Ophelia (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 7) 1866

Sir John Everett Millais created this photogravure, titled Ophelia, after his famous painting of the same name. Millais, working during the Victorian era, engages with Shakespeare’s tragic figure from Hamlet. The representation of Ophelia’s death reflects broader societal concerns around female sexuality, madness, and vulnerability. During the Victorian period, there was a fascination with the depiction of women in extreme emotional states, often linking female hysteria to artistic creativity. Millais paints Ophelia in a hyper realistic way, surrounded by detailed flora, that enhances the emotional resonance and tragedy of the scene. The languid pose and the loose dress draw upon the cultural fascination, and at times the idealization, of the dead or dying female form. Ophelia’s death is not just a personal tragedy but a representation of the limited agency afforded to women in the Victorian era. As viewers, we are invited to contemplate the relationship between beauty, mortality, and the constraints placed on women’s lives.