Getting to the Bottom of Hamlet’s Lovelife with Quotes from Shakespeare’s Play

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} One of themost attention-grabbing debates still being waged over Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”is the issue of whether or not Hamlet and Ophelia have slept together. The mostfamous quote on the matter – Hamlet’s angry, repeated “Get thee to a nunnery” –would seem to accuse Ophelia of having rejected his advances… if it weren’t forthe fact that “nunnery” is also Elizabethan slang for “brothel.” The did they /didn’t they debate is unusual in that it implies a lot more backstory than mostShakespearean mysteries, and only a few key moments in the play address theissue directly.   In Act II,Scene III, Laertes warns Ophelia that although Hamlet’s confessions of love maybe sincere, the fact that he has kingly responsibilities jeopardizes theirchances of having a serious relationship. He then specifically instructs hernot to “open” her “chaste treasure” to the guy, and since warnings are usually,you know, preemptory, we get the impression that she hasn’t done the deed justyet; after all, if Laertes has no qualms about confronting his kid sisterregarding her sex life – in the 1600’s – there’s a good chance he wouldn’texactly hold back if he thought something was actually going on.   Then again,they fact that he broaches the topic in the first place suggests that herrelationship is catching people’s attention. Even her dim-witted father,Polonius, describes her “audience” with the prince as being “free andbounteous,” which is never how you want your dad to describe you with regard toyour boyfriend.   Tocomplicate things, Ophelia comes back at Laertes with a warning not to preachwhat he doesn’t practice “as some ungracious pastors do.” Perhaps she takesthis little jab simply so that he can share in her extreme discomfort, but ifthe name of the game really is polite insinuation, her response stronglysuggests that Laertes is just as guilty as she is (and his immediately changingthe subject would seem to support the theory). If this is the case, theirskirting around the sex issue makes sense, since neither one has the moral leveragenecessary to outright accuse the other.   Interestingly,the audience doesn’t get to see Hamlet and Ophelia interact directly until ActIII, Scene I – and by then, Hamlet’s putting so much energy into beingoffensive, antagonizing, and self-contradictory that it’s impossible to takeanything he rants about at face value. That being said, he does speak honestlyin his monologues as asides. For example, at the end of his “To be or not tobe” soliloquy, Hamlet notices Ophelia entering the room and remarks to himself,“Nymph, in thy orisons / Be all my sins remembered.” Two things:   1) Why doeshe call her a nymph? Because nymphs are beautiful, or because they run aroundnaked and form the root of the word “nymphomania”? 2) What are these “sins” hementions – and why is Ophelia privy to them? Since an orison is a prayer andprayer can indicate both piety and guilt, he’s either calling her saintly (andhoping that she prays for him) or suggesting she’s got some serious forgivin’to ask for. Unfortunately, this double meaning is typical of Hamlet quotes and brings usright back to our original “nunnery” dilemma.   Next comesOphelia and Hamlet’s first (onstage) conversation. Ophelia gives back his lovenotes as per her family’s instructions, but rather than simply tell him she’sno longer interested or that it isn’t a good idea, she says, “Rich gifts waxpoor when givers prove unkind.” So far, Hamlet’s done nothing unkind to herthat we know of (just give it a scene or two), and since breaking up withHamlet is Polonius’s idea, it doesn’t make sense for Ophelia to embellish withaccusations like “you’re a jerk” just because she’s caught up in the theater ofit all.   Therefore,since she adds the statement of what is apparently her own accord – and sinceHamlet’s response isn’t even close to “Excuse me??” – the implication is thatHamlet has betrayed her in some secret way that 1) both of them acknowledge, 2)neither one talks about, and 3) William Shakespeare doesn’texplicitly write into the play. Not only is this an important moment for theseduction theorists, but it also hints tantalizingly at a storyworld thatexists outside Hamlet asa play.   After herdad forces her to break up with her boyfriend – who then accidentally murdershim, Ophelia finally discovers an outlet for her considerable agitation: goingnuts and sing-songing whatever pops into her head. This includes things like,“They say the owl was the baker’s daughter” and “la.” However, it also includesthings about primarily a) her dad’s death, and b) unfaithful scumbags.   Sheannounces that “Young men will do’t if they come to’t, / By cock, they are toblame” and then launches into a conversation between a fallen woman and herlover. The woman begins: “before you tumbled me, / You promised me to wed”(translation: before we had sex, you said we’d tie the knot!), to which her loverresponds, “so would I ha’ done, by yonder sun, / An thou hadst not come to bed”(translation: I would have too, if you hadn’t been so trampy). The songscontinue much in the same vein until Ophelia’s death. While it’s impossible toknow how much combined sense there is in her ramblings, everything she saysabout her father’s death seems quite lucid, making us more inclined to believethat her jilted lover songs are actually based in fact.   AfterOphelia drowns, the queen has the final word on her virtue by comparing Opheliato a “mermaid,” the ultimate symbol of female unattainability. (Think about itfor a second…) Whether this is Queen Gertrude’s final defense of Ophelia’schastity or a flowery attempt to sugarcoat her death (much like, say, claimingthat Ophelia fell into the streamaccidentally) remains open to debate.

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