Hamlet's Ophelia: The Changing Perceptions of Suicide, Death, and Madness in the Elizabethan and Victorian Periods

William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has been the source of question, debate, and research since its theatrical debut. In the midst of readings performances and one particular question has remained open and unresolved: was Ophelia's death an accident or a suicide? Some see Ophelia's death as an accident; others see it as a suicide resulting from the accumulation of a series of unfortunate events: her rejection by her boyfriend, her father’s murder, and her possible pregnancy. This paper will explore that age-old question from the perspectives of two historically different audiences: those of sixteenth-century and nineteenth-century England. I will argue that, despite the 300-year expanse between these two audiences, both emerged with the same conclusion: Ophelia's death was accidental. However, cultural and scientific changes affected the reasons why each came to that conclusion.

Celesta Wine Shippey Papers - Accession 200

The Celesta Wine Shippey Papers consists of correspondence, photographs, speeches, newspaper clippings, publications, and other papers related to her research, club activities, and her travels as a Fulbright Fellow. Dr. Shippey served as a professor of English at Winthrop from 1945 to 1961. Much of her research as an English professor focused on the 16th century writer Nathaniel Woodes who wrote the morality play, Conflict of Conscience. Also of interest are the photographic albums kept by Dr. Shippey, including photographs of Denmark (She attended Brethren Church) in 1913 through 1916, Manchester College, Oak Park, Illinois (ca 1920), Europe (1955), and Pakistan (1957-1958).