Ophelia by Lisa Klein

This will be the first of two posts I am going to publish on Ophelia by Lisa Klein. In this post, I will discuss some of the motifs and themes of Ophelia that link the text to the other YA novels I have read.

First a brief summary (and I'm about to ruin the ending so if you have any problems with this run away now). Ophelia tells the story of Ophelia, the poor, mad lover of the Prince of Denmark in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Lisa Klein reinvents the story, creating an Ophelia who can read and write, loves - and marries - a man she knows is above her station, and who is smart enough to realize that her life is in danger and she must leave. In the novel, Ophelia is wooed by Hamlet. They court wearing the costuming of the peasantry, and are secretly married and consummate the marriage. Then, all hell breaks loose. King Hamlet is killed, Claudius takes the throne and marries Gertrude, and Hamlet sees the ghost of his father. With Hamlet gone (apparently) mad, her father dead at the hands of her husband, Claudius intent on removing any threat to his power, and the possibility of pregnancy, Ophelia fakes her own death - with the help of Horatio - and escapes to a convent in France where she serves as a healer for the sisters. She gives birth to Hamlet's heir, and the novels ends with her reunited with Horatio.

One of the major themes encountered so far in this course is the power of words. In My Name is Will, both Will's courted, and seduced, their lovers through words. In The Shakespeare Stealer, Widge's power comes from his mastery of words, his ability to read and write in shorthand. Ophelia does court the power of words; Ophelia can read and write, as can Hamlet and Horatio. Her ability to read gives her the power to participate in Hamlet's wit and to become a favorite of Queen Gertrude by reading to her; however her main power and skill comes not from words but from her ability to learn about herbs and healing (which I will discuss more in depth in the next posting). In fact, words are often false in the novel; not a surprise considering its source material. Indeed, for a novel adapting a play in which no one is telling the truth, to expect an adoration of the power of words would be unexpected.

The problem with words is complex in Ophelia, for it is not simply that words can be false. Ophelia notes when Hamlet declares his love: "Because they did not roll from his tongue like they had been practiced, I believed Hamlet's words" (62). This is repeated throughout the novel; Ophelia can only believe those around her when they stammer and stutter, otherwise she can not be assured that the sentiments expressed are true. It is, perhaps, one of the reasons for her eventual love of Horatio. He does not lie or compose sonnets or speak in metaphors. In this case, simple language is desired because it is not practiced. Beautiful flowery language, like that practiced in My Name is Will and The Shakespeare Stealer is not what the language of courtship should be for Ophelia.

Costuming and becoming someone else is also common in Ophelia as in the previous novels. Ophelia and Hamlet conduct their love affair in disguise, as peasants. The act of putting on another's clothes transforms Ophelia and Hamlet. He acts very different when not in costume, she always separates their interactions into Hamlet & Ophelia and Jack & Jill. One of their flaws lies in the fact that they cannot reconcile the two; the prince and lady with the married shepards. While costuming leads to their freedom to love and marry outside of their constrictive societal bonds, their inability to bridge the gap between their real and fantasy lives leads to the downfall of their romance. The only part that transfers between the two lives is Ophelia's pregnancy.

Clothing is very important. Ophelia wanders the castle freely by dressing as a madwoman and it is her clothing, not her actions, that first convince those around her she is mad. When she finally escapes, she waxes about the freedom of britches and tunics compared to the oppressive formality of gowns and bodices. She finds comfort in dressing as a nun, seeking forgivness from her sins. And when Horatio appears, she greets dressed in the manner which is most fitting to her current position. In a nun's dress, but no habit, folded between her legs to make pants and covered in dirt from attending her herbs. She rights her dress afterward, and transforms from human to an "angel in white" (323). She makes her final transformation into mother as the baby Hamlet - son of Hamlet and Ophelia - comes running out.

There will be a follow-up post to this discussing the place of women in the novel and the abduction by Lisa Klein of Shakespeare's texts to create a novel honoring the female.

Sandman : The Wake

So, it is not Ophelia, but I picked up a copy of Sandman : The Wake by Neil Gaiman today - I have been working my way through the graphic novel series - and found Shakespeare again!

To set this up, The Sandman series is about Dream, one of seven Eternals (Death, Destruction, Delirium, Desire, Despair, and Destiny are the other six). The series is brilliant; one of the graphic novels that really blurs the boundary between comic books and 'literature'. Gaiman continually introduces characters from fables, myths, stories, and history into the story, moving back and forth in time. In a previous volume, William Shakespeare meets Dream and enters into a Faustian bargain: he will write for Dream two plays in exchange for the ability to create beautiful plays and the assurance that he will be remembered through the ages. He then composes A Midsummer Night's Dream at Dreams request, and his company performs it before an odd audience that includes the real Puck, Titania, and Oberon.

The story found in The Wake, "The Tempest," takes place near the end of Shakespeare's life. He is writing The Tempest, his final play. Excerpts from the play are scattered inbetween Shakespeare's interaction with his wife, daughter, and friend Ben. His relationship with his wife is chilly, to say the least. They sleep in separate beds, in separate rooms. His daughter wishes William had been anything but a playwrite so he could have stayed at home, with her. She is also being corted by a young man who is following in his fathers footsteps right to the whorehouse.

The picture Gainman paints of Shakespeare's life is far from glamourous. He is a depressed man, wrecked with sadness over his son's death and guilt over his bargain with, what he believes to be, a devil. He is relieved to finally be putting down his pen and concluding his time as a playwright, although the reader is given no indication of what he would like to do in the future. One of the most exciting moments in the short graphic is the moment after Shakespeare has been released by Dream. He is left without Dream's gift to complete the Epilogue of the play, witch he does with great flourish.

Once again, we have the motif of the importance of words, reading, and stories. The ability to craft words is enough for William to sell his soul. And Dream, who requests these words, speaks about the power of stories. In the end, his ultimate regret is that he can never be part of the story. He must always be outside looking in. Of course, Dream now becomes part of the story, as Gaiman puts it all down to paper. Perhaps Dream is not so alone and aloof as he thinks. Perhaps we are all just the characters in a story, written by Shakespeare or not.

Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood

Shakespeare Stealer is quite a different novel than My Name is Will. For starters, it is targeted towards a younger audience, Publishers Weekly reports the intended age group as 10 - 14 year olds. Just as a product of its audience, Shakespeare Stealer is much less ... shall we say bawdy than My Name is Will. There's no sex or drugs here.

Despite being squeaky clean - except for the occasional chamber pot, Shakespeare Stealer does evoke the feeling of the Early Modern Period. The diction is reminiscent of the Shakespearean form of English, without being incomprehensible to a young audience. One of the ways in which Blackwood draws attention to the language without overpowering the story is through Widge, the protagonist. Widge, being from the rural, northern, hillbilly part of England must learn to overcome his use of "aye" and instead learn to say "yes." Alright, not the most clever or exciting of conversions ever, but his change in language does parallel his change in personality and view of the world. It is interesting, however, that Widge's freedom and growth is tried into his transition from country boy to city dweller.

An incredibly common trope occurs in Shakespeare Stealer. It is a plot line I loved as a little girl, and is likely one of the reasons I liked this book when I was younger. Julian, the friendly but private apprentice of the company, is revealed to be a woman after a mock sword fight gets out of hand. This is incredibly common in youth literature, and movies, set in any time period previous to post-second wave feminism. Even Shakespeare borrowed this trope in Twelfth Night. I will be incredibly surprised if it does not come up again this semester.

Julian is not the only character in costume. In addition to the various actors in various stages of costume, the bad guy is in costume from the moment Widge meets him. Costumes and subterfuge appeared in My Name is Will as well, both with respect to the Catholics hiding their faith, and Willie dressed as a fool to enter the Faire.

Returning to Shakespeare, since he is the point of this whole class, the bard is conspicuously absent for a book titled after him. All told, I believe he speaks maybe five lines in the entire novel and appears in maybe a quarter of the book. The focus is here much more on the company and the plays.

One last observation, writing and reading are incredibly important and revered in the novel. Widge's adventure only occurs because he can read and write in a shorthand that is quick enough to pick up words as they are spoken. This class is now two for two with writing and reading being very important in the novels, and from what I have read (the first chapter) of Ophelia, the next book will continue the pattern.

Plays mentioned in Shakespeare Stealer:
- Hamlet (everywhere)
- Romeo and Juliet (briefly)
- Richard III (offends Elizabeth I)

Next : Ophelia by Lisa Klein