The deaths of Gertrude and Ophelia in HamletThe queen gives a remarkably detailed account of Ophelia's death, suggesting that she may have witnessed the event. We know that she focused so much on Ophelia's suffering that she perhaps realized that the kindest step to take would be to let Ophelia decide her own fate, even though she was clearly not in a state of mind to do it and was barely aware of it. of those around him “incapable of his own distress”. Ophelia's death is “embellished” since she dies in a romantic and beautiful scene that suits her character where she was surrounded by her garland of flowers. (Ophelia herself was "embellished" in a letter from Hamlet which Polonius found "a vile phrase.") There are many details that lead me to believe that Gertrude is trying to soften the blow to Laertes, who is already enraged by the death of his father. the death and madness of his sister; the king said: “How much I had to do to calm his rage. » This is a typically selfish reaction from Claudius which serves to emphasize the need for Laertes to control his grief, as he is an extremely fiery character. Ophélie died after picking flowers above a stream. I think she was collecting them to distribute in court, as she did after her father died. Flowers are a symbol of innocence, pure and easily destroyed. The tree she crawled along while collecting these garlands was a willow, usually associated with crying and sorrow, something we attributed to Ophelia's "watery" (perhaps with tears) character. The branches of a willow hang toward the ground, lowered, indicating sorrow. The personification even extends to his clothes which were “too laden with the heir’s drink”. middle of paper ......h his actions do not reflect this thought now, he had already written her a note saying: “But that I love you most, oh the best, believe it. “Beyond the ambiguity surrounding her death and her love for Hamlet, Ophelia is described by everyone as an innocent child, grappling with situations for which her youth was not prepared. Even though she had consummated her love for Hamlet, I can still imagine Ophelia as a vulnerable and innocent child who must face situations beyond her control in a world where the role of women is passive. It is this impotence that Gertrude wants to deal with because she "hoped that you should have been my Hamlet's wife" and her madness that Gertrude wants to save her form by allowing Ophelia to make the decision about life or death. dead. . Hamlet. 1600? Ed. Sylvain Barnett. New York: Classic Bookmark, 1998