, however, is not equallyfortunate. He is alone. Even Horatio does not know 'how ill all's hereabout his heart'.2 There is Ophelia, and naturally Hamlet would expectmuch from her. But even she (without knowing it: she is too simple toknow) fails him. Hence Hamlet's bitterness against Ophelia.At a moment when Hamlet's need of understanding companionship isthe greatest, when he has been filled with a spirit of bitterness againstthe world, and-worse still-when his disgust at his mother's conducthas already generalized itself into a doubt of womankind, Ophelia, at thebehest of her father, repels his letters and denies his access to her (II, i,108-10). Her action seems to provide Hamlet with an unexpected con-firmation of his 'Frailty, thy name is woman!' But it is a painfulconfirmation, too, coming as it does from his own beloved. The resultingdistraction on the part of Hamlet is easily imaginable. The way he visitsOphelia in her closet-'his doublet all unbraced' etc. (see Ophelia'sdescription in II, i, 77-100)-is no mere 'putting on' of 'an antic dis-position'. When he takes her by the wrist and falls to perusal of her face,does he expect to find 'Frailty' writ large there? And then think of theway he goes out, with a sigh that seems 'to shatter all his bulk', looking

1 All quotations from Hamlet are from the Arden edition (ed. Dowden, London, 1919).Other Shakespearean references are to the Globe edition (London, 1924).2 v, ii, 221.

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TARAKNATH SENat Ophelia over his shoulders to the last! The whole thing bespeaks theagonized lover-the lover who has had a sudden and profound shock.He has been disappointed where he had hoped most; he thinks he hasbeen deceived where he had most trusted. That his own beloved shouldbelong to the rank, unweeded garden-to the pestilent congregation ofvapours!It is in this state of mind that Hamlet encounters Ophelia in III, i.His bitterness against her there would not be a surprise after all this.And in the scene itself there are aggravating factors.

IIIComing now to the Nunnery scene itself, enter Hamlet meditating.There are two movements of the soul in his soliloquy. The first is one of aweariness of life-a thing we have already noticed in him: the world hasbecome for him 'an unweeded garden', the earth 'a sterile promontory',man 'a quintessence of dust'. The greater part of his soliloquy is ac-

cordingly an expression of a profound disgust with life, even with death.At this point his eyes fall on Ophelia. According to her father's in-structions (III, i, 44-9), she is poring over a book of devotions. The sightfor a moment turns the current of Hamlet's soul. For once we have aglimpse of the old Hamlet-the sensitive fine-souledyoung man who knewlove and was so intensely conscious of the beauty of life.1 Here, foronce, before him is a bit of that beauty he loved so well. The fair Ophelia!His own beautiful beloved at her devotions! The old passion flames upanew at the sight-the hunger for love is felt once more, the hunger forspiritual sympathy, for understanding companionship:

Soft you now!The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisonsBe all my sins remember'd.2Cf.that speechof his in II, ii, 312-23: 'this goodlyframe,the earth,etc.'2 To savehistheoryDrDover Wilsonwould readthisspeechas sardonic (op. cit., p. 128).This is, perhaps,he partof his theory hat onefindsmostdifficulto accept.Thewarmthand wistfulnessof the speechare unmistakable,hus provingthat Hamlethas no sus-picionsthat Ophelia s (as instructedby her fatherin in, i, 45-6) merelycolouringherlonelinesswith the show of an exercise. Dr Dover Wilsonfinds 'deliberateaffectation'in the wordsnymphand orisons. Not that these wordsdo not lendthemselves o affecta-tion. But has not Shakespeare sed them seriouslymore than once? See, for nymph,

Two Gentlemenof Verona,v, iv, 12, MidsummerNight's Dream, II, i, 245, m, ii, 137, Iv, i,131; for orisons,Henry V, n, ii, 53, Romeoand Juliet, iv, iii, 3, Cymbeline, , iii, 32. Dowden'sremark, Yet there is estrangementn the word "Nymph"' (ed.cit., p. 102),whichDrDoverWilsonquotes,doesnot helphim;for the contextof that remarks 'For a momentHamlet has been touchedby the sightof Opheliawithher bookof prayers'. Afterhavingacceptedbeautifieds 'innocent' (op.cit.,p. 113),thereis no reasonwhyDr DoverWilsonshouldboggleat nymphandorisons. 10-2

147

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148 Hamlet's Treatmentof Ophelia in the Nunnery SceneHere, then, is a situation fraught with possibilities. If only Opheliacan rise to it! But think of the tragedy-how she spoils the situation

with one unfortunate expression! In her confusion (natural to a simplegirl like her in her situation) she accosts Hamlet thus:Goodmy lord,How does your honourfor this manya day?'

Many a day! But she had met' Hamlet only the day before.2 I am notsure if the tragic significance of this 'many a day' of Ophelia's has beensufficiently appreciated. It lends almost a touch of fatality to the situa-tion. That an unfortunate expression blurted out at a moment of con-fusion3 should thus work havoc with a promising situation! The ex-pression hurts Hamlet in two ways. For one thing, it is a lie (to Hamlet,of course: Ophelia does not know what she says). One more unpleasantreminder of his earlier generalization, 'Frailty, thy name is woman!', itmakes Hamlet suspect that Ophelia is not genuine, that she is nothonest (the suspicion finds wild expression shortly afterwards: 'Ha, ha!are you honest? '). For another, the expression gives the feeling of agreat distance between Hamlet and Ophelia; as if her lover did no longermatter to Ophelia, so much so that she has forgotten his visit in courseof a day. No wonder Hamlet revolts. All the warmth of that 'Soft younow...' is quenched in a moment, and Hamlet's reply is very cold: 'Ihumbly thank you; well, well, well.' 4But Ophelia does not stop there. Impelled as it were by a malignant

1 Italics mine.2 In In, i Ophelia runs in to report to her father Hamlet's strange visit to her in hercloset. It is evident from her speech and manners that she has come in immediately afterHamlet has left. The scene closes with Polonius's remark: 'Come, go we to the king: Thismust be known, etc.' In the next scene (n, ii) Polonius is before the King and the Queen,announcing that he has discovered 'the very cause of Hamlet's lunacy'. Then (in the samescene) the players come in and Hamlet arranges with them to have 'the Murder of Gon-zago' played 'to-morrow night' (1. 575). The next scene (m, i: the Nunnery scene) takesplace the very next day: referringto the players, Rosencrantz says that 'they have alreadyorder This night to play before him (Hamlet)' (11.20-21).3 Dr Dover Wilson suggests that Ophelia implies that Hamlet has neglected her (op. cit.,p. 129). This, however, would be attributing to her an artfulness of which, one should think,she was incapable.4 The sudden revulsion may be compared to what happens in n, ii, 230-36. Rosencrantzand Guildenstern come in. The sight of old friends stirs the heart of Hamlet and he has awarm welcome for them: 'My excellent good friends! How dost thou, Guildenstern?-Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, how do ye both?' Their replies, however, are too subtle:R. As the indifferent children of the earth.G. Happy in that we are not over-happy.On fortune's cap we are not the very button.Hamlet at once grows cold: 'Nor the soles of her shoe?'It no doubt adds to Hamlet's bitterness against mankind that his efforts after companion-ship, after sympathy, in his moment of agony, should thus meet with repeated rebuffs.It will be seen in passing that on the view taken here the Nunnery scene acquires atragic poignancy that is lost by Dr Dover Wilson's interpretation.

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TARAKNATH SENfate, she proceeds to make the situation worse by offering to return hispresents. Hamlet grows colder:

No, not I;I never gave you aught.For once Ophelia is importunate; for once, too, she grows loquaciousand adds unfortunate remarks:

... their perfumelost,Take these again; for to the noble mindRich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.There, my lord.lThis proves too much for Hamlet: he can no longer contain himself, andhis simmering bitterness bubbles forth into 'wild and whirling words'(to quote Horatio in I, v, 133): 'Ha, ha! are you honest?' From hereonwards the scene is a crescendo of bitterness. And Hamlet's bitternessis all the greater for Ophelia's confusion. Her very simplicity and meek-ness prove her undoing. If only she had been a Portia or a Rosalind!If only she had protested and thus assured Hamlet that she was notpart of the 'unweeded garden'! Poor girl! she is only bewildered, andher brief, confused replies make Hamlet feel all the more as if she hasbeen hiding a lie within. Thus, unknowingly to herself, she entirely failsher lover in his hour of the greatest need for spiritual sympathy. Nowonder Hamlet's words to her are so wildly bitter. Coleridge attributedHamlet's harshness to a perception that Ophelia was playing the decoy,so that 'his after-speeches are not so much directed to her as to thelisteners and spies'.2 He could, however, have given a better explanationof it by citing his own lines from Christabel:...to be wroth with one we love,Doth work like madness in the brain.Hamlet himself says as much: 'Go to, I'll no more on't; it hath made memad.'

It may be noted in passing that Hamlet's particular bitterness againstOphelia and his general bitterness against life and the world reinforceeach other in the scene. That Ophelia should be so frail as to succumbso easily to the 'pestilent congregation of vapours'! Again, what aworld is this that it should turn a flower like Ophelia so rapidly into

1 The speech is undoubtedly too 'perfumed' for Ophelia. There is no evidence for it,but one would like to believe that she has been tutored in such phrases by her father. Atany rate, there is reason to suppose that the lines just quoted are not exactly her own.'Their perfume lost' recalls Laertes's reference to Hamlet's love for Ophelia in I, iii, 9 as'the perfume and suppliance of a minute'; while the rhyme in the second and third linesshows them to be an aphorism committed to memory. What is important to note here isthat the 'perfumed' character of the speech has only the unfortunate effect of aggravatingHamlet's suspicions of Ophelia's insincerity.2 Coleridge, Essays and Lectureson Shakespeare (Everyman's Library, 1926, p. 151).

149

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150 Hamlet's Treatmentof Ophelia in the Nunnery Scenea weed! (What a world, we may add after an earlier remark of Hamlet,that even the sun, kissing carrion, should only breed maggots!) Hence,it should be noted, Hamlet's bitter words in this scene are directed notonly against Ophelia but also against the world in general: 'We arearrant knaves, all; believe none of us' or 'I say, we will have no moremarriages.' He does not except even himself: 'I could accuse me of suchthings, that it were better my mother had not borne me.' Hence, theworld being such, 'to a nunnery, go'.1 There is some hope for Opheliathere yet. If she cannot save herself from further contamination there,at least she can save herself from spreading further contamination:she would not be 'a breeder of sinners'!

IVOne or two other points may be noted in conclusion. The first is aboutHamlet's description of Polonius as a fishmongerin ii, ii, 173-4. Takingloose and fishmonger as Elizabethan cant terms relating to bawdry, DrDover Wilson interprets this as a sly allusion to Polonius's talk about

loosing his daughter to Hamlet and thus finds in it a confirmation of histheory that Hamlet has overheard Polonius's scheme. But, surely, thatwas not the only sense in which the words were used by the Elizabethans.The normal sense of fishmongeryields excellent meaning here.2 Poloniusis.a fishmonger: he is there to fish out Hamlet's secrets and sell them tothe King.Of Polonius's looseDr Dover Wilson writes that 'this was the meaningintended' (op. cit. p. 104). It could not have been, of course, intended byPolonius himself, speaking before the King and the Queen. Nor need ithave been intended by the dramatist for his audience. In the text theexpression may well bear a straightforward meaning. The metaphor isthat of loosing a hound. Polonius would be hunting up Hamlet, as itwere.

A similarallusionto an overheardplot is discovered by Dr Dover Wilsonin the following remarks of Hamlet:Hamlet. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion,-Have you a daughter?Polonius. I have, my lord.Hamlet. Let her not walk i' the sun:.. .friend, look to 't.1 Another expression which Dr Dover Wilson would claim as a confirmation of histheory, since, he says, nunnery was in common Elizabethan use a cant term for a house ofill-fame (op. cit., p. 134). But would such a doubleententecome easy to a speakeras agitatedas Hamlet is here?2 The two earliest examples given by O.E.D. of the normal sense of the word date backto 1464 and 1594 respectively.

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TARAKNATH SENBut it is quite possible to understand these lines without assuming thatHamlet is aware of Polonius's plot. For one thing, Polonius wouldnaturally remind Hamlet of Ophelia. For, when Ophelia repels hisletters and denies his access to her, it does not take long for a man ofHamlet's intelligence to realize who is behind that move. So here is onefor Polonius: 'You are right! Your daughter should keep to her closet.She must not walk abroad. For the world is an evil place. Even the sunonly breeds maggots in carrion. And she, like others, is only a bit ofcorrupt flesh!' Thus Hamlet seems to find a peculiarly ironical justifi-cation for Polonius's interdict on their courtship in his present disgustwith life, in his view of the universe as 'a pestilent congregation ofvapours'. Taken this way, the lines acquire a profoundersignificance andbecome more characteristic of Hamlet than they would on Dr DoverWilson's interpretation.Moreover, that query, 'Have you a daughter?' is not really so abruptas to call for Dr Dover Wilson's assumption. It is induced by its im-mediate context: the words 'breed' and 'kissing' naturally lead on tothoughts of Ophelia.

Similarly, it is quite possible to understand the query, 'Where's yourfather?' in the Nunnery scene, without assuming that Hamlet is awareof his being overheard or even that there is a slight movement in thearras at this point. It is a counterpart to that question in ii, ii: 'Haveyou a daughter?'; as Miss Gardner puts it in her paper, 'Polonius andOphelia are linked in Hamlet's mind'. Hamlet has already come toknow Polonius as a foolish busybody who has tried to fish out his secretand stood between him and Ophelia. Moreover, Ophelia has just in-sisted on returning his gifts, and in a 'perfumed' speech too; and Hamletsees in it once more the hand of Polonius. Hence 'let the doors be shutupon him, that he may play the fool no where but in 's own house'.Here, too, the query is not really so abrupt as it seems. It is inducedby its context: 'We are arrant knaves, all: believe none of us. Go thyways to a nunnery. Where's your father?' 'Arrant knaves': mark.And to Hamlet Polonius is one such. Does not Hamlet call him 'a foolishprating knave' afterwards (III, iv, 215)?One other remark of Hamlet in the Nunnery scene calls for somecomment: 'I say, we will have no more marriages: those that are marriedalready, all but one, shall live; the rest shall keep as they are.' Those whowould have it that Hamlet is conscious of his being overheard, would ofcourse say that the phrase, 'all but one', is meant for the ears of theKing. But is it not rather meant for the speaker himself? If Hamlet

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152 Hamlet's Treatmentof Ophelia in the Nunnery Scenewas aware of the King's presence behind the arras, would he haveknowingly put him on his guard by uttering such an ominous phrase?1

And, in each case, the dramatic effectiveness of the remark lies pre-cisely in this, that it hits the mark without being intended to.TARAKNATH SEN.

CALCUTTA.1 Dr Dover Wilson, of course, has his explanation of the point: an explanation deducedfrom his elaborate though disputable theory about Hamlet 'posing as the discontentedheir thirsting for revenge'. This, however, is outside the purview of this paper.