Saturday, November 15, 2014
Ophelia and Medea
Since we haven't finished Hamlet yet, I cannot form my opinion completely yet on exactly how different Ophelia and Medea are but so far they seem to be two female characters that mainly contrast. Ophelia seems to be less intellectually sharp and seems to rely on other people's opinions like Laertes' and Polonius' opinions to influence her thoughts of Hamlet. Medea doesn't depend on others' opinions; although she does fall under Jason's dominance, she used her intellectual power to help Jason get to the Golden Fleece and helped him overcome other obstacles. Ophelia seems to be much less mature than Medea and simply falling in love easily. I think that Medea shows a lot more strength as a woman and demonstrates a woman's capability more, while Ophelia seems to let her love for Hamlet drive her. Medea, on the other hand, holds on to her intelligence and overcomes male domination.
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I think they are similar, however, in that they are both victims of the sexist society they live in. Medea does at one point in the play say something about how being a woman isn't something that's good. She allows the mindset of society to influence her at this point. However, she also has a lot of great quotes and parts in the play where she defies male domination.
Ophelia is also a victim of allowing society to influence her. (As you pointed out, Tiffany, she does allow it to influence her more than Medea does.) Ophelia blindly accepts that Laertes and Polonius should be allowed to tell her what to do. She even asks them to think for her.
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