Reading Ophelia's Madness

Gabrielle Dane
Copyright Pegasus Press 1998. May be read or copied without prior permission for any noncommercial use. Quotation and citation permitted with attribution. Her speech is nothing, Yet the unshaped use of it doth move The hearers to collection. Hamlet 4.5. !9 The final difficulty of reading madness [...] is that in the act of doing so, one dissociates oneself from it or associates oneself with it, and in either case becomes disqualified as an interpreter. To read madness sanely is to miss the point; to read madness madly is to have one s point be missed. Carol "homas #eely1 $ow can % read &phelia's madness( $ow might % read )both as mad and as not mad,)2 as neither associated with nor dissociated from &phelia's cryptic ramblings( $ow might % assume Carol "homas #eely's challenge to )*tell' &phelia's *story)'3 without simply forcing her )unshaped) nonsense into a )collected) sense+ dissociating myself by deciding on a logical e,en polemical reading( Con,ersely+ how can % proceed without simply glorifying &phelia's demented ra,ings+ associating myself by choosing to celebrate her painful fragmentation( Perhaps % set myself an insane tas-( %n such an .arguably/ appropriate spirit+ %'ll proceed.... 0rom the first+ &phelia's psychic identity appears e1ternally defined+ socially constructed. 2lthough e,ery human psyche might be said+ from a psychoanalytic perspecti,e+ to be constructed largely as a result of social interactions+ &phelia's uni3ue de,elopment has gi,en her an especially permeable psyche. Motherless and completely circumscribed by the men around her+ &phelia has been shaped to conform to e1ternal demands+ to reflect others' desires. $er name deri,ing from the 4ree- word for )help) or )greatest possible succor+)4 she appears condemned to martyrdom on the altar of male fantasies and priorities. "he young woman 5ac3ues 6acan calls )that piece of bait named &phelia)5 is used+ abused+ confused!!utterly manipulated by the men in her life7 father+ lo,er+ brother+ -ing. 8coffed at+ ignored+ suspected+ disbelie,ed+ commanded to distrust her own feelings+ thoughts and desires+ &phelia is fragmented by contradictory messages. 9ith her only mother figure+ 4ertrude+ shown reluctant to offer empathy in the moment of her most dire need+6 &phelia has clearly been bereft of maternal fostering+ e1iled on a barren island of male circumscription. 8eeming to absorb the general absence of belief in her own intelligence+ ,irtue and autonomy+ &phelia is left with an identity osmotically open to e1ternal suggestion: that is+ she appears to lac- clear psychic boundaries.7 ;oth brother and father smother &phelia in an incestuous stranglehold+ each the self!

appointed tutor of her moral+ intellectual+ e,en psychological de,elopment. "o 6aertes+ &phelia figures as a chaste goddess whom he can place on a pedestal high abo,e the 0rench )drabs) whom his father assumes he is wont to fre3uent. 9hile .he belie,es/ he has her safely secreted from the clutches of .other/ men+ 6aertes attempts to teach his sister to dread male ad,ances. )0ear it+ &phelia+ fear it+ my dear sister) .1.<.<</+ 6aertes repeats again and again!!)it) being $amlet's desire+ lying in wait to plunder the )chaste treasure) .1.<.<1/ which 6aertes seems so eager to -eep the -ey of. 9ith his )minist'ring angel) .5.1.=<4/ ensconced in >lsinore .maidenhead safely intact/+ denying herself upon his re3uest e,en the natural physical cra,ing for sleep so that she may write to him .1.<.<! 4/+ 6aertes can return with unburdened mind to 0rance+ to what Polonius insists is his life of )wanton+ wild+ and usual slips) such as )drin-ing+ fencing+ swearing+ ? Quarrelling @and+ of courseA drabbing) .=.1.==!=B/. Cntil the last+ 6aertes sees &phelia only as his 4alatea+ his )rose of May) .4.5.15 /+ an aesthetic obDect to whose specific personal torment he can remain blind. >,en as the tortured &phelia mouths obscene remar-s in her madness+ her brother notes myopically+ )"hought and affliction+ passion+ hell itself ? 8he turns to fa,our and to prettiness) .4.5.185!8B/. 9hereas &phelia is angel to 6aertes+ she is asset to Polonius+ a commodity to be disposed of+ ideally at the greatest profit to himself. Eelegating her to a perpetual childhood+ Polonius educates his )green girl) .1.<.1F1/ to be an obedient automaton willing to ac3uiesce to his e,ery command. 9arning her that should she act for herself she will )tender @himA a fool) .that is+ in a sense+ a cuc-old: 1.<.1F9/+ Polonius forbids &phelia autonomy of desire+ choice+ action+ e,en thought. )Gou do not understand yourself so clearly ? 2s it beho,es my daughter and your honour. @;utA % will teach you+) the pedant informs his adult pupil+ )"hin- yourself a baby) .1.<.9B!9 + 1F5/. "he father's infantiliHing lessons+ while detrimental to &phelia+ pro,e beneficial for himself. $a,ing denied her free access to $amlet for )many a day) .<.1.91/+ Polonius then eagerly deli,ers his dutiful daughter up to the Prince+ in his publicly ac-nowledged )turbulent and dangerous lunacy) .<.1.4/+ in order to pro,e his loyalty to Claudius+ and perhaps to ele,ate his social status ,ia a royal union. 2fter &phelia has been ,erbally and ,ery li-ely physically assaulted by $amlet in the course of Polonius's little lo,e test+ the Iing and his councillor debate the Prince's mental state for se,enteen lines before her father remembers to notice her. 9hen+ at the scene's close+ the two )lawful espials) .<.1.<=/ sweep from the room+ no line e1ists to suggest that either mo,es to comfort or to help &phelia from the site: the lure has ser,ed her purpose+ pro,en a disappointment+ and now the statesmen must ha,e lea,e to consider important matters+ such as the Prince's future residence. 6ater+ e,en after ha,ing o,erheard and witnessed the results of $amlet's abuse of his daughter+ Polonius still seems an1ious to employ the malleable &phelia to effect a royal liaison+ insisting before the performance of The !ousetrap that Claudius mar$amlet's dubious attentions toward her as ma-ing manifest the Prince's passion .<.=.1F9/. Ctterly unconcerned with &phelia's needs+ Polonius manipulates both her mind and her body to gratify his lo,e of power. "hrough 6aertes's careful )lessons) .1.<.45/ and Polonius's harsh tutorials+ both brother and father retard &phelia's psychic growth+ stifling her personal de,elopment to satisfy their own needs. 8imilarly+ &phelia's lo,er blithely disregards her psychological needs in fa,or of his own. 9ithin $amlet's imaginati,e uni,erse+ for a woman to be )honest) means that she be both chaste and loyal. 6ac-ing autonomous desire+ $amlet's honest woman would

ser,e as an inert mirror+ distorted Dust enough to reflect bac- his royal image slightly enlarged. 4ertrude has pro,en herself dishonest by e1ercising her autonomy+ which $amlet e1periences as the terrifying release of indiscriminate female desire+ or of )the se1ualiHed maternal body.)8 >ntering &phelia's chamber+ perusing her face+ then hea,ing a regal sigh both )piteous and profound) .=.1.94/+ $amlet seems to deduce her guilt+ appears to align &phelia with the )fallen) 4ertrude. 9hen $amlet proDects his an1iety about his mother's )betrayal) onto &phelia+ the two women conflate into one two!faced .painted/ female in the Prince's distorted imaginings. "hus when &phelia does appear to engage in autonomous action .as 4ertrude had/+ denying $amlet a lo,er's access and returning his ardent remembrances+ he becomes ,iolently abusi,e toward her. %ronically+ of course+ &phelia beha,es not autonomously at all but obediently. "hrough her filial subser,ience+ &phelia pro,es herself the ,ery essence of the honest woman+ from a patriarchal .that is+ $amlet's own/ perspecti,e!!one who will dutifully obey first father+ then husband. Get+ regardless of &phelia's actual beha,ior+ anything she might do would seem to reinforce $amlet's doubt+9 his inability to belie,e in her intrinsic honesty. #ot a person to $amlet+ &phelia represents merely a spectre of his psychic fears. "his spectre of the dishonest woman figures+ in his neurotic proDections+ as a duplicitous whore .<.=.=41!4B/+ decaying both figurati,ely and literally .5.1.18B!89/+ completely fallen and utterly false .<.4.8=!85/+ a se1ually corrupt beast .<.4.91!94/+ essentially reduced to her womb which is a nest of corruption+ a dar- pit for breeding sinners .<.1.1=1!==/. "hus when $amlet casts &phelia in the role of dishonest woman+ he implicitly e3uates her with the female genitalia which in the parlance of >liHabethan >ngland e3ual nothing.10 %ndeed+ with her identity constructed always in reference to another+ &phelia is+ in essence+ nothing+ an empty cipher patiently waiting to be infused with whate,er meaning the particular mathematician should re3uire. 2s 6aertes's sister+ she represents a slice of female )perfection) .4. .=9/ whose chastity he can legislate and in whose memory he can pro,e his manhood. 2s Polonius's daughter+ she offers a perpetual )baby) he must continue to )teach) .1.<.1F5/+ a non!rational creature he can )loose) .=.=.1B=/ to the Prince in order to ingratiate himself with the new Iing. 2s Claudius's subDect+ she pro,ides a piece of bait employed to test )the ,ery cause of $amlet's lunacy) .=.=.49/+ a handy e1cuse behind which he might obscure his guilt. 2nd as $amlet's lo,er+ despite her se1ual loyalty+ she figures for the )frailty) .1.=.14B/ of female ,irtue+ to whose dead .that is+ inert/ flesh he can finally surrender and publicly ac-nowledge his passion .5.1.=B4!BB/ without ha,ing actually to manage an adult erotic relationship. 6ac-ing personal ego boundaries of her own+ &phelia seems compelled to absorb whate,er psychic identity is thrust upon her. Conflicting messages+ mostly negati,e+ whirl around in &phelia's mind+ each demanding primacy. 0rom $amlet+ within the space of se,eral minutes+ comes a diHHying array of mi1ed communications. )% did lo,e you once+) he confesses to &phelia+ before going on to contend+ )% lo,ed you not.) )9hy+ wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners() he as-s her a moment later. 8a,e yourself from denigration+ )go thy ways to a nunnery) by which he might mean either a con,ent or a house of prostitution.11 ;ut then fear not+ he concludes+ )"hou shalt not escape calumny.) %n the midst of these schiHophrenic mind games+ $amlet inserts a parado1 into the discourse which as-s that she doubt the ,eracity of all his words7 )@MenA are arrant -na,es all+ belie,e none of us) .<.1.115!<8/. 9ho and what should &phelia belie,e( Commands are fired at her7 )9al- hereJ) )Eead thisJ)

)"hin- thatJ) 6i-e a medie,al 2lice+ endlessly drawn down into the ,orte1 of a psychic rabbit hole+ she can only respond wea-ly+ )% do not -now+ my lord+ what % should thin-) .1.<.1F4/. Pro,iding )succor) for male an1ieties+ ser,ing as a screen onto which men might proDect their fantasies+12 a passi,e body on+ around+ and through which they might enact their dramas+ &phelia's discrete identity seems to disappear from the story. Male ,oices fill her head+ guiding her ,ery thoughts. 9hen the ,oices' directions become increasingly muddied+ she grows more and more confused+ more sundered from any sense of personal identity+ until she finally admits to $amlet+ )" thin- nothing+ my lord) .<.=.11B!emphasis added/. "hen suddenly!!with her brother in 0rance+ and her lo,er banished to >ngland for the murder of her father!!the ,oices stop. Confronted with such a thunderous silence+ &phelia becomes mad.13 Though this be madness, yet there is method in t. Hamlet =.=.=F5!B #$ matter and impertinency mi% d; &eason in madness. 'ing (ear 4.B.1 =! < Madness becomes &phelia's last resort+ her unconscious re,olt. %ndeed+ what else is left her to do( Constituted to accept male command+ how then+ without it+ can she act on her own behalf( $ow might she find the words to communicate her frustration and longing+ how to lodge her protest( "o do so+ she must e1plode outside of the categories designed to circumscribe her+ must Dourney beyond the boundaries of sanity+ to a place where she can first locate and then e1press her rage. 2ll of the men in her life would play upon her as though she were a pipe+ would seem to -now her stops+ would pluc- out the heart of her mystery+ would sound her from her lowest note to the top of her compass. &phelia has been a ,essel into which an identity has been poured. &ffering her an escape+ madness pro,ides her with the ability finally to spea- her anger and desire. 2ll men merge in her mad imaginings!!all the controlling ,oices of her life+ her conscience+ her psyche!!all the outside forces determined to manipulate her for their own ends. Madness releases &phelia from the enforced repressions of obedience+ chastity+ patience+ liberates her from the prescribed roles of daughter+ sister+ lo,er+ subDect. "he heretofore silenced &phelia now demands to be heard+ e1claiming+ )Pray you mar-J) whene,er the Queen of Kenmar- ,entures to interrupt her .4.5.=8!<5/. 8ince &phelia's )self) has been defined by the men who ha,e demarcated her world+ her flight into madness promises to enable her to disco,er her own identity. &phelia becomes+ as #eely claims+ a )mad prophet+)14 not dri,en to but freed for the uncanny insights of madness. "hrough this emancipation from the confines of reason+ EanDini Philip contends+ )&phelia mo,es to a greater+ though @stillA incomplete+ reconciliation of self.)15 "hroughout Hamlet, the category of )madness+) both real and feigned+ con,eys what )rational) .that is+ polite+ temperate+ non!treasonous/ discourse cannot: madness ignores temporal authority+ sabotages it. $a,ing found an irrational ,oice+ the mad &phelia now becomes the one who undermines authority+ spea-ing ambiguously+ through pun+ allusion+ riddle+ e,en ,eiled threat. $er entrance line+ for e1ample+ )9here is the beauteous MaDesty of Kenmar-() .4.5.=1/ while superficially seeming to mean+ )9here

is the Queen() might also mean+ )9here is my banished lo,er+ *the glass of fashion and the mould of form' .<.1.155/+ Prince $amlet() or+ )9here is the former .unrotten/ state of Kenmar-() or e,en+ )9here is the murdered Iing $amlet now() ;efore the onset of her madness+ &phelia learned of the throne's dirty secrets. Present at $amlet's entertainment+ she recei,ed a running .if elusi,e/ commentary from the play's co!author and producer+ who assumed the role of )chorus) .<.=.=4F/ for her .and most li-ely his )parents)'/ edification. The !ousetrap cast consisted of a 3ueen who lo,es falsely .9hy+ of courseJ the recently re!married 4ertrude/+ a murdered du-e .Could it be...( GesJ Iing $amletJ/+ and a usurper!murderer who seduces the widow of his ,ictim .9hy+ who else but Claudius(!!inheritor to the throne of+ and new husband to the wife of+ his suddenly deceased royal brother/. 9ith all not as it seems in Kenmar-+ &phelia's mad ramblings reflect the schism between appearance and reality+ between what )seems) ,ersus what )is.)16 2s Philip suggests+ )%n her madness @&pheliaA mimics the corruption of the state of Kenmar-+)17 pro,iding a discourse of multiple connotations+ in which what on the surface appears to be her meaning unra,els upon analysis to re,eal the duplicity underneath.18 "hrough her madness with )method in't+) &phelia spea-s sub,ersi,ely+ e1pressing )dangerous conDectures) .4.5.15/ and uttering specific allegations. &phelia's songs+ Peter 5. 8eng states+ )reflect+ if only dar-ly+ all the maDor issues of the play.)19 2ll o,erdetermined+ each )fragment of a popular ballad)20 contains numerous le,els of accusation and mourning+ protest and longing. &phelia begins the first song immediately upon being admitted into 4ertrude's presence7 $ow should % your true lo,e -now 0rom another one( ;y his coc-le hat and staff 2nd his sandal shoon. $e is dead and gone+ lady+ $e is dead and gone+ 2t his head a grass!green turf+ 2t his heels a stone. 9hite his shroud as the mountain snow+ 6arded with sweet flowers 9hich bewept to the gra,e did not go 9ith true!lo,e showers. 4.5.=<!4F 8uperficially+ this song+ with its predominant death and burial motif+ indicates &phelia's preoccupation with Polonius's death and o,er!hasty+ )hugger!mugger) .4.5.84/ interment. Get+ gi,en &phelia's clear obsession throughout the scene with both lamenting and berating her father's biHarrely inappropriate burial+ is it logical to assume that Polonius )bewept to the gra,e did not go)( Kespite the absence of stage directions+ it seems clear that &phelia's first song is addressed to 4ertrude .)$e is dead and gone+ lady)/+ who is alone with $oratio at the scene's onset. 9hile on the most ob,ious le,el+ &phelia's song does indeed challenge her father's indecent interment+ on another le,el+ her song implicitly indicts 4ertrude+ who has not distinguished her )true lo,e) from )another one+) who has not appropriately mourned her first husband )with true!lo,e showers+) before ta-ing a second. .2nd+ ironically+ this )second) enters at line <B Dust as &phelia sings

about the )first) who )bewept to the gra,e did not go.)/ "hen too+ on yet a third le,el+ &phelia refers to her banished lo,e+ $amlet. "he song's )coc-le hat and staff) and )sandal shoon) imagery suggests a pilgrim.21 2nd in a sense+ $amlet has been sent on a )pilgrimage) to >ngland in order to atone for his sins. 0urthermore+ as Eobert "racy notes+ )the *gra,e' is a common term for bed in >liHabethan literature+)22 Dust as )death) commonly denotes se1ual clima1. "hus+ by relating the story of a )true lo,e) on a pilgrimage which ostensibly ends in death+ &phelia un,eils her desire for the absent $amlet. &f course+ this song+ reflecting her yearning for an unnamed+ missing+ belo,ed pilgrim might also signify &phelia's .possibly incestuous/ longing for the absent 6aertes. )Keath+) in the song+ becomes a di,erse metaphor+ figuring the conflicted &phelia's trope for both the literal loss of father and -ing+ and the more figurati,e loss of lo,er as well as brother. Moreo,er+ )death) represents her yearning for the se1uality denied her by Polonius's and 6aertes's se1ual politics and $amlet's se1ual angst. "he second song+ a song of seduction and betrayal+ &phelia appears to address to Claudius+ who lately entered the scene and who responds throughout as if her attentions were directed his way7 "omorrow is 8aint Lalentine's day+ 2ll in the morning betime+ 2nd % a maid at your window+ "o be your Lalentine. "hen up he rose+ and donn'd his clo'es+ 2nd dupp'd the chamber door+ 6et in the maid that out a maid #e,er departed more. ;y 4is and by 8aint Charity+ 2lac- and fie for shame+ Goung men will do't if they come to't ! ;y Coc-+ they are to blame. Quoth she+ );efore you tumbled me+ Gou promis'd me to wed.) )8o would % a done+ by yonder sun+ 2nd thou hadst not come to my bed.) 4.5.48!BB Most manifestly+ &phelia sings about a young woman+ li-e herself+ used and then abandoned by her lo,er.23 "he bawdy+ rustic 3uality of the song might reflect how deeply she has internaliHed both $amlet's uncouth treatment of her as a whore .)6ady+ shall % lie in your lap(... % mean+ my head upon your lap.... Ko you thin- % meant c.o/unt! ry matters() <.=.11F!15+ altered/+ as well as the fears of lasci,ious male desire which were planted in her head by her father and brother .$amlet's ,ows are )mere implorators of unholy suits+ ? ;reathing li-e sanctified and pious bawds ? "he better to beguile+) 1.<.1=9!<1/. Get on another le,el+ &phelia brashly denounces the illicit seducer+ Claudius. Conflating the new Iing with $amlet+ she castigates both for employing decepti,e )music ,ows) .<.1.158/ to effect an unlawful seduction!!Claudius of his brother's wife+ $amlet of the unDustly reDected &phelia.

"wo of &phelia's ne1t three song fragments+ sung in the presence of Claudius+ 4ertrude+ and 6aertes+ appear to be a dirge7 "hey bore him bare!fac'd on the bier+ 2nd in his gra,e rain'd many a tear. 2fter an interruption+ during which she attempts to arrange a choral round and distributes flowers to the company+ she continues7 2nd will a not come again( 2nd will a not come again( #o+ no+ he is dead+ 4o to thy death!bed+ $e ne,er will come again. $is beard was as white as snow+ 2ll fla1en was his poll. $e is gone+ he is gone+ 2nd we cast away moan. 4od a mercy on his soul. 4.5.1B4!9B "hese two fragments+ ma-ing up &phelia's dirge+ appear manifestly to refer to Polonius+ a white!bearded+ fla1en!polled corpse. %ndeed+ her song of lamentation+ accompanied by her distribution of flowers+ suggest that &phelia is enacting a funeral!!but not simply in her father's honor. 8he allocates bitterly appropriate flowers to each party .for 6aertes+ rosemary and pansies signifying remembrance and thoughts24: for 4ertrude+ fennel and columbines representing marital infidelity: for Claudius+ rue and a daisy denoting repentance and a lo,e doomed to be unhappy/+25 as though she were staging an elaborate elegy in honor of the entire assembled company. 2s Cherrell 4uilfoyle suggests+ these )are funeral flowers+ handed to those who will shortly die!!the Iing+ the Queen+ 6aertes+ and herself.)26 Get curiously+ in the midst of &phelia's somber ritual+ during the interruption between her two melancholy fragments+ she had sung another line+ emphatically non!funereal in tone7 0or bonny sweet Eobin is all my Doy. 4.5.184 8ince+ as $arry Morris has shown+ )robin) was a collo3uial >liHabethan term for penis+27 &phelia's line is plainly a bit of se1ual innuendo. Moreo,er+ since this line apparently deri,es from a Eobin $ood ballad+ &phelia seems to be assuming the role of Maid Marian+ who )sometimes distributed flowers in the May 4ames+)28 and who )had become a by!word for promiscuity.) 29 0ollowing up her mutterings on her father's death .)"hey say a made a good end+) 4.5.18</ with this line from a ballad+ &phelia both unleashes her desire in despite .or perhaps because/ of 6aertes's presence+ as well as includes the figure of the absent $amlet+ the obDect of her desire .who had cast her in the Marian role of prostitute+ <.=.1F8!=4B/+ in her mass funeral ceremony. "hus+ she implicitly mourns her thwarted desire in the presence of the brother and in the memory of the father who outlawed and helped to circum,ent it+ and in the honor of the lo,er who so cruelly e1ploited and then per,erted it. %n her madness+ &phelia pro,ides a singular e1posM of society+ of the turbulent reality beneath its surface ,eneer of calm: she touches on the myriad discontents of .her/

ci,iliHation. "hrough her con,oluted discourse+ &phelia implicitly emphasiHes the ,acuity of banal pieties+ inappropriately muttering certain religious epithets and distorting others!!thus+ )4od yield you) becomes )good dild you+) );y 5esus) becomes );y 4is+) )for charity) becomes )8aint Charity+) and+ perhaps most interestingly+ );y 4od) becomes );y Coc-) .4.5.4=+ 58+ B1/. 9ith her )incoherent) speech+ &phelia re,eals the hypocrisies which lur- beneath the surface of the ostensibly placid family unit .the Iing and Queen's incestuous marriage+ 6aertes's and Polonius's incestuous urges to e1tinguish her subDecti,ity/. 8he condemns the falseness of se1ual lo,e .$amlet's heartless seduction and betrayal+ 4ertrude's light loyalty/. 8he decries the arbitrariness of political power .a younger brother's )inheritance) of his elder's wife and throne+ and his concomitant pri,ilege to banish his ri,al+ &phelia's lo,er/. 2nd throughout+ the madwoman pro,ides her criti3ue in an o,erdetermined+ cryptic patter+ which defies e1egesis. 9hen Claudius attempts to offer his neat interpretation of her remar-s+ she undermines his presumption+ stating+ )Pray let's ha,e no words of this+ but when they as- you what it means+ say you this) .4.5.4B!4 /+ before launching into the 8aint Lalentine's day song+ presumably unrelated to her pre,ious utterances. Eesisting appropriation and translation+ &phelia demands finally to )spea-) on her own behalf. "hrough her madness+ 5oan Montgomery ;yles belie,es+ &phelia finally establishes a real dialogue )with herself but!!the listeners+ who really listen to her for the first time+ are no longer necessary. 8he needs no reply. 8he has disco,ered her own ,oice+ her inner self.)30 ;ut although she may ha,e found an a,enue through which to e1press her frustrations and protest her wrongs+ has &phelia really found an autonomous ,oice+ a discrete self( &phelia might elucidate the inanity of mindless orthodo1ies+ proclaim the hypocrisies of the family+ denounce false lo,e+ suggest the arbitrariness of political power. 8till+ she spea-s her criti3ue+ as #eely points out+ in 3uotation.31 $er mad discourse+ li-e her earlier )sane) self+ is fragmented. %ndeed+ no longer the ,acant receptacle through which the ,oices of father!brother!lo,er resound+ now she seems to spea- to and for herself. Get she )spea-s) through snatches of ordinary+ albeit disDointed+ discourse7 popular ballads+ traditional legends+ routine pieties+ e,en familiar e1pressions of greeting and farewell. "he important wor- her psyche attempts+ to per,ert con,ention in order to find a ,ehicle through which she can protest her lifetime of repression+ is ultimately undermined by the ,ery conventionality of her discourse. $er recogniHable songs and allusions mas- the deeper sub,ersi,e content of her ramblings+ furnishing her listeners with a ready a,enue for denial. $er con,ersation+ while irrational and disconnected+ also pro,ides the relief of the commonplace+ that which can be categoriHed+ then disregarded as carrying )but half sense) .4.5. /. &phelia is+ in turn+ dismissed as being )Ki,ided from herself and her fair Dudgement+ ? 9ithout the which we are pictures+ or mere beasts) .4.5.85!8B/. 9itnesses of her madness )botch @herA words up to fit their own thoughts) .4.5.1F/+ diffuse them by interpreting her meaning into terms which will .once again/ ser,e their own emotional and political ends. Kespite her resistance+ Claudius does translate her mad protest into uncomplicated grief+ which )springs ? 2ll from her father's death) .4.5. 5! B/. 2nd 6aertes+ while momentarily appearing to realiHe that )"his nothing @&phelia's mad discourseA's more than matter) .4.5.1 =/+ in the end can see only the )prettiness) .4.5.18B/ of her passion. )"he fair &phelia) .<.1.89/ sings snatches of familiar tunes+ recites bits of old tales+ disburses flowers!!li-e a small child. 2lthough she at last spea-s

truth+ finally defies authority+ &phelia continues to be infantiliHed+ then ignored. 2s Iarin 8. Coddon notes7 "he notion of tragic madness as o,ertly or e,en co,ertly )sub,ersi,e) is problematic. %n fact+ madness displaces action+ metaphoriHing it but also ta-ing its place. %f madness seems to pri,ilege and enlarge the tragic hero's subDecti,ity+ so does it also fragment+ chec-+ and defer it. 2s an in,ersion of internaliHed )ideological controls) madness by definition precludes the realiHation of a stable+ coherent subDecti,ity in opposition to the disorder from without.32 &phelia's tragic madness+ which her witnesses can classify+ tame and so defuse+ ultimately displaces action+ neutraliHing its sub,ersi,e potential. &phelia not only wants )real listeners+) she re3uires them. 9ithout anyone willing to listen to or able to hear her incoherent truth+ her )Eeason in madness+) any acti,e possibility which seemed to arise from her release into that madness e,aporates!!e1cept+ of course+ that of suicide. Get e,en the acti,e possibility implied by &phelia's death+ which M. K. 0aber calls a )subintentioned)33 suicide+ becomes obscured by way of subDecti,e translation. 2fter all+ we ha,e only 4ertrude's description of the e,ent.34 "he Queen aestheticiHes &phelia's death+ lyrically poeticiHing what becomes the clearly non!intentional act of an eroticiHed child. 4ertrude describes &phelia's fantastic floral garnish+ which includes )long purples+ ? "hat liberal shepherds gi,e a grosser name+ ? ;ut our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them) .4. .1B8! F/. Charlotte 0. &tten+ e1plicating the Queen's euphemisms+ states+ )"he chaste &phelia is garlanded in death with floral genitalia.)35 Csing botanical history and lore+ &tten argues that the orchids with which &phelia is strewn in her drowning scene metaphorically )suggest shamelessly immoderate copulation+) )e1ude animal se1uality+) and e,en )incite men to lechery.)36 %n fact+ the poor wretch )adorns herself with flowers whose se1uality is so apparent that in the wearing of them she appears to bring dishonour upon herself+) &tten frets. )6aertes rightly prays for more comely flowers.)37 "hus+ this reading suggests that a phallically!arrayed+ lechery! inducing+ distracted &phelia falls 3uite unintentionally into )the weeping broo-+) and )as one incapable of her own distress) .that is+ of autonomous action/ is suc-ed )from her melodious lay ? "o muddy death) .4. .1 4!8=/. 2ccording to 4ertrude's rendering+ &phelia's death is the accidental drowning of an unconsciously precocious child. Con,ersely+ howe,er+ one might ,iew her final mad scene+ when &phelia disperses funeral flowers to the company+ as a determined farewell. "o herself+ she presents rue+ signifying repentance!!an appropriate flower for one contemplating her own death. &phelia's drowning+ Philip claims+ rather than being simply )an act of self!negation is an intelligible response in her patriarchal world. %t is an e1istential act of partial self! awareness.)38 Get is &phelia's death a deliberate act+ a suicide( 9ell+ as the )absolute) .5.1.1<</ and utterly prosaic gra,e!digger notes+ if the water comes to the man )he drowns not himself.) ;ut if the )man go to this water)...( %n sum+ the fellow concludes+ it's 3uite simple7 )$e that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life) .5.1.15! =F/. &f course+ between 4ertrude's and the gra,e!digger's accounts lies the subDecti,e ground of interpretation: the most that 8ha-espeare will surrender to the reader is the mad &phelia's partial .)subintentioned)/ purpose+ her unwillingness to resist succumbing to a

watery gra,e. %n determining to read &phelia's madness+39 % place myself within #eely's conundrum. % can offer only another possible translation .li-e 4ertrude's/+ a )sane+) reducti,e reading+ circumscribing whate,er potential feminist power &phelia's insanity might imply into a rational construct. Parado1ically+ any reading which attempts to persuade .that is+ any critical reading/ to some e1tent appropriates+ domesticates and so diminishes its subDect. 8o+ ha,ing painted myself into the pro,erbial corner+ why not effect a fantasy escape+ a .slightly mad/ re!writing of .8ha-espeare's!,ia!/ 4ertrude's ,ersion of &phelia's watery death(... % li-e to see &phelia deliberately climbing out onto the willow branch which )grows as-ant the broo-) .4. .1B5/ with hea,y stones tied to her belt. 0rom this pleasant height+ the e1hausted yet strangely contented &phelia gaHes for some time into )the glassy stream) .4. .1BB/ at her reflection+ and+ at long last recogniHing it+ chooses to merge with it.... #ow+ ha,ing circum,ented the trap of reading &phelia's madness as effecti,e feminist protest+ % do not mean to be ambushed by the similar problematic of fetishiHing &phelia's death .as 8ha-espeare's characters and so many subse3uent pens and brushes ha,e done/.40 Eather+ % intend to suggest an offstage scene in which &phelia+ ha,ing struggled through her own e1istential monologue+ emerges to ma-e her first autonomous choice. Eeflecting on the rotten state that robs her of ,iable alternati,es+ &phelia decides that in order authentically )to be) she must choose )not to be.) 9hile the notion that suicide becomes the only possible route to autonomy for this woman is undeniably tragic+ &phelia's choice might be seen as the only courageous!!indeed rational!!death in 8ha-espeare's bloody drama. *niversity of !innesota