r him, it isinteresting to note that rather than have his loss bring him and hismother closer, it only serves to bind him in his melancholy and agony.He battles within himself of doing harm to his mother. Hamlet may verywell see his mother's infidelity to his father's memory as aninfidelity to him as well. This Oedipal Complex is more injurious tohis character, and is the determining force for his unsuccessfulrelationship to Ophelia. Ophelia has nothing to do with this emotionalinadequacies, and is nonetheless a victim of them. Her death is theresponsibility of Hamlet, who at her gravesite "exhibits some temporarymarks of a real disorder" (Mackenzie 903). It is short-lived, however,and Hamlet again retakes his vengeance upon his father's murderer--using his ! melancholy as a dull weapon. "He realizes that hisemotions are often going to rush beyond his control [and] the fictionthat he is mad will not only cloak his designs against the King, butwill also free him from the rest of the play" (Campbell 104). It ishis fiction that is the leading cause of Ophelia's demise as well ashis own. There is no way out of the created situation for either ofthem. One could imagine that if this were a different play, Hamletcould ask for Ophelia's forgiveness, but that is not the play. Themelancholy, grief, and madness that Hamlet suffers from may well havebeen the propelling force for all of his unfortunate action inShakespeare's play. It is worth allowing that the first of the two arereal; his melancholy and grief are not counterfeit. Ophelia is themore tragic of the two because her madness is not feigned, andfurthermore, that it is caused by the very love of her life is evenmore disastrous for her poor young life. They are each malcontentswith no real happiness made available to them given their unfortunatecircumstances....
