Sunday, October 19, 2014

What does Polonius tell Ophelia about Hamlet's declaration of affection (iii, 102-136)? What do his remarks reveal about his opinion of Ophelia?

Polonius tells Ophelia that she is a "green girl" for believing Hamlet's declarations of love (1.3.101); in other words, he calls her naive and inexperienced. He is somewhat incredulous that she actually believes Hamlet. He tells her,

Think yourself a babyThat you have ta'en these tenders for true pay,Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly,Or—not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,Running it thus—you'll tender me a fool. (1.3.105-109)

Polonius tells Ophelia literally to think of herself as an inexperienced child for having listened to Hamlet's declarations and believing them to be real, when they are so clearly not (or so he believes). He tells her to respect herself more than she does, or she will render him a complete idiot. In other words, he believes that she would be taken in by Hamlet's declarations, sleep with him and ruin herself, and dishonor her father in the process.
Polonius's remarks to his daughter reveal that he does not think very highly of her. First, he suggests that she does not have the ability or intelligence to discern when someone is telling her the truth or lying to her. Second, he seems to value her only as long as she does not harm his reputation by making herself look foolish and immoral.

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