Ophelia

More about the Book

Ophelia Reading Group Guide.pdf

1. Do you see any similarities within Ophelia to other famous love stories by Shakespeare or in current books and movies?

2. Ophelia grew up without a mother, so she is always looking for a strong connection with the women in her life. How do you think Ophelia’s life might have been different if her mother had survived? Do you think she benefited in any way by growing up without a close mother figure?

3. If you were making a movie of Ophelia, whom would you cast in the roles of Ophelia, Hamlet, and Horatio? And how might you change the book version to make a better movie version?

4. How are the relationships between parents and children as portrayed in Ophelia different from how families interact today? What did you notice that you might see happen in your own life?

5. Hamlet often behaves differently around Ophelia than with other groups of people. Do you ever see this sort of behavior in your life among friends?

6. Ophelia pretends to have lost her mind due to grief, but does she truly go insane? How does the description of her madness, be it real or imagined, compare to Hamlet’s madness? How does Ophelia’s friendship with Therese add another layer of possibility to what madness can be and how it can be interpreted?

7. Ophelia is forced to make a very difficult choice when she realizes that her life is in danger as long as she stays in Elsinore. Do you think she makes the right decision in risking so much to have a chance at freedom?

8. What do you think Queen Gertrude’s motivations are for helping Ophelia to escape from Elsinore?

9. Ophelia’s descriptions of St. Emilion’s provide fascinating insight into the life of a religious order during the early 1600s. There were many reasons for becoming a nun in the seventeenth century, not all of them based on religious devotion. Many women joined convents when they were widowed or if they were unable to find a husband to support them. What are the options for women in these situations today?

10. Discuss how you feel about the book’s ending. Were you surprised? What do you imagine would have happened if there were one more chapter? Do you think the ending should have been a tragedy, as in Hamlet?

11. When Ophelia is a child and Hamlet fails to attend to the pansies she gives him, Horatio tells her, “‘Do not waste your tears, little girl. . . . We boys are ever careless of flowers’” (page 15). Throughout the novel, Horatio is especially kind to and protective of Ophelia. How does his friendship impact the story? Do you see his actions differently following the conclusion?

12. If you could rewrite any character in literature, who would you reimagine? What would you change about his or her story?