it’s been on my mind a little too much recently so im rage-posting about it.
here are some reasons that Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” is, conceptually (at the very least but i would like to argue further if allowed), one of the worst things ever.
this fucking pre-chorus. “...and if you’d never come for me
/I might’ve drowned in the melancholy/ I swore my loyalty to me (me), myself (myself), and i (i)/ Right before you lit my sky up...”
so first of all, and genuinely one of the most important points when discussing this song, Ophelia could not have been saved by Hamlet deciding he loves her and devoting himself to her. thatwas never on the table. let me repeat that. Ophelia could not have been saved by Hamlet deciding he loves her and devoting himself fully to her. the issues Ophelia faced were BECAUSE of the men around her, and that INCLUDED Hamlet. she wasn’t out here getting slut shamed for the rumors of her and Hamlet for fun.
second of all, swearing her loyalty to “me, myself, and i...before you lit my sky up”....have we actually gone insane. like genuinely what fresh hell is this. Ophelia had no ability to swear any sort of loyalty to herself. the whole point is that she felt completely helpless and out of control of her own life. Ophelia did ONE THING for herself. do you know what that was? choosing to die. getting freedom the only way she felt she could. she chose one thing for herself and that was it.
to address the possibility that Taylor is using Ophelia as a metaphor for herself, essentially self-insert fanfictioning Ophelia's life.
this is so insane. she had ANY damsel in distress character to choose from to make parallels with how the men in their lives “saved” them (i don’t even want to get into the push towards conservatism this song is perpetuating). taking away Ophelia’s ONLY act that she had control over because you want to “see yourself” in her and romanticize her and Hamlet into something they’re not is absolutely wild.
Ophelia’s madness came from many things, but at the root of all of them was one: a distinct lack of autonomy in a highly restrictive patriarchal society.
the lines in the chorus “...Don’t care where the hell you’ve been/ (been) ‘cause now (now) you’re mine/ it’s about to be the sleepless night/ you’ve been dreaming of/ The fate of Ophelia...”
Ophelia cared where Hamlet “was” every time. she was consistently reaching out to him (both on her own and under the forceful hands of Polonius and Claudius). she knew Hamlet for YEARS,he wasn’t some guy randomly popping into her life. there was a lot more between Hamlet and Ophelia than a failed one-time romance.
speaking of their romantical rumors, there were soooo many factors between them. and a lot of them actually rested on the shoulders of Hamlet. Hamlet’s expectations and responsibilities. notonly the responsibilities he has recently been charged with by Ghost Dad, but also his princely duties. (See: Laertes Act 1, Scene 3, page 41-43) both Hamlet AND Ophelia had a lot of reasons why romance between them was not going to work out. if Ophelia had not killed herself, she would have lived a life under the control of the men around her. forever. Hamlet, in his own way, was also constricted by his societal standing.
verse 2. (oh my god it just keeps going) “...The eldest daughter of a nobleman/ Ophelia lived in a fantasy/ But love was a cold bed full of scorpians/ The venom stole her sanity...”
i want you to know im actively having to take a deep, controlled breath to address this line. omg i need a minute.
the societal pressures and limitations she faced were all in fact because she was the daughter of a nobleman. the only, and eldest daughter. she did NOT live in a fantasy. in the beginning, while Hamlet was outwardly into her, she lowkey reciprocated, and it became hell for her. she was literally being called a whore by everyone in her life. her brother. her father. the king. nameless, faceless others.
“love was a cold bed full of scorpions the venom stole her sanity”?????? girl. GIRL. now we’re saying that the lack of romance is what made Ophelia mad? No. Ophelia needed a lack of men “loving” her and an abundance of RIGHTS. instead, she got none of either.
okay last one because other than this ive addressed everything else and if i didn’t end it here my arguments are abt to get really repetitive. “’tis locked inside my memory/ and only you possess the key/ no longer drowning and decieved/ all because you came for me...”
Ophelia gaining a love interest could not have suddenly cleared up her whole life, Taylor. glad your life is one dimensional enough that a love interest can do that for you, but for the last time, Ophelia’s experience is not comparable to yours. which you would know. if you actually read the fucking book.
OVERALL. the general “you saved my heart from the fate of ophelia”
Ophelia's fate could not have been changed by Hamlet, or any other man, loving her. i don’t know how this could be any clearer.
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