Hamlet's actions in front of Ophelia

[minjaeyang]

In the book, Hamlet acts crazy in front of everyone. This includes his closes people including his lover, Ophelia.
Why do you think Hamlet had to act crazy in front of her? Don't you think Hamlet could have trusted the person he loves to support him?

I think Hamlet was shocked by the fact that his uncle killed his father and that his mother remarried his uncle, who was probably the killer of his dad. This led him to trust nobody except for himself.

[sujeonggg]

I think because Ophelia hasn't really showed her heart to Hamlet and she suddenly avoided him, Hamlet couldn't even trust Ophelia. And they weren't even in serious relationship to share concerns. If I were Hamlet, I wouldn't share my secret concerns with Ophelia, who doesn't seem to love me. So he might've not wanted to tell Ophelia.

[juliekim]

I don't think he could've trusted Ophelia because Ophelia's too loyal to her father Polonius. She would have told him everything he said to her (which she actually did) and that would have been very dangerous for Hamlet. I think it was wise of him to not tell anyone about his plans unless he absolutely trusted that person to keep it to himself. I also think that Hamlet didn't tell Ophelia to protect her. A lot of times it's better to not know than know, and Hamlet didn't want Ophelia to be involved in his plans for revenge because she had nothing to do with it.

[sang]

Well, as we learn throughout the story, we find out that Hamletdevelops this hatred against women in general because of his mother's actions. I think that influenced his decision to act insane towards his lover. Also, not only a hatred for women, but he develops a hatred and sort of a hard-on for all humanity in general later on, as he believes that he is filled with sin and temptation. He tells Ophelia to "get thee to a nunnery" which ultimately means to not have kids. He says this because he doesn't want her to have more sinful children when she is already full of sin herself. Hence, it's no wonder he acted crazy in front of her.

[cathysjun]

I think he was unable to trust anyone anymore because he felt betrayed from the people he trusted the most: his mother and his uncle. So I think he lost faith in humanity all together.

[ginayang]

I think Hamlet had to act crazy in front of her because he couldn't trust her. Ophelia tells everything that happened between her and Hamlet to her father. So she is more loyal to her father than Hamlet. The only person Hamlet trusts is Horatio because everyone else is corrupt. And even if Hamlet truly loved Ophelia, she never expressed her feelings for him. Thus, it is her actions that caused this distrust.

[RegXD]

I think its because hamlet doesn't want Ophelia to know that he is going to kill his uncle. Because if you let your love one know that you are going to kill someone they wouldn't even allow him hamlet to do it so i think Hamlet didn't tell Ophelia that he is going to kill claudius for his dad.

[michellelee]

I think Hamlet did not tell Ophelia the reason of his insanity because he did not trust her either. He would have known by that time that Ophelia relies on her father too much and does everything that he tells her to do. So, it is obvious that she would probably go tell on Polonius what everything Hamlet will tell her.

[hannahs]

I don't think Hamlet trusted Ophelia enough to tell her of his plans. Also, he might have thought that it would be easier for her to not know. If she knew, she'd had to act along and act like she didn't know that Hamlet was actually sane and it might have been hard for her to lie and act like that.

[jessicashim2013]

He couldn't trust anyone, including his lover. His uncle killed his father and married his mother. He probably knew that Ophelia was too close to her father and she is not someone to rely on. Ohpelia's character does not seem to be evil or anything like that but she's kind of immature who still needs her parent's protection. In addition, Ophelia did not trust Hamlet either so Hamlet couldn't trust her too.

[seongrae]

I don’t think Hamlet had to act crazy in front of Ophelia. He wanted to act like crazy to check whether Ophelia is really true in love with Hamlet. If Ophelia try to overcome the adversities, than Ophelia might truly love Hamlet. Moreover, Hamlet could have trusted Ophelia before, but after Polonius told Ophelia to stop meet Hamlet, Hamlet might be afraid and stopped trusting Ophelia. Therefore, being crazy in front of Ophelia might be one of his plan to check the trusts between them.

[yerin0727]

I guess the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia wasnt as strong or deep as we thought to it to be. If Hamlet had fully trusted Ophelia to be with him., then he may have wanted to be with her, when going through his own hardships. However, acting crazy even in front of Ophelia shows his low trust in her after all.

[julielu]

hello

[jessicak016]

Throughout the play, Hamlet has regarded women in general as fragile and easily corruptable. And he did not make an exception of Ophelia even though she was his lover. That might be the reason why he also acted crazy in front of her. In addition, Ophelia was Polonius' daughter and in order to fool Polonius, he used Ophelia to do that.

[sageda]

I think he noticed her ignoring him and he might have suspected that her that had something to do with it. He probably figured that if her dad can sway her mind, then her love for him isn't that strong and therefore he can't really trust her. Plus, at that point I don't even think he cared about her. It was only until she went mad that he snapped back to reality and realized what he lost.