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Exhuming Ophelia: A Feminist, Costume Design Exploration, Shelby M. Gable

Honors Theses

Ophelia is a character that has captivated and moved audiences since her first appearance onstage in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark around the year 1600. Unfortunately, she represents a negative and slim representation of femininity that reflects a long-standing trend that has established a specific and limited iconic understanding of her character. As a feminist theatre maker I have undertaken a multi-phase approach to reconstructing Ophelia based on four separate approaches. First, I will examine how it is that Ophelia’s representation is harmful in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Second I will show how feminist readers and critics have approached the …