Okay, my next series of posts will be comparing different characters, mostly ones from plays we have read :D
The first duo I am doing is Portia and Ophelia. Both girls chose to follow the wishes of their fathers, with drastically different results. One ends up "happily?" married, while the other goes crazy and dies. I think the main difference between the two girls is that Ophelia is docile and unsure of herself, while Portia is confident and daring. While Ophelia stars in a tragedy, Portia is part of a comedy. Ophelia follows the traditional role of a woman, while Portia bounces between being the dutiful woman and breaking tradition. Ophelia has a pure heart, and is confused when her love rejects her, while Portia sets up her husband by tricking him into giving away the ring he swore to never remove from his finger. While both girls are seemingly victimized by the decrees of their fathers, the differences in their personalities and actions make Ophelia the more favorable female of the two.
So, to end up "happy" you must be confident, daring, funny, a gender-bender, and a trickster. At least for a woman. :)
ReplyDeleteHow about for the men now? ...
And that is assuming you are living in a comedy.
DeleteFor men, I would have to say that NOT being noble and suffering is always a good idea. . . haven't really thought about it. . .
Interesting parallel. I like it. Speaking of children obeying their parents, what about Hamlet? He causes all kinds of trouble trying to avenge his dying father. And Fortinbras also causes a mess; though he's not necessarily obeying a direct order of his father, his loyalty to his parent causes a war. I would say things ended poorly for Hamlet, and not so bad for Fortinbras. What was the difference between them? We don't know tons about Fortinbras, but maybe Hamelet's character is an example of what not to be, Andrew.
ReplyDelete