E X T E N S I O N THE ROSE OF MAY The death of Ophelia (E. Delacroix, 1853) Did Hamlet ever love Ophelia, or is she only a minor character Shakespeare created to complete the cast without distracting attention from the protagonist? It was certainly necessary that Ophelia should be only a subordinate character and not equal in spirit, power or intelligence to other famous heroines like Juliet, Portia, Cordelia1. A character who could not help Hamlet, and for whom he would not feel such deep passion that could interfere with the main aim of the play. In the love and fate of Ophelia, then, an element of pathetic beauty, and not of deep tragedy, was introduced. Ophelia is clearly young and quite inexperienced: she has lost her mother, and two men, her father Polonius and her brother Laertes, look after her. They are affectionate but busy, one in the political life of the country and the other in his studies and youthful pastimes. They cannot give her the attention, understanding, complicity and advice a mother would (or a nurse, as in the case of Juliet). Her affection for her brother is based on confidence and respect and her love for her father is deep, though mixed with fear. They are anxious for her because Hamlet is so much above her in status, age, accomplishments2 and wit3, and because of her childish nature and inexperience: she has 1. Juliet, Portia, Cordelia: protagonists respectively in Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice and King Lear. 2. accomplishment: talent. 84