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Essay / Analysis by John Everett Millais Ophelia - 1228
The plants arch over Ophelia's corpse, literally "oblique" as Shakespeare wanted (act IV, scene VII), as if they were about to contain her with the resurgence of life next spring. The inclusion of pansies around her wrist, themselves signifying love in vain, is mocking, for while Ophelia and Hamlet's doomed romance is painful enough, the visual manner in which the river has swallowed up only further cements the idea of a vain loss. departing from the traditional pathos constantly observed in the depiction of beautiful young women as victims; sympathetically virtuous, pious and sympathetic. Although anecdotal, many would perhaps have liked to see Ophelia transform into a mermaid or an angel, something beyond her apparent entropic destiny, but Millais refuses to offer her anything......, implying a process of constant decomposition and germination. is more interesting than how we would like to mystify this woman in our heads. So, Millais is incredibly refreshing here, highlighting how boring and pathetic notions of femininity are.