Ophelia by Lisa Klein

Audience: Young Adult

Rating: A-

Synopsis:

This story goes far beyond the confines of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In Lisa Klein’s creative retelling, Ophelia is much more than a discarded pawn in Hamlet’s quest for revenge. Klein’s Ophelia is a wonderfully real heroine, torn between love and fear for what the man she loves has become.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) I loved this book. I enjoyed the scenes that represented the play from a different perspective, and I loved the parts that went beyond the scope of the original plot. I’ve always been bothered by the original Ophelia, her death always seemed to be the most tragic in the play… and since there are many deaths in Hamlet, that’s saying a lot. But this Ophelia is more than just a pawn between her father and the prince. I still felt awful in the scene where both men are trying to use her, Polonius to prove that Hamlet loves her, and Hamlet to prove that he’s insane, meanwhile Ophelia is trying desperately to make sense of what’s occurring. In this book, however, Ophelia has slightly more power in the scene in that she’s able to whisper messages to Hamlet out of the earshot of the king.

My only wish would have been some sort of resolution for Ophelia and Hamlet. He dies thinking she’s killed herself, and thinking that he is cause of her grief. The last exchange the two of them have is scene where they are watching the play together and Hamlet’s desire to expose his uncle is far more pressing than his feelings of tenderness toward his wife.

I’d like to think that the story would have had a different ending if Hamlet had known that Ophelia was still alive, but I doubt it. It wasn’t her sorrow or death that brought him back to Denmark, but rather his plan to revenge his father’s death. If her request hadn’t been enough to change his course of action before, I doubt it would have altered his plans then. While the Hamlet of the book’s beginning is much more admirable than the hero of the play, and his decent into madness (both real and enacted) is certainly clearer; he’s not a good husband for Ophelia once he’s gripped with vengeance. I was glad to see that Horatio, the voice of reason and loyalty throughout, emerged as the hero at the end of the book.

Questions:

Does Hamlet doubt Ophelia’s love, or is it all part of his act?

Should Hamlet’s allegiance have been to his father’s ghost or to his wife?

How would the story have changed if Hamlet had been allowed to see Ophelia after Polonius’s death?

Who is Ophelia’s true love, Horatio or Hamlet?

Should Ophelia bring baby Hamlet back to Denmark’s court to challenge Fortinbras?

Keep reading!

-Paige