Ophelia complex

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Ophelia complex is the term used by Gaston Bachelard to refer to the links between femininity, liquids, and drowning which he saw as symbolised in the fate of Shakespeare's Ophelia. [1]

Gaston Bachelard French writer and philosopher

Gaston Bachelard was a French philosopher. He made contributions in the fields of poetics and the philosophy of science. To the latter he introduced the concepts of epistemological obstacle and epistemological break. He influenced many subsequent French philosophers, among them Michel Foucault, Louis Althusser, Dominique Lecourt and Jacques Derrida, as well as the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu.

Ophelia character in Hamlet

Ophelia is a character in William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.

Contents

Main theme

Bachelard traced in Romanticism a nexus of ideas linking the dissolution of the self [2] - male or female - with immersion in the feminine element of water, as symbolised by Ophelia's drowning. [3]

Romanticism period of artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that started in 18th century Europe

Romanticism was an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850. Romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. It was partly a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment, and the scientific rationalization of nature—all components of modernity. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography, education, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. It had a significant and complex effect on politics, with romantic thinkers influencing liberalism, radicalism, conservatism and nationalism.

Literary offshoots

Federico Lorca explored the image of water and a despairing sexuality, epitomised in the Ophelia complex, throughout his writings. [4]

Exteriorised adolescence

A later, and unconnected use of the terms Ophelia complex/Ophelia syndrome was introduced by Mary Pipher in her Reviving Ophelia of 1994. There she argued for a view of Shakespeare's character as lacking inner direction, and externally defined by men (father/ brother); [5] and suggested that similar external pressures were currently faced by post-pubescent girls. [6] The danger of the Ophelia syndrome was that of abandoning a rooted childhood self, for an apparently more sophisticated but over-externalised facade self. [7]

Mary Elizabeth Pipher, also known as Mary Bray Pipher, is an American clinical psychologist and author, most recently of Women Rowing North, a book on aging gracefully. Prior to that, she wrote The Green Boat, which was published by Riverhead Books in June 2013. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969 and a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1977. She was a Rockefeller Scholar in Residence at Bellagio in 2001. She received two American Psychological Association Presidential Citations. She returned the one she received in 2006 as a protest against the APA's acknowledgment that some of its members participate in controversial interrogation techniques at Guantánamo Bay and at US "black sites". Pipher participates actively in Nebraska state legislature and voices her opinion through letters to the editor of the Lincoln Journal Star. She has also written an essay to the New York Times about the difficulty of Nebraska's mixed political views and need for more progressive politicians. She strongly opposes the Keystone XL Pipeline and supported the Nebraska Legislative Bill 802, the purpose of which was to create a state task force to combat climate change, calling it "an opportunity to educate and work through problems relating to climate change."

<i>Reviving Ophelia</i> book by Mary Pipher

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls is a 1994 book written by Dr. Mary Pipher. This book takes a look at the effects of societal pressures on American adolescent girls, and utilizes many case studies from the author's experience as a therapist. The book has been described as a "call to arms" and highlights the increased levels of sexism and violence that affect young females. Pipher asserts that whilst the feminist movement has aided adult women to become empowered, teenagers have been neglected and require intensive support due to their undeveloped maturity.

True self and false self are psychological concepts often used in connection with narcissism.

See also

The term abjection literally means "the state of being cast off". The term has been explored in post-structuralism as that which inherently disturbs conventional identity and cultural concepts. Among the most popular interpretations of abjection is Julia Kristeva's. Kristeva describes subjective horror (abjection) as the feeling when an individual experiences, or is confronted by, what Kristeva terms one's "corporeal reality", or a breakdown in the distinction between what is self and what is Other.

Bruges-la-Morte is a short novel by the Belgian author Georges Rodenbach, first published in 1892. The novel is notable for two reasons, it was the archetypal Symbolist novel, and was the first work of fiction illustrated with photographs.

A complex is a core pattern of emotions, memories, perceptions, and wishes in the personal unconscious organized around a common theme, such as power or status. Primarily a psychoanalytic term, it is found extensively in the works of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.

Related Research Articles

<i>Hamlet</i> tragedy by William Shakespeare

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother.

<i>Hamlet</i> (1996 film) 1996 film by Kenneth Branagh

Hamlet is a 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as Prince Hamlet. The film also features Derek Jacobi as King Claudius, Julie Christie as Queen Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, Michael Maloney as Laertes, Richard Briers as Polonius, and Nicholas Farrell as Horatio. Other cast members include Robin Williams, Gérard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Rufus Sewell, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Judi Dench, John Gielgud and Ken Dodd.

<i>Hamlet</i> (2000 film) 2000 film by Michael Almereyda

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Polonius character in Hamlet

Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is chief counsellor of the king, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Generally regarded as wrong in every judgment he makes over the course of the play, Polonius is described by William Hazlitt as a "sincere" father, but also "a busy-body, [who] is accordingly officious, garrulous, and impertinent". In Act II Hamlet refers to Polonius as a "tedious old fool" and taunts him as a latter day "Jeptha".

Laertes (<i>Hamlet</i>) character in Hamlet

Laertes is a character in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Laertes is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia. In the final scene, he kills Hamlet with a poisoned sword to avenge the deaths of his father and sister, for which he blamed Hamlet. While dying of the same poison, he implicates King Claudius.

Peter Brook English theatre and film director and innovator

Peter Stephen Paul Brook, CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director who has been based in France since the early 1970s. He has won multiple Tony and Emmy Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, the Praemium Imperiale, and the Prix Italia. He has been called "our greatest living theatre director".

Drowning Respiratory impairment resulting from being in or under a liquid

Drowning is defined as respiratory impairment as a result of being in or under a liquid. Drowning typically occurs silently, with only a few people able to wave their hands or call for help. Symptoms following rescue may include breathing problems, vomiting, confusion, or unconsciousness. Occasionally symptoms may not appear until up to six hours afterwards. Drowning may be complicated by low body temperature, aspiration of vomit, or acute respiratory distress syndrome.

"To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy uttered by Prince Hamlet in the so-called "nunnery scene" of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1.

<i>Ophelia</i> (painting) painting by John Everett Millais

Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed in 1851 and 1852 and in the collection of Tate Britain in London. It depicts Ophelia, a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark.

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"The Producer" is the fourth episode of the third season of Gilligan's Island, in which the castaways stage a musical version of Hamlet. It first aired in on October 3, 1966.

Cultural references to <i>Hamlet</i>

Numerous cultural references to Hamlet reflect the continued influence of this play. Hamlet is one of the most popular of Shakespeare's plays, topping the list at the Royal Shakespeare since 1879.

References to Ophelia

Ophelia is often referred to in literature and the arts, often in connection to suicide, love, and/or mental instability.

Critical approaches to <i>Hamlet</i> critical approaches to Hamlet

From its premiere at the turn of the 17th century, Hamlet has remained Shakespeare's best-known, most-imitated, and most-analyzed play. The character of Hamlet played a critical role in Sigmund Freud's explanation of the Oedipus complex and thus influenced modern psychology. Even within the narrower field of literature, the play's influence has been strong. As Foakes writes, "No other character's name in Shakespeare's plays, and few in literature, have come to embody an attitude to life ... and been converted into a noun in this way."

Over fifty films of William Shakespeare's Hamlet have been made since 1900. Seven post-war Hamlet films have had a theatrical release: Laurence Olivier's Hamlet of 1948; Grigori Kozintsev's 1964 Russian adaptation; a film of the John Gielgud-directed 1964 Broadway production, Richard Burton's Hamlet, which played limited engagements that same year; Tony Richardson's 1969 version featuring Nicol Williamson as Hamlet and Anthony Hopkins as Claudius; Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 version starring Mel Gibson; Kenneth Branagh's full-text 1996 version; and Michael Almereyda's 2000 modernisation, starring Ethan Hawke.

Mari Asato is a Japanese film director born in Okinawa on 14 March 1976. Primarily known for the film Ju-On: Black Ghost (2009) as part of The Grudge film instalments. Other films include the politically undertoned Samurai Chicks (2004), the cinematic rendition Boy From Hell (2004), Twilight Syndrome: Dead Go Round (2008), Ring of Curse (2011), Bilocation (2012), and Fatal Frame (2014).

Medusa complex is a psychological complex revolving around the petrification or freezing of human emotion, and drawing on the classical myth of the Medusa.

References

  1. ↑ A. Thompson ed., Hamlet (Arden 2016) p. 26-7
  2. ↑ G. Wisker, Rites of Passage in Postcolonial Women's Writing (2010) p. 241
  3. ↑ P. Brooker, A Practical Reader in Contemporary Literary Theory (2010) p. 34
  4. ↑ The Weeping Brook
  5. ↑ D. Lester, Katie's Diary (2004) p. 93-5
  6. ↑ K. Douglas, Life Narratives and Youth Culture (2007) p. 160
  7. ↑ D. Lester, Katie's Diary (2004) p. 95

Further reading

G. Bachelard, L'Eau et les reves (Paris 1942)

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