Student Question
Does Hamlet hint at an incestuous relationship between Ophelia and Laertes, like in The Duchess of Malfi?
Quick answer:
While the primary incest themes in Hamlet involve Claudius and Gertrude, and Gertrude and Hamlet, subtle overtones of incest can also be found between Ophelia and Laertes. Laertes' flirtatious behavior and sexually explicit language towards Ophelia, along with his passionate actions such as jumping into her grave, suggest a possible incestuous desire.
Yes, I believe there are subtle overtones of incest between the pair in Hamlet. Remember, Laertes is a foil for Hamlet, a more passionate double of the Prince. What one says or does speaks also for the other. Before he leaves for Paris, Laertes tells his sister, regarding Hamlet's advances:
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmaster'd importunity.
Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister,
And keep you in the rear of your affection,
Out of the shot and danger of desire.
The chariest maid is prodigal enough,
If she unmask her beauty to the moon:
Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes:
The canker galls the infants of the spring,
Too oft before their buttons be disclosed,
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent.
Be wary then; best safety lies in fear:
Youth to itself rebels, though none else near.
Leartes sees all young men as out for eros (physical love) because, well, he's a young man himself. By speaking about Hamlet, he is also speaking for himself. Perhaps Leartes wants Ophelia to spurn Hamlet's advances while he is gone because Laertes wants her to himself when he returns--a kind of sexual jealousy. Psychologically, Laertes may well be harboring an incestuous desire for his sister. By acting like a protective older brother, Laertes may only be sublimating his real desire.
Another curious scene is when Leartes jumps into Ophelia's grave. He shows more anguish over her death than Hamlet. Before leaping in, he yells:
Hold off the earth awhile,
Till I have caught her once more in mine arms:
Laertes takes his dead sister in his arms the way a married man would his wife. Hamlet jumps in as well in order to chastise Laertes' deviant, excessive behavior. Doesn't Hamlet notice the unnatural relationship here? This is why they duel at the end: Hamlet must rid Denmark of both incestuous brothers Claudius and Laertes.
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