Tra negazione e follia: alla ricera di Ofelia

Abstract

The character of Ophelia was frequently considered a minor persona, not so interes ting for the whole strategy of the plot. This particular view was partially amended in the 19th century, owing to the fascinating aesthetic interpretation of her death, testified by the number of paintings devoted to her individual drama. Largely mysterious are the motivations and the explanations of her madness: notwithstanding a large amount of essays, Ophelia’s madness is still a topic worth of investigation, if we adopt a “gendered” view, attempting to deconstruct the dangerous mix of patriarchy with the cultural legacy based on the negative women’s identity widespread during the Renaissance. Ophe-lia’s madness is here analyzed using the tools of gender studies, in order to understand the multiple constraints put in place by her father, her brother, and by Hamlet himself. The clash between Ophe-lia’s desires, focused on marriage and love, and the collapse of her future destiny, caused by her fa-ther’s death and Hamlet’s insanity, cancels the plans for her life and makes it useless. Therefore, the unique escape is death.