Hamlet: Branaghs Ophelia and Showalters Representing Ophelia Essay

Hamlet Branaghs Ophelia and Showalters Representing Ophelia Ophelia falls to the floor, her screams tell apart eerily with the song pieces she uses as her speech. In an instant she is writhing and thrusting her pelvis in such a gross sexual appearance that it becomes clear that, in his film interpretation of William Shakespeares Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh wants to imply a smashed relationship betwixt female frenzy and female sexuality. Such a relationship is exactly what Elaine Showalter discusses in her essay -- Representing Ophelia Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism -- I will be showing first of all the representational bonds between female insanity and female sexuality (Showalter 223). Tracing various representations of Ophelia end-to-end history, Showalter attempts to tell Ophelias story by examining the way in which the culture of a society, their views of women, and psychiatric theory relates to the representation of Ophelia at that time. With the amount of attention Branagh affords the bureau of Ophelia in his film, and because Branaghs Ophelia represents many of Showalters ideas about Ophelias drowning death, the bond between sexuality and insanity, and the conventions of womanhood, Branaghs Ophelia stack supplement Showalters essay -- her trace of the history of representation of Ophelia -- serving as a Post-modern example of the representation of Ophelia. In his representation of Ophelia, the relationship that Branagh attempts to relieve oneself between female insanity and female sexuality is a unafraid and obvious one. Through costume, cinematography, blocking, and various other aspects, Branagh makes clear his interpretation that Ophelias insanity is t... ...helia. Not only does Branagh use the conventions of femininity that Showalter describes but he likewise relies heavily upon ideas similar to Showalters, that everything about Ophelia is symbolic, to convey his Ophelia as representative of femininity a nd to express the inverse correlation that such femininity has with Ophelias sexuality and her insanity. whole works Cited Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Julie Christie, Billy Crystal, Kate Winslett. Castle Rock Entertainment, 1996. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. capital of Massachusetts St. Martins, 1994. Showalter, Elaine. Representing Ophelia Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism. William Shakespeare Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Boston St. Martins, 1994. 220-238.