Hamlet: Branagh's Ophelia and Showalter's performance of OpheliaOphelia falls to the ground, her screams contrasting strangely with the pieces of song she uses as speech. In one moment, she twists and thrusts her pelvis in such a crude manner that it becomes clear that, in his cinematic interpretation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh wants to imply a strong relationship between female madness and female sexuality. Such a relationship is exactly what Elaine Showalter talks about in her essay -- "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism" -- "I will first show the representational links between feminine madness and female sexuality” ( Showalter 223). "Tracing" various representations of Ophelia throughout history, Showalter attempts to tell Ophelia's story by examining how a society's culture, its views on women, and psychiatric theory relate to the representation of Ophelia at that time. With all the attention Branagh gives to the role of Ophelia in his film, and because Branagh's Ophelia represents many of Showalter's ideas about Ophelia's drowning death, the connection between sexuality and madness, and the conventions of femininity, Branagh's Ophelia can complement Showalter's essay: her "trace" of the history of Ophelia representation – serving as a post-modern example of Ophelia representation. In his depiction of Ophelia, the relationship Branagh attempts to establish between female madness and female sexuality is a strong and obvious one. A. Through costumes, cinematography, blocking, and various other aspects, Branagh clearly expresses his interpretation that Ophelia's madness is...... middle of paper......helia. Not only does Branagh use the conventions of femininity described by Showalter, but he also relies heavily on ideas similar to Showalter's, that everything about Ophelia is symbolic, to present his Ophelia as representative of femininity and to express the inverse correlation that such femininity has with the image of Ophelia. sexuality and its madness. Works CitedHamlet. Real. 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. Boston: St. Martin's, 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: Saint Martin, 1994. 220-238.