Ophelia Eulogy

Life is full of puzzling, unexpected twists and turns. We can live through the same routine each day and then out of nowhere that routine is suddenly gone. It is something we all experience, something we are very close to, yet it still remains a mystery to us. In this tumbling chaos we call life we come across different people. Some people who seem nothing more than a part of the scenery and others who change the way you see things. But we rarely think of the way our lives will change if one of these people is ripped out of the picture with no forewarning. Sadly our dear Ophelia was ripped out in this way.

To some Ophelia was just a girl, others saw her as possible wife of Hamlet, a daughter and a sister. However you saw her when she lived I have no doubt that you see her through different eyes now. Death tends to do that, to change the way we perceive a person’s life. But whether you see her now as a heroine or a coward, I hope you will put that aside to remember her as she was, a woman.

In her life it would seem that her life was not her own. Her decision to leave Hamlet was not a decision made from love or lack thereof, but a decision made from obedience. She always remained obedient and respectful of her father and brother, even when their requests were intrusive and hypocritical. Her life was completely in the control of the men in her life and she tried to play her role even if it meant she had to sacrifice her own heart, feelings, and sanity. She was just a girl with a kind heart born in a dark cruel world.

Even before she was completely dead, Ophelia had left our world for a hopefully more beautiful, easy fantasy. After Hamlet murdered her father, Ophelia was driven into madness. But I saw her no less beautiful because of her tragic escape from rational thought. All she ever wanted was to be loved, and so she found a place in her mind where she is wanted and where it is filled with flowers and beauty. Though some may paint the memory black because of the event that followed it, my fondest memory of Ophelia is of her picking flowers and singing joyfully before she sank into the river. I think she was finally at peace, able to rid herself of thoughts of her father’s death or hamlet no longer coming to her and fully escape into her beautiful fantasy.

Ophelia only wanted to gain love and respect, things that should we granted but rarely are to people such as her. She was not a hero nor a villain, she was Ophelia, a woman who wished for the things we all wish for. And her unfortunate demise is one of those great twists and turns of life.