Hamlet and his mother have both been deceived as to the actual cause of the king’s death. The Danger of Deception and Manipulationĭeception and manipulation run rampant in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, beginning with the murder of the late king by his brother. In his play, Shakespeare radically redefined mental illness for both men and women through his portrayal of both Hamlet and Ophelia. In her essay, “Shakespeare’s Madwomen: How Elizabethan Theatre Challenged the Perception of Mental Afflictions,” Hannah Dhue explains that Shakespeare “ endeavors to prove that madness in women can be a perfectly legitimate, logically explained affliction that is not specific to gender” (2). For example, a woman who disobeyed her husband was quickly labeled as mad and sometimes even sent away for harsh and ineffective “treatment.” Shakespeare treads carefully by first introducing Hamlet’s “madness” as an act, but as the play progresses, the reader can clearly see the reality of his affliction. Additionally, mental illness in women was typically misdiagnosed and mistreated. It is unusual that Shakespeare would include both male and female characters in his depiction of mental illness, especially since women were perceived as primarily prone to this type of illness. Ophelia’s mental illness, likely depression, is clearly visible to all in her unkempt hair and inability to hold meaningful conversation.

On the other hand, Ophelia is traumatized by two separate events first, Hamlet’s rejection of her love, and secondly, the murder of her father by Hamlet’s careless hand. Even though Hamlet feigns “madness” to manipulate those around him, the reality of his mental illness becomes clearly apparent, especially as the tragedy progresses. Because he is under emotional distress, Hamlet reacts to his uncle’s words drastically but still in private, seeing life as pointless and wishing for death (Shakespeare 15). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.”īoth Hamlet and Ophelia suffer from some form of mental illness, and their conditions are only exacerbated by the trauma that they experience before and during the play.Īt the start of the play, Hamlet is crippled by the trauma of suddenly losing his father, and instead of comforting him, his uncle rebukes him and calls his grief “unmanly” (Shakespeare 14). The American Psychiatry Association defines mental illnesses as “ health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these). Check out our in-depth analysis of all things Hamlet! The Complexity of Mental Illness

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